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Australia's Phillip Dutton rode August Vetterino's 9 year old thouroughbred gelding Amazing Odyssey to a double clear over Sally Ike's Show Jumping course to win the first Jersey Fresh CCI***. Phillip and the handsome gelding were the only pair in the competition to finish on their Dressage score (48.7), also having ridden a double clear over John William's Cross Country Course on Saturday.(Phillip and Amazing Odyssey are pictured at the right.)

Phillip commented, "He was a little excitable today. I had to go quite fast yesterday (on the Cross Country) so I just tried to keep him in my hand and ride him to the bottom of the fences."

Anyone present at the Allentown, New Jersey site this afternoon was treated to a display of horsemanship by a master. Phillip proved, once again, that he belongs among the elite of the sport both nationally, in the USA, and internationally. Phillip said that he hopes to compete in the FEI Eventing World Cup, in Malmo, Sweden, in August, though he did not mention which of his talented Advanced horses he would take.

Buck Davidson, who lives and trains out of Ringoes, New Jersey, finished second on Wendy Lewis' Hyperlite. This pair had been one of the three duos to attempt the infamous Bridge on the Cross Country Saturday, before it was removed from the course by the Ground Jury. Their wild ride there (Pictures of the full sequence will be available on this site later this week - two pictures are currently in the Cross Country report.) apparently did them no harm. They had three rails for 12 faults and a final score of 61.5, 12.8 faults adrift of the antipodean winner. (Buck and Hyperlite are pictured at the left.)

Wendy spoke about Hyperlite, "I started him as a four year old off the track. We never really got it together at Advanced. It just wasn't working. Buck's been riding him all winter to try to sell him."

Buck said, "Wendy's been a great student and a great friend. I hope she sells him and gets something nice. I'd love to keep riding him."

Karen O'Connor, of The Plains, Virginia, rode Mr. and Mrs. Richard Thompson's Joker's Wild to third place, with two ralis and one time fault in the Show Jumping for a final score of 71.20.

Karen spoke of Joker's Wild. "We had given up on him three years ago because of soundness issues. He has an arthritic ankle. Modern shoeing methods and diagnostic abilities have made it possible for him to continue to compete. He is the poster boy for magnetic imaging!"

Kim Severson rode Plain Dealing Farm's Maguire to fourth place on 74.4. Kim had led the Dressage with another of Linda Wachtmeister's stars, Royal Venture. The latter had a refusal at the first dock in the first water and Kim pulled him up after jumping it and the corner which followed successfully. Maguire stepped into the breach to save the day for Kim and the Scottsville, Virginia outfit.

Missy Ransehousen and Canada's Mike Winter made the two most dramatic rises due to their Show Jumping. Missy, of Unionville, PA, rose four places from 11th to 7th with Critical Decision, while Mike also rose four slots, from a tie for 12th to 8th.

Mike, who rides for Canada but resides in Newnan, Georgia, had been one of the unfortunate trio to have attempted the Bridge on the Cross Country on Saturday, and to have survived because of excellent horsemanship. Pictures in his series will also appear later this week.

The Top Eight Placings in the CCI*** were:

1. Phillip Dutton (AUS), Amazing Odyssey - 48.7
2. Buck Davidson, Hyperlite - 61.5
3. Karen O'Connor, Joker's Wild - 71.2
4. Kim Severson, Maguire - 74.4
5. Bonnie Mosser, Draco - 80.0
6. Liza Horan, Johnny McCarthy - 80.20
7. Missy Ransehousen, Critical Decision - 80.6
8. Mike Winter (CAN), Balista - 84.4

* * *

CCI** Show Jumping, Sunday Morning

18 year old Rebecca Brown came all the way from Dallas, Texas with her 9 year old Twinkle Toes to win the CCI** at Jersey Fresh, beating her elders, if not her betters. (Rebecca and Twinkle Toes are pictured at the left, jumping off the island into the water on the Cross Country on Saturday.)

Her coach said to her after the presentation, "Did you notice all the pink coats in the line up behind you?"

When asked if she were planning to go to Young Riders, Rebecca, who is about to graduate from Ursaline Academy, in Texas, answered, "That's such a topic with me! (Last year) Area 5 didn't really want me. Most of the Area 5 young riders ride with Mike Huber.

"Maybe we'll go to Radnor - my parents want me to take a semester off riding (to concentrate on school work).

"It's (winning Jersey Fresh) a stepping stone. I had three good rides It was showing that all the work I had done was really paying off."

Wendy Lewis, who lives in Medford, New Jersey, and trains with Buck Davidson, placed second with Steve Murphy's 9 year old Connemara/Thoroughbred Cross gelding Galway Blazer. "He's by the same Connemara sire, Grange Finsparrow, as Penny Rowland's Windswept," Wendy stated. (Wendy and Galway Blazer are pictured at the right jumping the corner after the Lexus Lake, on the Cross Country on Saturday.)

This pair moved from 5th after Cross Country to second on the strength of a four fault Show Jumping performance, for a final score of 66.4. "I was the most nervous I have been all year (going into Show Jumping) because the owners were there. It was the first competition Steve has ever been to."

Wendy went on to explain, "Steve is a business man who lives and works in New York City. He is either the President or the CEO of Rodell Publishing. He has a farm in Pennsylvania and thought it would be fun to have some horses in the fields. Among the horses he bought was a mare in foal - the foal turned out to be Galway Blazer. When he got to be five years old he needed to be broken. He has quite a buck in him and he bucked off six different people in the course of being broken. He was then sent to a hunter/jumper sales barn to be sold.

"Eventually he was sent to our barn, Golden Gait Farm, in Millstone, NJ. I loved him from day one. He started at Training level and moved up to Preliminary last year. He was 5th in Preliminary Horse of the Year last year. He was fifth at Foxhall this spring. Steve said, 'Sure, keep him.' The horse is really a special horse. I really click with the horse."

Wendy and Galway Blazer had an eventful Cross Country run. "I was fourth to go and fell on the turn after the Whiskey Barrels to the Chevron. They put footing down and moved the roping twice. In fairness, they took away half of my time faults." Galway Blazer's fall was not connected to jumping a fence so he received no penalties for the fall other than time faults incurred during the time it took to catch him and for Wendy to remount.

Steve Bradley, who had been in the lead throughout the CCI**, and who had a 14.3 fault cushion going into Show Jumping with his catch ride, Jane Sleeper's New Moon, had a perfectly horrid time in the Stadium and dropped to third with five rails down for 20 faults and a final score of 66.6.

The Top Ten in the CCI** Were:

1. Rebecca Brown, Twinkle Toes - 61.2
2. Wendt Lewis, Galway Blazer - 66.4
3. Stephen Bradley, New Moon - 66.6
4. Melissa Silverman, Center Stage - 68.9
5. Sharon White, Ronaldo - 70.6
6. Ursula Brush, Bru Maguire - 74.6
7. Adrienne Iorio-Borden, Better I Do It - 78.2
8. Danny Warrington, Discover The Power - 81.8
9. Dorothy Crowell, El Guapo - 92.0
10. Heather Gillette, Pickle Road - 94.4

(Rebecca Brown and Twinkle Toes are pictured at the left during their Victory Gallop.)

* * * *

The Final Veterinary Examination, Sunday Morning

The Final Veterinary Examination was influential in deciding the final result of The CCI***.

Four horses were held: Will Faudree's Wild Frontier, 5th after Cross Country; Mary Bess Horton's Mojo Rising, 12th after Cross Country; Peter Green's Magical, 19th after Cross Country; and Laura Vandervliet's Topspin, 22nd after Cross Country.

Lellie Ward did not present Riverdance, who stood 27th after Cross Country.

Sadly, neither Faudree's Wild Frontier nor Vandervliet's Topspin were accepted upon re-inspection.

In the CCI** Sally Shirley's Say You Do was held but passed upon re-inspection.