Friday July 28, 2006

Busy Weekend for the Adequan USEA Gold Cup Series

Two of the country’s premier events, The Event at Rebecca Farm and the Cosequin Stuart Horse Trials, ran Adequan USEA Gold Cup Series divisions the weekend of July 21-23, giving eventers from both coasts the chance to test their mettle against some of the top horses and riders in the nation.

The Event at Rebecca Farm

Approximately 450 horse-and-rider combinations, from novice level through three-star, came from as far as Idaho and California and Arizona to The Event at Rebecca Farm in Kalispell, Montana, braving heat over 100 degrees on the weekend. Despite the heat, everyone at the Farm enjoyed the hospitality of the Broussard family and their crew of volunteers, who made competitors, spectators, officials, and sponsors alike feel welcome throughout the weekend. The event ran like clockwork, and there’s no doubt that the hospitality and organization, along with the gorgeous and challenging cross-country courses designed by Mark Phillips, are the reasons that the Event took 500 entries (approximately 450 ran after the usual last minute withdrawals) and had to turn away another 100.

The CIC***-W and CIC** served as the Advanced and Intermediate divisions for the Adequan USEA Gold Cup Series. Gina Miles and McKinlaigh looked impressive in all three phases of the CIC***-W, putting in a wire-to-wire victory for a final score of 54. This longtime partnership, who represented the U.S. in the 2002 World Equestrian Games and the 2003 FEI World Cup Finals, set the bar high in Friday’s dressage with a 40.8 score, more than seven points ahead of their nearest competition, Leigh Mesher and My Beau with 47.9.

Miles, who hails from Creston, California, and McKinlaigh, a 12-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding owned by Miles and Thom Schulz, jumped clean on Saturday, and even their 13.2 time penalties (no pair finished under the optimum time) had little effect on the standings—they went into show jumping with a 6.3-penalty lead ahead of Canadian Hawley Bennett and her 16-year-old Thoroughbred Livingstone. Just 3.6 time penalties on course allowed Young Rider Tiana Coudray and King Street to hold their third place position on a score of 63.7. Coudray was reserve champion of last year’s Adequan USEA Gold Cup Series.

On Sunday, rails were dropping all over the show jumping courses, and the CIC***-W was no different. Bennett and Livingstone had one of the better performances, dropping just two rails. Coudray and King Street did them one better, dropping just one rail to move up for a guaranteed second place.

But it was Miles and McKinlaigh who put in the round of the day—the only double clear—securing them the win and a slew of prizes and prize money, including their share of the CIC***-W $30,000 prize money. For their Gold Cup Series win they received $500, a seven-dose pack of Adequan, a Mountain Horse jacket with Gold Cup logo, a front and hind pair of Nunn Finer American Style brushing boots, and the choice of either a Cross-Country Sereno Top Ride pad with ultra-suede, or the Cross-Country Ortho Top Ride saddle pad with advanced memory foam from Ogilvy Horse. In addition, McKinlaigh received a special cooler and $250 as the highest placing horse of Irish Draught descent.

Coudray, of Ojai, California, and King Street, an 11-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding owned by Jatiel, Inc., took home a front and hind pair of Nunn Finer brushing boots, and a saddle pad from Ogilvy Horse. Coudray also received the Guinness Award, named in memory of Sarah Broussard Kelly’s beloved mount, for her finish as the highest placing Young Rider.

CIC**

Matthew Brown and Jasmine also put in a wire-to-wire win, finishing the CIC** on a score of 53.9. Brown and Jasmine, a 12-year-old Canadian Thoroughbred mare owned by Cecily Clark and Jodie Potts, took a commanding lead from the start, earning a score of 45.9 in dressage, 7.9 points ahead of Kelly Prather and Ballinakill Glory, who the next day were eliminated on cross-country.

Brown and Jasmine made easy work of the cross-country course, one of just four pairs to finish with no jump or time penalties, extending their lead to 12.3 points. Alexis Bramley and Hampton accrued just 4.4 time penalties, moving up from third to second, for a two-day score of 58.2.

Bramley and Hampton kept the pressure on, putting in the only double clear show jumping round of the division. Brown had three rails in hand, and would need two of those, finishing the event on a score of 53.9. He and Jasmine took home their share of the CIC** $5,000 in prize money, as well as the same list of Gold Cup prizes and prize money as in the CIC***-W. Brown also earned the Phyllis Freeman Greene Good Seat Award.

Amy Tryon and Leyland, a six-year-old Thoroughbred gelding owned by Elisabeth Nicholson, dropped just one rail, which was enough to move them up one spot into third place after Kiira Troth and Oxley’s Impulse dropped three rails for a fourth place finish.

Cosequin Stuart Horse Trials

It was a soggy weekend at the Cosequin Stuart Horse Trials, in Victor, New York. So much rain fell that the organizers were forced to make a last-minute schedule change, flip-flopping cross-country and show jumping to Sunday and Saturday respectively, in the hopes that the footing would dry out a little for cross-country. Organizer Wezo Pierson and her crew did a marvelous job of dealing with all the details, making the switch as easy as possible on the competitors.

While the going was better for Sunday’s cross-country, the course was adjusted, including removing most of the water complex, so the horses only had to jump a roll top going down into the water and then canter out.

Before all these changes, Mara Dean took the early lead in the CIC**, which served as the Adequan USEA Gold Cup Series Intermediate division, with Willow Bend LLC’s Nicki Henley, on a score of 39.7, edging out the usual number-one-after-dressage Darren Chiacchia and Windfall 2 in second place with 45. Both pairs put in double clears the following day in show jumping, so it came down to Sunday’s cross-country to decide the winner.

Only eight of the 26 competitors made it through the finish flags under the optimum time, and neither Chiacchia nor Dean were among them. Chiacchia and Windfall, though, had just 1.2 time penalties, while Dean and Nicki Henley racked up 8.4, one of the higher penalty counts of the day, dropping them into second and earning Chiacchia and Windfall the win on a narrow margin of 1.9 penalties.

Windfall, a 14-year-old Trakehner stallion owned by Timothy Holekamp, looked confident and comfortable on cross-country, a good sign after some trouble earlier this year at both the Rolex Kentucky CCI**** and the Jersey Fresh CCI***. Dean and Nicki Henley, who also had less than stellar performances at Rolex and Jersey Fresh, showed positive progress on cross-country as well. “Mara and Nicki Henley looked back on form,” according to past Olympian, Robert Costello. “They were really right on cue today, jumping great.”

Last year’s Cosequin Stuart champions, Corinne Ashton and Dobbin, her 12-year-old Thoroughbred gelding, came quite close to repeating their performance, finishing on their dressage score of 48.4, just 0.3 penalties behind Dean and Nicki Henley. They were followed just a penalty behind, by Jessica Kiener and My Boy Bobby, a ten-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding owned by Carl Segal, who won last year’s Intermediate division at the American Eventing Championships. “This horse is definitely one of my favorites,” Costello said after the event. “He clocked around the course and Jessica did a great job with him. She’d better lock his stall up at night. This is one of those really nice horses that people would love to ride.”

Just five more events remain on the Adequan USEA Gold Cup Series calendar. In three weeks, both coasts will be busy again, this time with the Millbrook Horse Trials in Millbrook, New York, and the Woodside Horse Trials in Woodside, California. Two weekends (August 25-27) later the Series moves to the Midwest for the Richland Park Horse Trials in Richland, Michigan, and then finishes up in September at the Poplar Place Horse Trials in Hamilton, Georgia (September 8-9) and the Twin Rivers Horse Trials in Paso Robles, California (September 29-October 1).

The 2006 Adequan USEA Gold Cup Series would not be possible without an impressive list of sponsors: Title, Adequan; Presenting: Amerigo, Nunn Finer, and Nutrena; Contributing: Cover-All Building Systems, UlcerGard, Wellpride and Premier Equestrian; and patron sponsor, Mountain Horse and Ogilvy Horse.

This December at the USEA Annual Meeting and Convention in St. Louis, Missouri, a grand prize Gold Cup trophy and Amerigo saddle will be awarded to the rider from each division with the most points at the end of the year. In addition, the Gold Cup champion at the advanced level receives a check from the USEA for $6,000, and the intermediate champion receives a check for $4,000. Both winners will also receive an additional supply of Adequan. The second placed rider at Advanced wins a $3,500 Bit of Britain gift certificate, and their Intermediate counterpart wins a $2,500 gift certificate.

For more information on the Adequan USEA Gold Cup Series, visit the Gold Cup page on the USEA website. For more information on The Event at Rebecca Farm, including complete results, visit www.eventatrfarm.com. For more information on the Cosequin Stuart Horse Trials, visit www.stuarthorsetrials.org.

PHOTO: Gina Miles and McKinlaigh (right), winners of the CIC***-W at The Event at Rebecca Farm, pose with runners-up, Tiana Coudray and King Street. Photo Credit: Amy J. Daum