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CHANGE of SCHEDULE for SATURDAY: The riders for Rolex-Kentucky CCI**** will begin their Cross Country early Saturday morning. First horse on Phase A - 8:22 AM. First horse on Steeplechase - 8:41 AM. First horse on Phase D - the Cross Country - 9:30 AM.
Editor's Note: eventingetc apologizes for the lack of photographs to go with this report. Continuing computer problems are upsetting us as much as they are you! We expect to have the pictures "up" by 10:00 PM each night for the rest of Rolex. We appreciate and thank you for your indulgence.
Friday, April 23 - The Second Day of Dressage - Modified First things first! The weather: Just so that everyone would feel at home, Friday started off with a thunderstorm and pelting rain. The first two competitors in the Modified, Julie Richards riding Hyde Park Corner and Michael Pollard on Psalm XXIII, had the worst of the deluge. Hopefully, they were helped by the "sympathy factor" from the Ground Jury, Barry Roycroft (AUS), Wayne Quarles (USA), and Cara Witham (CAN). Julie scored 51.6, while Michael got a score of 62.2. As the rain continued, no longer "heavy at times"; but, now heavy all the time, Nathalie Bouckaert, of Chatsworth, GA, performed an excellent test which scored 74.4, 73.6 and 77.2 to catapult her into the lead on a score of 37.4. Nathalie became the first, and only, competitor to score in the 30's. This pair led the Foxhall CCI*** after Cross Country, in 2003, only to fall to third in the Show Jumping Phase. They also represented the USET at the Pan American Games, at Fair Hill, MD, in the fall of 2003, where they finished 8th. Nathalie said, "I knew that he had it in him. He's been getting better and better. As soon as I got in the big arena I could get him in front of my leg. I train with Julie Anderson. She's an Australian who lives in Georgia." When asked what she had been doing to improve her Cross Country performance, Nathalie replied, "The thing that has helped is training with Captain Phillips. We work on a lot of skinnies (some) on bending lines. It has helped me ride forward to a skinny. At North Georgia, I had a really good run. I was able to ride forward." Darren Chiacchia, of Ocala, FL, rode Timothy Holekamp's Trakehner stallion Windfall II to 2nd place on a score of 41.2, 3.8 faults adrift of Nathalie and West Farthing. Darren explained his unusual situation - not being in the lead. "It was that second to last change that just didn't happen. I asked once. I asked twice. I said, 'Oh, my God! Get this thing done!" Darren also spoke of how Janie Atkinson, the Event Director, had worked things out to have a short, unscored "Roads and Tracks Phase" before the Modified Cross Country. "This will help to keep the warm up area uncrowded. Then we will warm up as we do for a normal horse Trial." Nathalie added, "We all plan to meet Captain Phillips there. He will warm us up." There will be several jumps in the warm up area. Heidi White, who lives in Chadd's Ford, PA, and rides and works with Phillip Dutton, rode her own Northern Spy, an 11 year old Thoroughbred gelding bred in Great Britain. Northern Spy placed 7th at the Foxhall CCI*** and and 3rd in the Fair Hill International CCI***, in 2002. The pair was 24th here at Rolex last year, and 44th at the Burghley Masterfood CCI****, last fall. Heidi commented on her Dressage ride, "We have worked all year to get a bit more out of him," in the Dressage. Regarding the Cross Country Saturday, Heidi continued, "He's a big strong horse," and that he could manage the heavy going. "We'll have to be careful on the turns. Balancing is going to have to happen." The Modified Cross Country will begin on Saturday at 1:30 PM. The last horse is scheduled to start at 4:28 PM. The top eight after the Dressage Phase are: 1.
Nathalie Bouckaert, West Farthing - 37.4 42 horses competed. Friday, April 23rd, Second Day of Dressage - CCI**** The CCI**** riders must live right! For the first time since Wednesday at noon time the rain STOPPED! (Don't tell anyone.) At
the start of the competition, the over night leader, William Fox-Pitt
(GBR), led on 43.4, riding Coastal Ties. The seventh horse in the ring
put an end to William's dominance. Kim Severson rode a nearly flawless
test on Winsome Adante for a score of 37.0 to place her 6.4 faults ahead
of her British challenger. The test included excellent transitions and
seamless flying changes of lead, as well as a 10 from the judge at "B"
for the final Halt and Salute! Winsome Adante is an 11 year old thoroughbred gelding, bred in Great Britain. owned by Linda Wachtmeister's Plain Dealing Farm, of Scottsville, VA. This pair won the Rolex CCI**** here, in 2002. They were members of the USET's World Championship Gold Medal Team at Jerez, in Spain, that same year.. Kim was the first in the CCI**** to break into the 30's, and, in fact surpassed Nathalie Bouckaert, the leader of the modified, by .4 of a fault. "It was his best test," Kim stated of Winsome Adante. "He was absolutely right on, in my opinion." "My horse is not qualified for the Olympics," Kim continued. (Kim broke her ankle in the spring and "Dan" had colic surgery, in England, last fall prior to the Burghley Masterfoods CCI****.) It's not overly dramatic if you do well here. (But, she does have to finish without more than 20 faults on XC, not more than 90 seconds over the time, and not more than four fences down Show Jumping - information kindly supplied by William Fox-Pitt.) The selectors look over all the competitions over the past two years. "He was 100% with me and paying total attention to me. I could absolutely ride him the way I needed to to present the test", Kim continued. "The main thing is to have the horse back. We've actually gotten a better bond than we've ever had before." Only one other person, Phillip Dutton (AUS), the last rider of the day, was able to crack the top three. Phillip lives in West Grove, PA. Phillip's ride, Nova Top, is a 13 year old chestnut Thoroughbred gelding owned by Shannon Stimson, of Middleburg, VA. Last year Nova Top won the CIC*** at Red Hills and the CCI*** at Foxhall. Phillip could not attend the Press Conference because he had an engagement with one of his sponsors, Fort Dodge, the company that created the new West Nile vaccine. William Fox-Pitt (GBR), the overnight leader, who now stands third, said of the course, "Given the soft ground, it's going to be a true four star test." Others to break in to the top twelve on Friday included: David O'Connor and Courting Danger; Bruce Davidson with Arrow; William Fox-Pitt (GBR), on his second ride, Ballincoola; Heidi Antikatdidis riding Fairfax; and Julie Richards on Jacob Two Two.
The top twelve, in the CIC****, after the Dressage Phase are: 1.
Kim Severson, Winsome Adante - 37.0 44 horses competed.
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