FOX-PITT AND COOL MOUNTAIN HOLD ON TO THEIR LEAD AFTER CROSS-COUNTRY
Apr 25th, 10
FOX-PITT AND COOL MOUNTAIN HOLD ON TO THEIR LEAD AFTER CROSS-COUNTRY
Lexington, KY—After a long day over what some said was a less technical cross-country course than in years past, Great Britain’s William Fox-Pitt and the 10-year-old gelding Cool Mountain held on to their lead, putting in one of 10 double-clear rounds. Kim Severson and Tipperary Liadhnan moved up from fourth to second with their double clear, and Becky Holder and Courageous Comet moved from fifth to third with their double-clear round which included the clock stopping at exactly the time allowed of 11 minutes and eight seconds.
At yesterday’s press conference Fox-Pitt was not sure he would retain the lead with his young horse, but Cool Mountain proved to be cool as a cucumber on course today…maybe too cool though.
“My chap got a little bit tired, but he is a bit lazy anyway,” said Fox-Pitt. “He’d like to pull himself up after three minutes, but that’s how he is and that’s why he doesn’t always do well in dressage. He doesn’t really have any desire to go any faster than you’re making him, but he is very, very genuine. He stayed on his lines, and he had a really good go. I’m delighted with him and very excited.”
Severson was equally happy with her mount and their round today. “Paddy’s been quite a good cross-country horse,” she said. “All along that’s been his strongest phase, so I was really pleased with him despite trotting the corner in the water. I don’t know what happened there, but he jumped it…he got more tired than I was anticipating. I think as we’ve experienced here before when the ground starts to dry up it becomes a bit more holding. He was really great up to about nine minutes and then he definitely got tired. I was surprised. It’ll be interesting to see how he comes out tomorrow.”
Holder said she was pretty determined not to go out and pay too much attention to the clock but had identified the area where she wanted to focus her strategy. “The main one was coming out of the water as Comet can be a little spooky from time to time about weird footing changes, and Phillip said that The Foreman had a little bit of a moment of not reading it and that made my decision that I would go around and just loop over and take the long way. He’s such a quick horse. He’s got a fantastic gallop, and I think you can get on the time that way. He finished full of run, and I just really made an effort to make sure that I was clear and direct with all of my lines and that he could really see that I wanted him to jump.”
The leading riders feel the pressure going into tomorrow as everyone knows show jumping can change everything. There isn’t a rail between the top three riders. Fox-Pitt and Ollie are sitting on their dressage score of 42.8, Severson and Paddy are at 44.8, and Holder and Comet are also still at their dressage penalty score of 45.2.
“My horse is a tryer,” said Fox-Pitt. “He doesn’t ping much. If he’s feeling okay, he’ll do his best. He could have a rail. You don’t watch him and think he looks like Primrose Pride or one of the old time jumpers, but he’ll give it a good go just as long as I give him a nice ride, and I just hope he’s in one piece after today really.
Holder and Severson have had varying experiences at this point in the competition, but both have faith in their mounts and how far they’ve come. “I’ve been here a few times before so you guys probably know how nervous I am about tomorrow, but Comet’s kind of been on a steady rise in show jumping,” said Holder. “He’s become more consistent in that phase this year, and I am hoping I can give him a fair go, a fair ride tomorrow and see what we have.”
Severson concurs. “My show jumping has been very up and down with this horse. I believe in this horse. This horse is a very good show jumper. If I can stay out of his way enough to let him do his job, he will jump well. If I choose to speak louder than I should, I might inhibit his jump a little bit. We’ll just have to wait and see.”
Before the day started organizers opted to forego the lunch break and let all 52 riders ride straight through in an attempt to avoid some severe weather that should hit Lexington tonight. Some much-needed, overnight rain kept the terrain safe and uneventful, but riders were happy that the storm held off.
Two riders withdrew before cross-country. Phillip Dutton and Kheops Du Quesnay withdrew from the competition last night, and Amy Tryon and Leyland withdrew this morning. Five riders also retired on course, and seven were eliminated leaving 39 heading in to tomorrow’s final round.
This year’s competition includes many younger, greener horses and a few experienced horses, and close and careful attention is being paid to who might be ready for the upcoming WEG this fall in just 22 weeks. Today’s leaders agreed that there are no guarantees regardless of the experience your horse has. “My horse has started eight four star competitions, and I can still say that when you start a four star competition you still have to go jump by jump and see what you have on the day and ride that horse,” said Holder.