Addison Phillips Hopes Fifth Time is a Charm

Article by Nancy Degutis

Addison Phillips was only 13 when she got a sixth when she made the first attempt to win the show jumping finals five years ago. She was in the top ten several times since then, coming close to victory in 2003 with a second and a third in 2004, but a simple error last year knocked her out of the top four. She settled for a fifth but this time the high school senior knows she is so close.

This is the first time “I have been leading in the top four,” said the 16-year-old who topped the field in the flat phase is the key to victory. “My flatwork is my worse part of the show,” said the New York City teen. “But the 86 I got for it today looks a lot like a 100 to me after getting an 60 the first year I was here.”

Shadows, Open Water Claim Victims

She was comfortable over the liverpool which caused numerous stops among riders. Their mounts came off a turn and then suddenly were faced with the water directly in front of them.

“The open water eliminated half the class,” said Phillips who rides with Andre Dignelli at his Heritage Farm. She also navigated her way through the bright autumn sunlight on one side of the ring to the lengthening shadows on the other. She also cleared the last four verticals and made the tight turns needed to complete the cloverleaf pattern, something she had seen Morris use when he judged the Maclay finals last year, she said.

“George said people who took risks would be rewarded,” emphasized Phillips who has been the best child rider at the Devon (PA) horse show for a record three times in a row.

“Loves Last Day”

Although she has nerves of steel honed by 14 years of riding, she “loves the last day (of the finals) but I think the worse part is having to go so late, at the last” because she is second to the end in the reversed jumping order, said Phillips who will delay trying to enter Harvard University for a year so she can continue her riding career.

The show jumping round on Sunday “is really challenging but that gives you a chance to show what you can do,” added Phillips who has graduated to riding in grand prixes and has won a $75,000 feature.