Thursday, May 8 - Dressage

The Ground Jury:

Loris Henry
Jo Young
Wayne Quarles

Twenty CCI*** horse and rider combinations did their Dressage on Thursday
at Jersey Fresh, at the New Jersey Horse Park off Exit 7A on the New Jersey Turnpike. The weather held fairly well except for a sudden deluge just as Amy Tryon entered the Dressage Ring.

Friday's forcast is for rain all day and inclement weather threatens the weekend as well.

Great Britain's Leslie Law had an outstanding test riding Fleeceworks Mystere du Val, formerly the ride of Stuart Black. (Leslie and Mystere du Val are pictured at the right above.) Their score of 38.0 is 6.1 faults ahead of second place Karen O'Connor who rode Allstar on Thursday. Karen will ride her second horse Mandiba on Friday. (Karen and Allstar are pictured at the left below.)

Kristen Bond stands third with Three Wishes II and Nicholas Cwick, all the way from Gilroy, California, is in the fourth spot. (Nicholas and Asterix are pictured at the right below.)

Carol Kozlowski is in first place in the CCI** 2.3 faults ahead of William Coleman and Twizzel.

CCI*** Dressage Top Six After the First Day:

1. Leslie Law (GBR), Fleeceworks Mystere du Val - 38.0
2. Karen O'Connor, Allstar - 44.1
3. Kristen Bond, Three Wishes II - 47.4
4. Nicholas Cwick, Asterix - 51.3
5. Tory Smith, Bantry Bay V - 52.2
6T. Amy Tryon, Leyland - 52.4
6T. Lauren Kieffer, Tigger Too - 52.4

CCI** Dressage Top Three After First Day:

1. Carol Kozlowski, Take Time - 46.9
2. William Coleman, Twizzel 49.2
3. Phillip Dutton, Risk Taker - 50.0

The Cross Country Course

I had a lovely ride 'round the course in a Kubota with Course Designer John Williams. He has set what appears to be an ultimately fair and appropriate course for the three star level.

The two fences which apparently concern riders the most are a bounce in the trees, which might cause shadows if the sun ever comes out, and an almost square white table - called "The White House", because of its columns - at the far end of the course. (The bounce is pictured below at the left.) In addition, the rather large logs of the first element of the bounce tend to obscure the skinny bounce element "B". There is an alternative to the "B" element.

Course builder Morgan Rowsel has done a very good job of construction and decoration.

Course designer John Williams said that when difficult fences are repeated in a second year that the competitors who have jumped them the previous year tend to discount their difficulty or to lose their respect for them. These people are also often coaches or advisors. "I try to do a make over to replace their lack of respect."