Oliver Townend Poised for a Hat Trick at the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event Presented by MARS Equestrian
The CCI5*-L leaderboard looks very different after an exciting day of cross-country at The Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event Presented by MARS Equestrian™ (LRK3DE) at the Kentucky Horse Park.
Oliver Townend (GBR) turned in two clear rounds Saturday and sits first overnight with Ballaghmor Class and eighth with Cooley Master Class. Both horses lost a shoe on course, and persistent rain made the footing slick.
For me this was the toughest cross-country course for a long, long time at the Five Star level. It’s right up there with the very toughest in the world,”
Townend said.
“It’s right up there with the very toughest in the world,”
Oliver Townend (GBR)
Both horses had a tough enough time out there. I’m still very emotional about how amazing they both are. They’ve both literally given me their heart and soul today.”
By the time Townend left the startbox with Ballaghmor Class, it had been raining heavily for some time. The horse lost a shoe at fence seven, so Townend said he tried to protect his mount around the slippery turns. Still, they crossed the finish only two seconds over the optimum time to take the lead on 27.3.
He’s an unbelievable cross-country machine. With a shoe he could have been ten or 12 seconds inside the time without any sweat,”
Townend said of the Irish gelding owned by Karyn Shutter, Angela Hislop, and Val Ryan.
I’d love to be stylish and ride the round I’d like to ride, but it wasn’t meant to be this time. It was rough and tumble and start and stop and just trying to keep him on his feet.”
Townend praised Ballaghmor Class’s “tenacity, ability, strength, and complete robustness to do the performance he did” in difficult conditions. Likewise, Townend had to work to bring Angela Hislop’s Cooley Master Class home clear with 6.4 time penalties.
Cooley Master Class didn’t have a smooth trip at all, but every time I gave him a squeeze he stuck his head down and did what he could,”
Townend said.
He lost a back shoe early on and slipped and slid. He wasn’t full of confidence and he wasn’t jumping particularly high, but at the same time he did what good horses do and dug deep and I was very happy with him.”
Townend is now in a position to take a third consecutive win in the CCI5*-L, but with the top eight all within a rail of first place, there is no margin for error in the final phase.
Boyd Martin (USA) is the highest placed American, sitting in second place after cross-country. He and On Cue, a French mare owned by Martin and Christine, Thomas, and Tommie Turner, made it through the finish flags clear with just 0.8 time penalties to add. They head to show jumping hot on Townend’s heels with a score of 27.8.
She’s a lovely horse. She’s got an awesome gallop and she’s a good jumper. This year she’s given me a great feel in the preparation events,”
Martin said.
Riding this event for over a decade, I would say this was one of the harder cross-country courses that I have seen designed here. I watched a couple of early horses and it seemed like you had to start fast and stay as quick, nifty, and direct as you can.”
Unfortunately, Martin fell off Long Island T and Tsetserleg TSF, both of which were placed in the top 11 after dressage. Martin said he is stiff and sore but has been checked out by the doctor and is good to go. The horses, he reported, are also okay.
If you want to win, you’ve got to have a crack at it. I’d rather fail trying to win it than just tippy-toeing around. That’s the sport and there’s no shame in going for it.”
Tim Price (NZL) and Xavier Faer round out the top three after cross-country. He posted one of only three double-clear rounds in the CCI5*-L for a two-phase score of 28.2. Price is also sitting in ninth with Bango, having added only 1.2 time penalties and moving up from 24th.
I leaned on the advantage of having seen quite a few [rounds] before Xavier Faer. You could see a lot of horses coming home quite well and recovering well so I thought there was an opportunity to go for a bit more at the beginning of the course to try and get up on the time and then just maintain it home. That’s what I set out to achieve,”
Price said. Price describes Xavier Faer, owned by himself, Trisha Rickards, and Nigella Hall, as a good “rhythm horse” who can sometimes lose focus and momentum.
Today he set out like he was really on his job. It was a good, smooth round. He’s a big striding horse and can do a lot of different things with his scope and strength. I think that’s what gives us the ability to go inside the time.”
Price said.
Time penalties proved to be the deciding factor in the Five Star. Dressage leader Marilyn Little jumped clear with RF Scandalous but added 28.4 time faults to move well down the leaderboard. Tamie Smith and Mai Baum, who were second after dressage, activated a frangible pin on course for 11 penalties in addition to 6.0 time penalties.
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