Boyd Martin took over the lead in the CCI3* division aboard Neville Bardos after posting the only double-clear cross-country trip of the division. Emily Daily photo.

Phillip Dutton and Kheops Du Quesnay jumped from 17th place into second place after finishing cross-country with only 4 time faults. Emily Daily photo.

Karen O'Connor and Mandiba added 15.6 time faults to finish the second day of competition in third place with a 55.2. Emily Daily photo.

Hannah Sue Burnett and St. Barths ran a beautiful double clear cross-country trip in the CCI2* to take the lead on a score of 51.9. Emily Daily photo.

Rebecca Howard added 11.6 time faults on cross-country aboard Roquefort but maintained a close second place in the CCI2* division. Emily Daily photo.

Doug Payne and Running Order were the first pair to take to the cross-country course on Saturday and jumped from 8th place into 3rd after adding only 4.8 time faults to their score. Emily Daily photo.

from Joanie Morris/USEF

Elkton, MD – Mother Nature wouldn’t quit but smart riding prevailed at the 2009 Dansko Fair Hill International as Boyd Martin flew to the lead in the USEF National CCI*** Championship with Neville Bardos. Newly an American citizen after changing citizenship from Australia earlier in the year, Martin and the nine-year-old Australian Thoroughbred literally skipped over the muddy ground making Derek DiGrazia’s course look easy.

“He came ninth at Rolex last year, and he was a little bit lame afterwards he had an injury to a pastern,” said Martin. “So he had some time off, and then I was gearing up for Kentucky and he tripped in a hole in Aiken and had to have some time off.  He had two small injuries that haven’t been much but in the timeframe he’s missed some major events.”

Martin bought the Thoroughbred as a three-year-old to resell in Australia and when he couldn’t get that  done, he brought him over to the US after winning a CCI** in Melbourne. They were the only combination to make the time in the testing conditions and their score of 51.0 moved them up from 16th after the dressage to the top spot going into Sunday’s show jumping.

“I bought him in Australia as a three year old for about $1000,” said Martin, who lives just up the road in West Grove, PA. “I planned to sell him but couldn’t, he was fourth here in his first CCI*** last year, he’s only nine years old. He’s a real thoroughbred so he is quite suited to these sort of conditions and he galloped on top of the mud. I didn’t feel like I was pushing him much.  I talked to Phillip (Dutton) and he said in the beginning to look after the horse and try to find good footing, if he had a bit of energy on the turning fences to kick on a bit.”

Like much of the country, rain and cold temperatures have gripped Fair Hill for three days. Hours of rain and hours of work went into the cross country courses, but a modified version of the original track proved challenging enough.
“It definitely made it not a true three star,” said Martin about the modified course. “But with the conditions and mud I think it was still a three star test.”

Tied for second are two of the most experienced riders in the US, with two very different horses. Phillip Dutton, who rode Kheops du Quesnay in an impressive effort, and Karen O’Connor who’s Mandiba  won the dressage on Friday but put some time on the clock, are even going into the show jumping on a score of 55.2.

“I think it is an interesting parallel, it felt like the long format,” said O’Connor about riding in the conditions. “The horses had to soldier on and the riders had to soldier on. You didn’t start a bad jumper today. You just didn’t do it. You had to have a good horse out there and gallop on top of the ground. You had to work at it. You had to work very hard at keeping the horse together.”

Dutton has ridden Mandiba (owned by Joan Goswell) in his last two competitions because O’Connor broke her shoulder in a motorbike accident and the 10-year-old Irish Thoroughbred gelding lost his confidence right before that after a uncharacteristic performance at the Burghley CCI****. Two good performances with Dutton set O’Connor up for a good first event back after her injury.

Dutton and O’Connor went back-to-back on the cross country course today and O’Connor joked that the notoriously speedy Dutton would catch up to her.

“I was actually quite scared that Phillip was going to catch up to me and yell “GO!”, as Phillip prepared the horse,” said O’Connor. “Phillip did a great job, my horse was very, very straight for me at the accuracy questions, which both of us had struggled with. He was point and shoot. My shoulder got very tired, so I slowed down a bit at the end.”
O’Connor is also seventh in the CCI** with Allstar.

Dutton has found Kheops du Quesnay very challenging to bring along, but his faith was rewarded and the 11-year-old Selle Francais delivered for his rider and owners Rebecca Broussard and Anne Jones.  Bought from Debbie Adams in 2008, Kheops du Quesnay realized his potential in the damp conditions.

“It’s been one of the highlights of my career seeing this horse come around,” said Dutton (West Grove, PA). “I had a few sleepless nights about what to do, I think the horse frustrated me and I just had to let it go. I changed my training a little bit, I’m excited about him, he went bloody well today. He’s a good horse and the ground wouldn’t suit his type.”

Dutton had four time faults in the impressive effort.  “When the conditions are like this you nearly have to forget about the scoreboard and horsemanship really comes into play,” said Dutton. “When the conditions are good they spin off the top of the ground, but not today and some horses, Boyd’s horse in particular, made it look very easy. My plan was to let the horse settle in the first part and get used to the conditions.”

It was one of O’Connor’s protégés who rose to the top in the CCI**. Hannah Sue Burnett and Richard Thompson’s St. Barth’s made light work of the course, and the eight-year-old Thoroughbred also skipped across the heavy going, one of only two horses to make the optimum time and stay on their dressage score of 51.90 and lead the National CCI** Eventing Championship. 

“I’ve been riding him for about a year,” said Burnett (Ocala, FL). “Karen trained him, we’ve had him for three or four years. He got EPM badly two years ago, but he completely recovered. He’s really gotten good in the dressage, I was nervous yesterday and had an error, but he’s an awesome cross country horse.”

O’Connor had nothing but praise for her student who worked diligently to help the horse recover from EPM.
“Dick’s new focus is to help some of the next generation and Hannah had dome such a good job with him that we talked and decided that she should keep the ride on him,” said O’Connor. 

Burnett’s determined performance today comes off of an impressive summer of success, but she is less than two pointed ahead of dressage winner, Rebecca Howard and Roquefort (last on course in the CCI**), who picked up 11.6 time faults to drop into second.

“With my two star horse, he went at the very end of the division and I didn’t know him very well,” said Howard.” I was really, really proud of him. He got tired but he kept fighting through it and jumping.”

Howard, who rides for Canada, is also 13th in the CCI*** with Riddle Master. “Both jumped quite well, but in the three star the galloping lanes were harder to find good ground on,” said Howard. “The biggest difference was in the galloping lanes.”

Doug Payne (Pottersville, NJ) went first in the CCI** so he got the very best of the ground but limited time to familiarize himself with the modified course. His horse, Running Order, who has been eventing for just over a year, galloped easily around the course for a good result for owners Stone Hill Farm. The former Irish steeplechaser and foxhunter looked like it may not have been his first time and soggy conditions. They picked up 4.8 time faults, but their score of 55.1 leaves them in striking distance for Sunday’s show jumping.

“I would rather go first than last,” said Payne. “The conditions were as good as they were going to get early on... He’s the real deal, especially after today.”

The Organizing Committee, course builders, and Ground Jury worked diligently to make the event happen and were rewarded for their efforts with a great competition despite high numbers of withdrawals.