Friday,
April 29 - the Second Day of Dressage
Once
again Phillip Dutton (AUS) rode first on Friday, and, once again, he laid down
the gauntlet for the day's Dressage. This time with Mrs. Annie Jones' The Foreman,
Phillip scored 51.2 to slip, at least for the time being, into second place 2.2
faults ahead of his first ride Hannigan.
The
Foreman won the Fair Hill International CCI***, without Steeplechase, for Phillip
and Mrs. Jones last fall. Following this victory he has had a wonderful spring
this year, winning both the Red Hills CCI-W*** and the Chatsworth CCI-W***, at
North Georgia.
Three
horses later came three time Olympian and double Olympic Team Medalist (Atlanta
1996 and Sydney 2000) Karen O'Connor, of The Plains, Virginia, with Mr. and Mrs.
Richard Thompson's 14 year old New Zealand bred Thoroughbred gelding Upstage.
In
2003, Upstage finished 6th here at Rolex and 27th at the Burghley CCI****. This
spring he placed 2nd in the Advanced Horse Trilas at Poplar Place.
Right
after Karen Eddy Stibbe (AHO) (The Netherland Antilles) rode Dusky 
Moon,
formerly the ride of Phillip Dutton. Eddy has very likely ridden in more CCI's
than any other active competitor. This pair turned in a lovely test to score 48.8
and pass both of Phillip's rides, grabbing 2nd place a mere .6 of a fault behind
the overnight leaders Jan Thompson and Task Force.
The
second rotation of the morning wiped all three of the above rides off the top
of the Leader Board.
Great
Britain's Leslie Law, the reigning Olympic Individual Gold Medalist rode Keith
Scott's 11 year old Thoroughbred gelding Coup de Coeur to the top spot on a score
of 46.0. (Leslie and Coup de Coeur are pictured at the right above.)
Coup
de Coeur placed 12th last year at the FEI World Cup Final at Pau, France, and
11th at the CCI*** at Saumur, France.
Leslie
explained how he came to come to the USA to ride at Rolex. "We have to have
two rides at Badminton to get Lottery Funding - that's the criteria. I happen
to be lucky enough to have three four star horses. It's a road I took with Shear
L'Eau (The Individual Gold Medal horse at Athens last year.). I hope it's going
to work out as well for this horse.
"There
is an awful lot to be done in the middle of the course," Leslie continued.
"We are very fortunate to have Michael Ethrington-Smith, who, in my opinion
is the best course designer in the world."
Amy
Tryon and Poggio II, members of the USEF's Bronze Medal Olympic Team, came immediately
after Leslie Law and scored 47.4 to move into second place for a few minutes.
Poggio's score was 47.4. Poggio has placed at Rolex-Kentucky twice. He was 3rd,
in 2002, and 11th, in 2004.
Darren
Chiacchia and Windfall II, teammates of Amy and Poggio II, on the Athens Olympic
Games Bronze Medal Team, did an excellent test to tie Leslie Law and Coup de Coeur
on 46.0. (Darren and Windfall II are pictured at the left.)
Windfall
II is a 13 year old Trakehner stallion who belongs to Dr Timothy Holekamp, of
Columbia, Missouri. Last year Windfall II won the Modified Four Star Three Day
Event at Rolex-Kentucky.
Darren
was asked about his bobble in the Dressage. He answered, "What WAS that all
about? Suddenly, I said, "My God, I'm on the wrong lead!" Speaking of
the course, Darren stated from the Sunken Road to the Water there are some complexes
that are quite technical."
Second
to go in the last rotation of the day was the combination everyone had 
been
waiting for - Kim Severson and Winsome Adante, the reigning Olympic Individual
Silver Medalists. The crowd's patience was well rewarded. They were treated to
a nearly foot perfect test that ascended to the lead by 7.8 faults with a score
of 38.2. (Kim and Winsome Adante are pictured at the right.)
Winsome
Adante has won Rolex-Kentucky twice - first in 2002 and again last year, in 2004.
In 2002 they were members of the USET's Gold Medal Team at The WEG at Jerez, in
Spain.
Kim
said, when asked to compafre last year's Dressage Test to this year's "I
actually liked last year's better Dan knows his job and covers for me."
The
weather forecast for tonight and for Saturday is not the best. Kim said, "I've
never actually ridden him in really bad weather; but, I can't think of a horse
I'd rather be on in bad weather. The other horse (Maguire) is quite green at this
level. So we'll have to see what happens."
The
Top --- Placings Are:
1.
Kim Severson,
Winsome Adante - 38.2
2T. Leslie Law, (GBR), Coup de Coeur - 46.0
2T. Darren Chiacchia, Windfall II - 46.0
4T. Amy Tryon, Poggio
II - 47.4
4T. Andrew Hoy (AUS), Moon Fleet - 47.4
6. Jan Thompson,
Task Force - 48.2
7. Eddy Stibbe (AHO), Dusky Moon - 48.8
8T.
Phillip Dutton (AUS), The Foreman -51.2
8T. Phillip Dutton (AUS),
Nova Top - 51.2
10. Karen O'Connor, Upstage - 53.4
*
* * * *
Regarding
Saturday, there is talk about removing one fence on the Steeplechase to make it
a 3 1/2 minute 'Chase.
Saturday morning, the first horse, Hannigan, ridden by Phillip Dutton, goes out
on Phase "A" at 9:22 AM and starts Cross Country at 10:30 AM.
