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1. Kristin Bachman, Gryffindor - 48.2, DCXC= 48.2 (Kristin and Le Samurai are pictured at the right at The Fork.)
2. Heidi White, Northern Spy - 52.0, DCXC = 52.0
3. Clayton Fredericks (AUS), Ben Along Time - 47.4, 5.6 time XC = 53.0
4. Will Faudree, Antigua - 53.3, DCXC = 54.3
5. Karen Donckers (BEL), Gazelle de la Brassreie - 52, 4 time XC = 56.0
6. Phillip Dutton, Tru Luck - 55.7, DCXC - 55.7

NB: Amy Tryon and Le Samurai finished in second place after Cross Country on 47.0, 3.2 time XC = 50.2; but, withdrew after Cross Country. Le Samurai broke down before the finish and was vanned off to the Hagyard Equine Medical Institute.

Eight competitors ran double clear cross Country:

1. Kristin Bachman, Gryffindor - 48.2
2. Heidi White, Northern Spy - 52.0
4. Will Faudree, Antigua - 53.0
6. Phillip Dutton, Truluck - 55.7
8. Wendy Schaeffer ((AUS) - 57.6
10, Sara Mittleider, El Primero - 60.4
11. Mary King, Apache Sauce - 60.7
12. Jonathan Holling, Direct Merger - 63.2

For those of you who are interested, The Bruce, ridden by Stewart Strawbridge, won the Maryland Hunt Cup by three lengths from two time previous winner Bug River ridden by Blair Wyatt and Lear Charm, ridden by Blake Curry, who finished in a dead heat for second. Four horses from eight runners finished. Full story with pictures on Monday.

In the early stages of the Cross Country at Rolex Kentucky, the Leader Board looks like this:

1. Karin Donckers (BEL), Gazelle de la Brassrerie - 52, 4 time XC = 56.0 (Karin and Gazelle de la Brasserie are pictured at the left at the WEG, in Aachen, Germany.)
2. Phillip Dutton, Connaught, 48.7, 8.4 time XC = 57.1
3. Wendy Schaeffer (AUS), 57.6, DCXC = 57.6

Australia's Wendy Schaeffer riding Koyuna Sun Magic ran the first double clear of the day - no jumping faults and no time faults - to finish the day in third place on a score of 57.6.

Later in the morning two more competitors rode double clears: Sara Mittleider and El Primero for 60.4 and Jonathan Holling with Direct Merger for 63.2.

Problems on Cross country included a stop and a fall for Sharon White on Ronaldo at the Normandy Bank and two refusals, one at the Birch Rails, for Jan Byyny and Waterfront.

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Washington’s Kristin Bachman and Gryffindor Lead after Cross-Country at 2007 Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event, presented by Farnam

Nearly 47,000 people turned out for a spectacular day of cross-country at the 2007 Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event, presented by Farnam. A variation of last year’s course greeted horses and riders, and at the end of a tumultuous day, Kristin Bachman, riding in only her second four-star on her own Gryffindor found herself on top of a very classy heap of horses and riders with a score of 48.2.

But, the first “horse” out on course was actually Theodore O’Connor, who stands 14.1 hands. With one of the most experienced pilots in the game on his back, Karen O’Connor, he clocked around the course picking up just a handful of time penalties to end cross-country on a score of 60.1. They ended the day in 15th place.

“I’m speechless,” said O’Connor. “Our goal with this pony has always been to never over face him and never show him what he can’t do. I was very nervous coming into the cross-country today. But, as each exercise came, he just proved to me that he is just one-in-a-million horse. I’m in awe of him.”

Bachman, a Washington state native now based in The Plains, VA, picked up a run-out last year here, but made no mistake today clocking around a track that many of the world’s most experienced riders fell victim to.

“I am sitting on the best horse in the world,” said Bachman of the 13-year-old U.S.-bred Thoroughbred. “He was amazing. After [fence] 20, he tripped or bobbled and that was the only thing. He was better than last year at the quarry. He actually did jump to the bottom.”

Sitting in sixth after the dressage, Bachman was the fourth rider to make the time on course.

Overnight leader Amy Tryon ended Saturday in second after adding 3.2 time penalties, but promptly withdrew the horse at the end of the cross-country. The horse sustained a serious injury at the last fence to his left front ankle and was moved from the finish to a veterinary clinic by horse ambulance.

“He has lost the ligamental support to the fetlock of the left front leg,” said FEI Veterinary Delegate Dr. Catherine Kohn. “He is resting comfortably this evening.”

Second here last year, Heidi White-Carty and her beloved 13-year-old Northern Spy find themselves in the same position again after the cross-country. In 10th after the first phase, they added nothing to their dressage score of 52.0 despite being held before the Head of the Lake obstacle after Heath Ryan fell toward the end of the course. They romped around the Kentucky track together for the fourth time in five years.

“It was all hard,” said White-Carty of the course. “But, he was fantastic. The Normandy Bank to the style was very similar to the fence at the WEG where I had a bit of a hiccup and had to go the long way, so I really wanted to pay attention there.”

This leaves Bachman without rail in-hand when she enters the show jumping tomorrow afternoon.

Two riders after Bachman, Australian Clayton Fredericks, who was sitting third after the dressage, put in a very workmanlike round on Ben Along Time, the 2005 FEI World Cup Champion and Silver medalist from the FEI World Equestrian Games, to maintain his position.

“I think I maybe took a few too many half-halts out there,” said Fredericks of his 5.6 time penalties to finish on a new score of 53.0.

American rider, Will Faudree, and 18-year-old Antigua had an impressive round to easily make the time. Horse and rider, veterans of the Pan American Games and a teammate of White-Carty’s at last year’s FEI World Equestrian Games own a perfect record on the cross-country through their five-year relationship. Based in Southern Pines, Faudree jumped up from 12th after the dressage to fourth.

“It’s pretty exciting when a horse has done as much as he’s done, and he’s still pulling to the finish, asking ‘What’s next?’” said Faudree. “I’m so lucky. I feel good about tomorrow. I’m going to go in and do my best. The horse owes me nothing.”

The highest-placed young rider in the field is Sarah Mittleider. The Idaho-native made her third cross-country trip to Kentucky worth it, picking up the second double-clean of the day and rocketing up the leader board from 23rd after the dressage to 10th going into the show jumping. Eleven-year-old El Primero made light work of the track, and Mittleider eyes her first team spot for the Pan American Games this summer.

“He was fabulous,” she said. “We didn’t have a great warm up, and then I realized that my bit wasn’t put on correctly. I got that fixed, and we had one jump and then we went and he was just so on. He came out of the box and was like, ‘We’re at Rolex again…let’s go.’ He gets so confident the further he goes in the course, but he never gets cocky. He never really gets strong. He can be hard to bring back, but he’s not very fast so you’re never out of control out there. I would love to take him to the Pan Ams. He just seems to keep improving this year.”

Heading into Sunday’s final phase of the event, 33 horses remain to go forward to the morning’s horse inspection.

The Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event, Presented by Farnam, is the only four-star event in the Western hemisphere. Riders compete in this competition for their share of $200,000 in prize money, with the winning owner receiving $65,000. The winning rider gets to sport a new Rolex watch. The USET Pinnacle Trophy is presented to the top American rider, who is also named the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) National CCI**** Eventing National Champion.

Highlights from the event will be broadcast by NBC Sports in a one-hour special on Sunday, May 6, from 5:00-6:00 p.m. EDT. In addition, fans who aren’t able to make it to the Kentucky Horse Park for the event can still catch the action live through NBCSports.com’s daily webcast, available at www.mediazone.com/channel/nbcsports/equestrian/index.jsp. These webcasts were made possible through the joint efforts of NBC; Equestrian Events, Inc., the producer of the event; and the USEF.

Joanie Morris

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Alden Murray Writes of Saturday's Cross Country Day:

What a difference a day makes. Once again, Rolex’s cross-country course proved highly influential. The top ten riders shifted dramatically today. Amy Tryon on Le Samurai had a foot-perfect round until the last fence, the Rolex Arch. Sparky seemed to stumble before the fence, and gamely jumped it. Amy pulled up after crossing the finish line, and Sparky was assisted immediately by the Rolex veterinary staff. It was announced later this afternoon that Amy had withdrawn. In a statement given by Rolex veterinarian, Dr. Catherine W. Kohn V.M.D., "Le Samurai had experienced an injury, and it appears that he lost the supporting ligaments in his left front leg. He was given a mild sedative to keep him comfortable, and he’s being treated at Hagyard Equine Medical Institute."

Currently standing in first place is Kristin Bachman riding Gryffindor. Kristin moved up five places after cross-country by posting one of eight double-clear rounds. When asked what she thought of her ride, Kristin said, "I just wanted to improve from last year. Last year I made a couple of Rookie mistakes, today he was spot on."

Moving up ten spots from yesterday was Heidi White Carty piloting Northern Spy. Heidi was held on course when Heath Ryan’s horse, Flame took a tumble at The Dray. Ryan was attended by the on-site medical staff, and driven off the course. It was the first time Heidi has ever been held on course, and she said, "I was held at the first jump before the Head of the Lake (#21, The Basket), but the jump stewards were phenomenal. They put water on my horse, and I just tried to stay focused." Focused she was, as Heidi had one of the nicest rides of the day. Her huge gelding ate up the course, and felt so well afterwards that Heidi stated, "He was jigging back to the barn."

Clayton Fredericks kept his third place position on Ben Along Time. Clayton added 5.6 time penalties to his dressage score, but was pleased with his horse’s go. "I just gave one too many half-halts," he said in this afternoon’s press conference. "Every time you take a tug, you lose a second or two. I just took 26 tugs too many."

Posting another double-clear was Will Faudree aboard his veteran campaigner, Antigua. Will is known for his daring, yet accurate riding, and today he didn’t disappoint his many fans. Will had one of the fastest, if not the fastest round of the day. He enters tomorrow’s show jumping in fourth place.

Young Rider, Sara Mittleider, had a blistering ride aboard El Primero. Sara showed a crowd of nearly 47,000 how to ride cross-country. Her ride was fast, and foot-perfect. I’ve been amazed by Sara since she made her Rolex debut in 2005. She’s a tough, gutsy rider, and she stands in 10th place.

Perhaps the most awe-inspiring ride today (and there were many: Mary King and Tara Ziegler to name a couple others) had to have been Karen O’Connor riding the PONY, Theodore O’Connor. Karen not only had the crowds cheering after every fence, but had those of us in the Media Center as well. Karen’s ride was nearly perfect. "Teddy", clearly ready, met every fence dead-on, and Karen gave all of us a real riding lesson. When asked about her ride, Karen said, "It was a great learning experience. I’m still drunk on "pony power." When queried on how she was going to keep him focused for show jumping, Karen replied, "That’s pretty easy, he looks up to everything anyway."

Tomorrow’s final horse inspection begins tomorrow at 8:30 am, and show jumping begins at 1:30pm.

For pictures and a complete list of all today’s results, please use the "Scoreboard" link on this website.

See you at the Horse Park!

Alden Murray

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