United States Eventing Association

Aiken, S.C.—April 4—Charles Pinnell, cross-country announcer, said it best—it was a “picture-perfect Saturday here in Aiken, South Carolina.”

The day at Stable View started early with the remaining national divisions starting their weekend in the Tree Arena with dressage. The FEI divisions got underway promptly at 9:30 with the CCI2*-S taking on Chris Barnard’s show jumping track and the CCI3*-S taking on Helen West’s cross-country course.

The CCI3*-S saw some shifts in the leaderboard, however. Tamie Smith was able to hold onto her lead with Ruth Bley’s Danito, after adding only 9 seconds of time to finish on a 31.0. Madison Temkin and Fernhill Bertus also held onto second place finishing on a 32.2. Caroline Pamukcu and HSH Sebastian climbed seven places to finish in third on a 33.9 adding just one second of time to their score. Lucia Strini and MGH Mr Messack were the only combination to go double-clear.

Boyd Martin and Mo Chroi, who were originally in third, unfortunately took a tumble at 7A. Martin withdrew his four-star horses, but he is reported uninjured and on his way back to Pennsylvania. The Intermediate was next out on cross-country. Katelyn Smith and HSH Henry moved up to first to finish on a 40.7.

In the CCI4*-S, Lucienne Bellissimo and Horse Scout Eventing LLC’s Dyri held their lead to finish on a 27.7. They were one of only two double-clear rounds. Bellissimo also rode Kitsch Couture HPK in the division, who she finished ninth with. When asked about her rides she shared, “I was using this run as a nice Kentucky prep for Kitsch Couture HPK; she gave me a super clear and feels ready for her first Kentucky experience. Dyri, I came here with the goal of trying to win, and he started as well as he finished today with a 27.0. He was class everywhere, and I really liked how attacking the course was; credit to Helen West. I’m so happy for Dyri; he deserved a good win and to make the time.”

Alexandra Knowles and Montpellier Scais moved up to second place to finish their weekend on a 35.0. She also navigated LS Crown Royal around the four-star to finish on a 48.8 to end in 13th place. Knowles shared, “I had two in the four-star. My very new 8-year-old, this was his first Advanced, and so I took an easy trip around the track because I’m still getting to know him. That was a really nice opportunity for me to see how it was riding and how the distances were so when I went out on Montpellier, which was only his second four-star, I knew a bit more about the track. I knew to put the pedal down, and I knew there was an opportunity to move up. I kind of put his feet to the fire. It’s definitely the fastest I’ve run him, and he was all business. I can’t even describe how proud of him I am. This was the first time he came out, and I was like, 'Let’s go win this.' Both of them just cruised around like champions. It was a great weekend overall!”

Aiken rider Waylon Roberts and Andrea McAllister’s Fernhill Salt Lake were the first double-clear of the day, and the only other combination to make the time besides Bellissimo and Dyri. They finished in third on a 36.1. Roberts also rode two other horses successfully over West’s track. He finished eighth with Slieve Callan Alpha and 11th with Chevalier.

Roberts noted, ““I couldn’t be more excited for all three of them. The course rode so smooth. I think Helen did a fantastic job. The track really felt like a cross-country track out there. It was challenging enough at times but then it wasn’t over the top, because we’re still early in the season preparing for four-long formats. I thought it was just a great day of sport.”

When asked about his next plans for his horses, he shared, “This was a big day getting these three MERs at the level. Now all three of them are qualified to go four-long. I think the plan is going to be to go show jump at Progressive Show Jumping on the grass in a couple weeks and then aim them at the four-long at Tryon. Then we have the Bromont four-long in our back pocket.”

In the Advanced, Colin Gaffney and Baymax topped the leaderboard after a successful run to finish their weekend on a 49.2.

It was a good weekend in the office for Knowles. In addition to finishing second in the CCI4*-S she topped the CCI2*-S podium with Tip Top Quality. They added only two cross-country time penalties to keep their first place lead and finish on a 26.0. Meaghan Marinovich-Burdick and Cooley Mr. Murphy moved up to second place after their double clear round to finish on a 30.3. Katie Lichten and Fast Company finished in third just .1 behind Marinovich-Burdick on a 30.4.

It was also a good weekend in the office for Marinovich-Burdick. She finished first in the CCI1*-S with her own Excalibur O’ Donoghue, finishing on their dressage score of 30.4. Hayley Frielick and Dunedin LB Muze were only one second over the optimum time to slip to second on a 30.8, and Carly Seus and EHF Casiro Royale moved up to third place to finish on a 34.2.

Check out the rest of the scores from today here.

Stable View thanks all of the volunteers and officials for helping with smooth running of the event and wishes the national riders the best of luck tomorrow. Come out and celebrate Easter at Stable View!