LaurenGallops

Well, the jog started shortly before 11 on Wednesday with riders presenting a total of 45 horses: six from Great Britain, seven from Canada, two New Zealand, two from Australia, and 28 from the United States. Two were held for re-presentation – Gryffindor (Kristin Bachman) and Hollywood (Kelly Sult), both American entries. All of them got the nod to start from the ground jury composed of Angela Tucker (GB), Sue Baxter (GB) and Wayne Quarles (USA). The first day of dressage began at 10 am Thursday.

The vet inspection photos lend credence to Wednesday’s dramatic weather: early pix are darker with hints of drizzle, later pix are bright with sunshine. Go figure. Mother Nature needs some sort of attitude adjustment. The rain let up last night after dark and cleared to sporadic drizzle.

Here’s a run-down of the with highlights of the Sponsor-Competitor party that took place yesterday evening at Spindletop Hall AND the results of the first day of dressage, to boot.

The following photos are by fellow Sidelines blogger Beth Harpham, who’s helping us to capture all the action: she braved the elements to shoot the jog photos. She was also in the right place at the right time to shoot two flat work schools: Mark Todd/Grass Valley and William Fox-Pitt/Neuf des Coeurs. Those tall lean guys make their mounts look like big ponies!

Danny Hulse presents the Dubarry Style Award to Allison Springer at Spindletop Hall during the Sponsor/Competitor party Wednesday night. ©Lauren R Giannini

Rolex, celebrating its 31st year as title sponsor, held their traditional rider drawing for a Rolex watch. The winner – ta-DAH! – was Allison Springer. Booted bling and wrist bling – such omens would have the rest of us touching wood, but as Allison herself said in the press conference at the conclusion of today’s tests: ““I think I’ve just got to roll with these good vibes. I fully intend on making it continue to go well,” said Allison. “It’s a great dressage score, but I don’t think it’s good enough. I think we’re going to see some 30s tomorrow.”

Meanwhile, back to the jog…

Mark Todd (NZL) came out of retirement after eight years away, hoping to make the 2008 Olympics, but he didn’t. He’s still competing, and at 55 became the oldest rider to pilot NZB Land Vision and win Badminton, which took place the week before Rolex.  His partner for Rolex is Grass Valley and the duo enjoyed a pretty good tour of the venue at the Alltech Games where they placed 11th. The FEI Horseman of the Century seems to be hitting his stride, keeping a steady eye on the 2012 Olympics. The legendary kiwi ain’t ready to hang up his tack – not yet, not by a long shot. He tackles his Rolex dressage test late Friday morning.

Then, consider William Fox-Pitt (GBR) and Neuf des Coeurs, 10-year-old French-bred Selle Francais and a proven CCI*** winner, but a first-timer at  the four-star level. Here’s the deal: last year William Fox-Pitt brought his “less experienced” horse, Cool Mountain, to Rolex and they won in the horse’s four-star debut. Then, to top off their Rolex performance, they went out and earned team gold at the Alltech World Equestrian Games and claimed the individual silver medal. There is definitely a language difference: less experienced must mean potential world beater in English-English.

Then you have Mary King (GBR) who has two rides in this Rolex. Kings Temptress sits in second place after day one of dressage, but this veteran rider has been around a lot of international courses…

Will Coleman and Twizzel placed third on 48.2, with Kim Severson and Tipperary Liadhnan in fourth on 48.5. Boyd Martin and Remington XXV had two errors to score 49.0 penalty points for fifth place.

We’ve run out of steam – it’s been a long week with the drive from Virginia to Kentucky, the weather and long hours playing catch-up on deadlines. But stay tuned for more tomorrow as the standings change during the second day of dressage.