Sunday,
March 20 - Show Jumping Day
Sunday
was officially the first day of Spring. Southern Pines was blessed with a beautiful
day which was sunny and warm enough for shirt sleeves, in the sun..
Advanced
Dressage Test "D"
Kim
Severson and her Olympic Individual Silver Medal ride, Linda Wachtmeister's Winsome
Adante, who had turned in the fastest Cross Country 
run
of any competitor in the three Advanced Sections at Southern Pines, had one rail
down for 4 faults in the Show Jumping to maintain their lead and win the Dressage
Test "D" Section on a score of 41.3. (Kim and Winsome Adante are
pictured at the right.)
Corinne
Ashton, who jumped one of only two double clear rounds in the Show Jumping in
this Section, moved up a place from third to second as she finished on a score
of 45.2.
Nathalie
Bouckaert and West Farthing also pulled one rail which dropped them a slot, placing
them just .4 of a fault behind Ashton and Dobbin, on 45.60, for third place.
*
* * *
Advanced
Test "C", Section "A"
Virginia's
Wendy Bebie jumped one of two double clears in Show Jumping to maintain her first
place standing with Phoenix, her Cheval de Selle Francais 
gelding.
(Wendy and Phoenix are pictured at the left.)
Wendy,
who grooms for herself, told of how Phoenix had fallen with her in the warm up
area, as she was schooling for the Show Jumping. Neither Wendy nor Phoenix seemed
any the worse for their mishap.
Southern
Pines was Wendy's second ever Advanced competition as well as her second win at
the Advanced level - the pair won at Pine Top two weeks ago.
"Wendy
commented, "He loves his job. He stayed at Novice for ages. This horse has
done his homework. Every time I compete at Advanced, I find another hole in my
training. I am not going to do any FEI events this spring. Of course, like everyone
else, I dream of going to Fair Hill in the fall."
Eventing fans
will remember that Wendy won the first ever CCI* at Morven Park, with a horse
named Lunar Eclipse, who was tragically kicked in the field several weeks after
that victory and had to be put down."That was my biggest win ever,"
Wendy smiled.
Will
Faudree, one of Southern Pines' home town heros, maintained his overnight second
place riding Nanki Doubleday's Wild Frontier. The pair had one rail down in the
Arena for a final score of 56.00.
Stuart
Black rose from fifth place after Cross Country to third with Fleeceworks Blackout
who jumped the other double clear in the section for a score of 62.60.
Phillip
Dutton had his second outing and his first Advanced run with Abigail Lufkin's
Don't Step Back who pulled two railsin the third phase, to drop from third to
fourth on a final score of 63.60.
*
* * *
Advanced
Test "C", Section "B"
Stuart
Black
riding
Fleeceworks Starlight managed to win Section "B" despite two rails down
for 8 faults in the Show Jumping and a final score of 57.1 which 
kept
him .7 of a fault ahead of Athens Olympic Team Bronze Medalist Amy Tryon with
Poggio II, her Olympic mount. (Stuart and Fleeceworks Starlight are pictured
at the right.)
Stuart
said, by way of explanation, "Phillip gave me a super warm up - the girl
(meaning the mare) was just more excited than usual. She is usually very laid
back, perhaps this is her new found enthusiasm for the sport. This is only her
second Advanced. We are planning to do Morven and then the Foxhall (CIC) ***.
Amy
only arrived in the east from her home in Washington State a week prior to Southern
Pines. "We did the Training Session (with Mark Phillips) before Southern
Pines.
Liza
Horan and Johnny McCarthy placed third on a final score of 59.80, with three time
faults in the Show Jumping.
*
* * * *
Intermediate
Sections
of Intermediate were won by Becky Holder and Early Achiever (37.40),
from
Kim
Severson with Midas (39.90); Erin Contino, riding Denny Emerson's Just Lyndi,
who finished on their Dressage score (38.50) from Kim Severson with Royal Venture
(43.50) who was having his first outing of the 2005 season; and Megan McGregor
(YR/OI) with NZ Zip (53.70).
Bad
News - Good News
Irish Lad, ridden by Emily Beshear, fell at the Garden Steps in the OI Cross Country
and was unable to move his hind end. He was vanned off the course and, as of Sunday
morning, was being maintained in a sling with swelling around his spinal cord
and a possible vertebra fracture.
Skyeler
Icke had a fall with Dillinger in the Advanced at the American Garden fence -
a series of three tables on a bending line, in the race track infield. Skyeler
suffered a lacerated liver and a broken pelvis.
John
Strassburger, Editor of The Chronicle, led from the Dressage phase
onwards, in Open Preliminary Section "A". A double clear Cross Country
and one rail, for 4 faults in Show Jumping, gave him a final score of 29.5 and
the win. (John and Master Merlin are pictured at the left in the Dressage Phase.)
Other
Preliminary winners were Kim Ziegler with Tommy Flight (27.70) and Missy Ransehousen
riding Carlingford's Taldi (31.50).
For
complete results please click on Event Results at the above left.
