Calendar of Events

Index, 2007, Jan-Mar

Links

Top Ten Finishers at the Rolex Kentucky CCI****, 2011

New Zealand's Mark Todd, the winner at the Badminton CCI**** last week, trotted up his sixth place horse Grass Valley and passed the veterinary examination Sunday morning; however, for reasons best know to Todd, he declined to show jump Grass Valley.

Mary King, second with Fernhill Urco and first with Kings Temptress, said, "I can't believe it - lying in first and second places. I've never been in this position before, especially not at this level, on two different horses. (On Cross Country, I) went the long way (with Fernhill Urco) at the double brushes three from home. I knew I was over the time, but he'd become one-paced, and I thought, "Oh, Mary, he's young. Don't be greedy."

Mary King has represented Great Britain at five Olympic Games. She was third last weekend at the Badminton CCI**** with Imperial Cavalier. Of course she is anxious to ride in a sixth Olympic Games in London in 2012 which would be a record for any British athlete. With three nice advanced horses her Olympic dream may come true.

The Rolex CCI**** was the first four star for both Sinead Halpin and for her horse. Manoir de Carneville. Sinead said, "Right now I feel great. I'm just beside myself." Sinead has worked in England with William Fox-Pitt. Sinead said, "Working for William was amazing! Being here with you guys is amazing!"

All the horses who completed Cross Country on Saturday were presented and passed to go on to Show Jumping with the exception of Michael Pollard's Wonderful Will, who was not presented.

Editor's Note: Pictures will be available On Monday, May 2.

King Earns Double-Victory at Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event, Presented by Bridgestone

Lexington, Ky., May 1, 2011— In front of 15,743 fans and a live NBC television audience, Mary King of Great Britain became the first rider ever to finish first and second in the CCI4* at the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event, presented by Bridgestone. She rode both Kings Temptress (47.7) and Fernhill Urco (49.7) to perfectly faultless show jumping rounds to win the Rolex watch that goes to the winner (and place second as well).

Sinead Halpin, of Gladstone, N.J., also galloped to a faultless round to claim third place on Manoir De Carneville (53.1), making her the highest-placed American rider and the Rolex/USEF Four-Star Champion.

William Fox-Pitt of Great Britain, the 2007 Rolex Kentucky winner, guided Neuf Des Coeurs to fourth place (54.0), while Clayton Fredericks of Australia, the 2007 Rolex Kentucky winner, dropped to fifth place when Be My Guest lowered one rail (57.0).

King, 49, said that she’d felt so excited last night, after riding her horses to the two top spots, that she had to watch a movie on TV at 2:00 a.m. But she said she didn’t get nervous as the riders who were placed behind her completed their show jumping rounds.

“I was fairly calm, actually,” she said. “I always feel with a three-day event that the cross-country is the big day and that today whatever will be will be in the show jumping. You just hope that they pick up their feet and it all works out.”

King had been worried on Saturday afternoon that Fernhill Urco might not jump as well today as usual, because he was quite tired after completing his first four-star cross-country course. The 10-year-old gelding was bred in Portugal, not a common nursery for international event horses. But he never touched a rail.

So when King returned to the ring on Kings Temptress, she had the luxury of knowing that she’d already won. Plus, she could afford to knock down a rail in her second round and still claim first and second places.

King bred Kings Temptress, 11, out of a mare she had competed at the lower levels until she suffered a severe injury. Rolex Kentucky was the third four-star event for Kings Temptress.

Halpin, 29, worked for Fox-Pitt in England during 2008-2009, seeking to gain more expertise and experience. She had previously trained with former Rolex Kentucky winners Karen and David O’Connor, who recommended that she train with Fox-Pitt. This was the first four-star start for both Halpin and Manoir De Carneville.

“I couldn’t get him to teach me to save my life, so I just rode next to him,” said Halpin with a laugh. She said that watching Fox-Pitt taught her to ride more by instinct, “. . .instead of over-thinking everything.”

Said Fox-Pitt of Halpin, “She came with all the talent in the world but with a bit of tension and over-keenness to be good. I felt very proud watching her to jump today and proud to have finished behind her.”

Fox-Pitt was also proud of Neuf Des Coeurs, 10, competing in his first four-star event. “Going into the show jumping, you never quite know. There’s so much to look at in that arena—more than they see back in the U.K.—so I didn’t know what he might do,” said Fox-Pitt, 42. “He really rose to the challenge yesterday, and he did his best again today. I’m thrilled with him.”

Sunday’s attendance (15,743) brought the four-day Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event attendance to 62,886.

The Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event is part of the HSBC FEI ClassicsTM and features the world’s best horses and riders vying for their share of $250,000 in prize money, as well as a shot at the $350,000 Rolex Grand Slam of Eventing, which is awarded to any rider who wins the Rolex Kentucky, Mitsubishi Motors Badminton and Land Rover Burghley four-star events in succession.

Further information on the 2011 Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event, presented by Bridgestone, is available at the Rolex Kentucky website (www.rk3de.org).

Mary King on Kings Temptress is pictured below at the left.

King Crowned Champion of 2011 Rolex Kentucky CCI4* presented by Bridgestone; Halpin Takes USEF National CCI4* Championship on First Try By Joanie Morris

Mary King and Kings Temptress. Photo by Shannon Brinkman/USEF. Lexington, KY - Mary King was not going to be stopped in her quest to take a Rolex watch back to Great Britain. Lying first and second after the cross-country at the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event presented by Bridgestone -  with Kings Temptress and Fernhill Urco - she did not flinch in the final show jumping phase and jumped an immaculate double-clear round on both horses. For the first time in history, the champion and reserve champion of America's only CCI4* was the same rider. King was confident and excited coming into the show jumping, and she rode with a professionalism that was inspiring.   Kings Temptress added nothing to her fourth-placed dressage score of 47.7, they jumped immaculately around Saturday's cross-country course and then sealed the win over today's jumping track. King took home top honors with her 11-year-old homebred mare, who is now owned by Derek Rostron Baden. Her closest competition was her stablemate, Fernhill Urco, who emerged from his first CCI4* with second-place honors after only adding eight time faults to his dressage score. The Portuguese-bred grey gelding owned by Sue and Edwin Davies and Janette Chinn, jumped an immaculate clear round and really proved himself at the level. His clear round, jumped out of order due to the proximity of the placings, gave King great confidence to know that whatever happened with the second horse, the top honors were going home with the British veteran.   Sinead Halpin of Gladstone, NJ, brought Manoir de Carneville to their first CCI4* and rose to the occasion to sit amongst two of the greatest in the game at the press conference. Owned by Carrig, LLC, the 10-year-old Selle Francais jumped for fun in the Rolex Stadium around Richard Jeffery's show jumping course and gave Halpin the 2011 USEF National CCI4* Eventing Championship on her very first try. Their score of 53.1 (they picked up 4.4 time faults on the cross-country) was good enough to move her up from fourth after cross-country to third place behind King's pair and just ahead of William Fox-Pitt, the 2010 winner for Great Britain.  "I'm beside myself," said Halpin. "He's so proud of himself. It's really nice having a horse like that. He was a little tired walking up to the ring, and then he heard the crowd from the horses before him and he woke up, he doesn't get nervous he gets really excited."  Sinead Halpin and Manoir De Carneville. Photo by Shannon Brinkman/USEF. Halpin is enjoying the moment with her beloved horse, affectionately known as 'Tate'. With her name added to a list of national champions that reads like the U.S. Eventing Hall of Fame, Halpin has bright plans for the future. She contested the Boekelo CCI3* last fall in Holland as part of a USEF Developing Rider program and that experience has resonated with her.   "Burghley is certainly something I've thought about," said Halpin. "I tried to keep my focus here. But that would be very exciting to do. Going to Boekelo last fall was huge. I would be thrilled to go to Burghley...but after Tate goes out in the field for at least a month with no shoes."  Halpin jumped up one place in the standings when Clayton Fredericks, riding for Australia, had one rail down on Be My Guest to drop to fourth. The 2007 winner had a foot-perfect round on the cross-country course on Saturday. Halpin spent a stint working for Fox-Pitt after getting her initial foundation with David and Karen O'Connor. She conveyed her initial frustration that Fox-Pitt wouldn't teach her, until she realized that she needed to learn by watching him, not by having him talk her through each step.  "I told her that I'm not going to stand on the ground and tell you what to do," said Fox-Pitt. "You have to figure it out. Eventing is a mental game. She came with all the talent in the world. But she was over-keen to be too good...she relaxed over time and has a fantastic horse. I felt very proud watching her jump today." Fox-Pitt was also proud of his own horse. Neuf des Coeurs, a 10-year-old Selle Francais, romped through the test of his first CCI4* and jumped his way to fourth place on his score of 57.  "He's an awfully nice horse," said Fox-Pitt. "I found him for his owners, they've been with me for a long time." Neuf des Coeurs is owned by David and Margie Hall and Judy and Jeremy Skinner, who have been involved in the careers of a number of other of Fox-Pitt's horses. The USEF Reserve National CCI4* Champion was Hannah Sue Burnett on Richard Thompson's St. Barths. ENDS The entire jumping competition is available live (and free) on video on demand at: http://www.usefnetwork.com

The vision of the United States Equestrian Federation® is to provide leadership for equestrian sport in the United States of America by promoting the pursuit of excellence from the grassroots to the Olympic Games, based on a foundation of fair, safe competition and the welfare of its human and equine athletes.