Galway
Downs Is Right up King’s Street 
Tiana
Coudray (USA), an 18-year-old from Carmel Valley, California, scored the biggest
victory of her career when she produced the only clear stadium round to win the
FEI World Cup™ qualifier at Galway Downs (USA) in front of a crowd of 3,000
in Temecula’s Valle de los Caballos (Valley of the Horses), California.
Coudray,
who is aiming to compete at the forthcoming Rolex Kentucky CCI**** (USA) on her
10-year-old Irish Sport Horse King Street, said: “It was a very hard course,
but we didn’t come here to win. We were just trying to get ready for Kentucky.
He is a very good cross-country horse. He was a little strong in the beginning,
but settled as we went along.” Runner-up at the 2006 Kalispell FEI
World Cup™ qualifier, Coudray lay fourth after dressage at Galway Downs but
finished within the cross-country optimum time of 6min 39sec to lie jointly in
the lead on 54.8 penalties with Killian O’Connor (USA) riding Jolie Sexson.
However, O’Connor later dropped out of the reckoning and Kelly Prather
(USA) moved up from third to second (61.7 penalties) with one rail down on Ballinakill
Glory. Jennifer Wooten (USA) and her little mare The Good Witch, who competed
in the FEI World Cup™ final in Malmo (SWE) last year, similarly rose a place
to third (61.9). Gina Miles (USA) and her four-star veteran horse, the 13-year-old
McKinlaigh, who are entered for Badminton next month, led the dressage phase on
47 but were prevented from going across country because Miles was suffering from
a migraine. Grant Hemingway (USA) lay second after dressage on Nieco (52.1),
but slipped down the order with 16.4 cross-country time penalties. There
were 12 clear cross-country rounds over Mike Etherington-Smith’s course from
the 17 starters. Full results on www.galwaydowns.com. After four competitions,
Jonathan Hollings (USA) leads the 2006-08 FEI World Cup™ rankings, for which
the final will take place next spring, on 118 points with a win and a place at
Tallahassee (USA). Tiana Coudray slips into joint second on 100 points
with Fontainebleau (FRA) winner Nicolas Touzaint (FRA) and Peter Thomsen (GER),
who took the first competition in the series, Bonn-Rodderberg (GER) last October.
Phillip Dutton (USA), the 2006 points leader, and Ingrid Klimke (GER) are in joint
fifth on 60 points apiece. This Easter weekend (April 6-8) there is FEI
World Cup™ action on all sides of the world: at Norwood, North Carolina (USA),
Kihikihi (NZL) and Burnham Market (GBR). Kihikihi is offering New Zealand’s
biggest first prize this season, NZ$5,000, plus a new course designed by John
Nicholson; Norwood has received a bumper 44 entries, including from Holling and
Dutton, plus Olympic silver medallist Kim Severson (USA) on Winsome Adante; and
Burnham Market’s entry of 36 includes the reigning World Champions, Zara
Phillips (GBR) and Toytown, plus the 2005 FEI World Cup™ champions Clayton
Fredericks (AUS) and Ben Along Time.
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