report_fair_hill

It was a fairy tale ending to a magical weekend for the great American eventer, Custom Made, ridden by David O'Connor. Prior to the event, David had announced that Fair Hill was to be the 17 year old's last 3-Day competition. This exceptional horse had won The Rolex-Kentucky CCI***, in 1995; the Mitsubishi Motors Badminton CCI****, in 1997; the Individual Gold Medal at the Sydney Olympic Games, in 2000; and now, as the capstone to his career, he was to win the Fair Hill International CCI***.

Custom Made (Pictured at left.) was second after the Dressage Phase. He led after the Cross Country Phase, in spite of picking up 7.6 time faults, and had one fence down for 4 faults in Show Jumping, to win from Australia's Phillip Dutton and Dusky Moon, by 2.99 faults.

"I felt as though I was part of (his) career," rather than that he was part of my career. He's "... going out at the top of his game. He's gotten better and better. If he is listening, he usually jumps clean. You have to be careful. I did the inside turn to (fence) three. (In Show Jumping) it's almost a little bit out of your control. You don't know how the day is going to go. It's like a fairy tale!"

Phillip Dutton, fourth after Cross Country with Dusky Moon, (Pictured at right.) had one of only three Show Jumping rounds without a rail down, though he did incur 2 time faults, to move up to second place and claim the Leading Foreign Rider Award.

Phillip spoke of Dusky Moon, "My Dad picked him out from the race track for $500.00 Australian. He belongs to my wife, relatives and a friend. It was either keep him or get rid of my wife. He actually won't be eight until December as he was born in Australia. He won Bromont this spring. He needs to do a couple of more three stars."

Heidi White, who works for Phillip and teaches at True Prospect Farm, in West Grove, PA, finished third and Reserve Champion in the National Competition. Heidi said, "It's amazing! It's just incredible. I wanted to ride better today than I did at Foxhall. I got a little anxious (once). I tried to calm myself back down. That is something we have been working on." Heidi and Northern Spy, (Pictured at left.) who won the prize for the Best Conditioned Horse, had one rail down in Show Jumping to remain in third place.

Will Faudree finished fourth, with two rails down on Antigua. He won the Markham Trophy for the best Young Rider. Beale Morris finished seventh with Eastern Shore and won the trophy for the best Amateur.

The largest crowd in Fair Hill history attended the Show Jumping. They were treated to a landmark performance by a landmark horse who was giving his very best for the last time in his exceptional career.

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Update on the condition of Karen O'Connor:

Karen did not break her collar bone as had been feared late Saturday afternoon. She separated her right collarbone from the cartilidge that should hold it to her sternum. According to Karen this will regenerate, or tighten up with time.

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The following is an update on the Cross Country scores and statistics:

David O'Connor, had 7.6 time faults Cross Country with Custom Made for a final score of 44.61. He is 2.19 faults ahead of second place Will Faudree and Antigua and 3.80 Faults ahead of Heidi White and Northern Spy.

Phillip Dutton is in fourth place with Dusky Moon, 4.99 faults adrift of the leader, while the Dressage leaders, Darren Chiacchia and Windfall, are in 5th place, having picked up 14.8 time faults on the course.

Will Faudree and Heidi White were the only two competitors to have double clears on the Cross Country.

Of the 60 horses who started Cross Country, 40 completed. (66.6 finished - 33.3% did not) Of the 65 original starters who trotted up on Wednesday, 2 did not do Dressage and 3 withdrew before Cross Country.

Of the 40 Cross Country finishers, 5 did not Show Jump. Those 5 were: Peter Green with Mind The Gap, (63.81, 10th after Cross Country); Laine Asher and Eight Saint James Place, (115.00); Randy Ward and Scarva, (116.80); Rainey Sealey and Montana Native, (154.20); and Teresa Loughlin and Iditerod, (184.40).

Saturday, October 26, 2002

Unofficial results, more than an hour after the last horse had been eliminated, show that the reigning Olympic Individual Champions David O'Connor and the 18 year old Custom Made (Pictured below, right) lead the Fair Hill CCI*** on a score of 44.??. The pair who stood second after dressage added 7.? time faults to their Dressage score of 37.01 to take the lead when the overnight leaders, Darren Chiacchia and Windfall, added 15.8 (?) time faults for a score of 51.6 faults.

Fair Hill is to be Custom Made's last competition. David said, "He was up to form today. As you are going, you're thinking, 'This is his last steeplechase,' ... They (Custom Made and Giltedge) are horses of a life time. They'll never be replaced. I will admit, that as I started off, I patted him and said, 'Come on old man, one more time.' He went down and tried to run through the first fence. I said, 'Well, life is normal'.

"I can't go as fast as these guys. (Will Faudree and Heidi White) All the courses he has won over (Badminton and Australia) have been big galloping courses. This course is very twisty in sections. It's a little hard to stay in control. The whole crowd went crazy at every fence. That's a great feeling!"

(Please excuse the vagueries in reporting the scores. Sadly, this is typical of Fair Hill, whose organizers refuse to post unofficial results, frequently for three or four hours after the competition has ended. Precise information is simply not available.)

20 year old Will Faudree, of West Grove, PA stands in second place on 46.80, having ridden a double clear Cross Country with Antigua. His stable mate 37 year old Heidi White is in third place with Northern Spy. (Pictured below at left.) This pair also turned in a double clear Cross Counrty round for a score of 48.41. Both Will and Heidi are in Phillip Dutton's barn - Will as a working student, Heidi as a teacher.

Heidi said, "It's the whole crew at True Prospect. Kevin Keane, the vet; the blacksmith; and Nina Gardner, who lets us gallop on her race track." Heidi continued about Northern Spy, "We asked 'Is he going to be fast enough?' He got tired at Foxhall, so we changed his program. He's a big horse - a brilliant jumper. He looks all the way through the combinations (to figure out what the questions are). I kept pressing him. We just landed and went instead of wasting a second thinking how well he had jumped. If you do that at 29 fences, you save 29 seconds."

Will spoke of his childhood on a cattle ranch in Western Texas. "When I was 7, I saw horses jumping on TV and I said I wanted to do that. When I was 9 or 10, my friend gave me a form to attend a Karen O'Connor clinic. My parents drove me six hours each way. They have always supported me. We all went to dinner one night at Phillip and Evie's and Phillip said that he knew of this horse (Antigua) in Australia. (Will and Antigua are pictured at right.) I don't know how he convinced my parents: but, they have always supported me. My mother, Kerry Faudree, is crying when I leave the box and she is crying when I cross the finish line."

When David O'Connor left the Press Tent he said, "We think that Karen broke her collar bone. I'm going to the hospital now to see her." Karen had a fall at Fence 6ab, the turning oxers, from Upstage, who had been going brilliantly up until then. Very best wishes to Karen. She'll be back to win another day!

The Trot Up is Sunday morning at 8 AM; Show jumping starts at 10:00 AM and the top 20 jump at 1:00 PM.

Friday, October 25, 2002

Friday was a Three "D" Day - drippy, dank and dreary; however, it did not actually rain very hard until evening. Several of the morning Dressage rides made it into the 40's, though none cracked the top three from Thursday. Beale Morris came closest with Eastern Shore. The chestnut thoroughbred had a very nice test for a score of 44.40, for 7th place.

The skys became less gray after lunch, or perhaps it was simply the lightness and accuracy of Darren Chiacchia's test with the 10 year old Trakehner stallion Windfall. (pictured at right.) The Ground Jury was duely impressed and Windfall went into the lead on a score of 36.80.

Windfall has a history of stopping on the Cross Country. Darren commented, "(Tomorrow) Maybe we'll finally get it right. Because he's a stallion, you have to do some things his way. My riding style is to set up very near the jumps. With him, I have to start that process a little earlier. He ran around Morven Park (Horse Trials) beautifully, a couple of weeks ago. That was a great vote of confidence.

"He's a very talented horse. Being a stallion he has a very strong sense of self preservation. It is very important to him that the two of us are working out how to use that talent."

David O'Connor remains in second (37.01) with his Olympic Individual Gold Medalist Custom Made. He is also in third place with Jodi Platto's former ride, Texas Pride, on a score of 40.20. David said, "I just started riding him this summer. He's a little bit unusual in his mind. He's gotten better and better this last month. I'm really happy with him."

Corinne Ashton, of Boxboro, MA, is in fourth place with Dobbin. (Picgtured at left.) This pair finished 3rd at the Radnor CCI** last year and won a section of Advanced at the recent Plantation Field Horse Trials.

The first horse starts on Phase "A" at 9:30 AM Saturday and begins Cross Country at 10:43 AM.

Thursday, October 24, 2002

The 2002 Fair Hill International CCI*** marks the great Custom Made's farewell appearance as a 3-Day competitor. To the delight of his fans, which included most of the spectators at Fair Hill, and to no one's surprise, the reigning Olympic Individual Champion and his long time partner, David O'Connor, of The Plains VA, lead the Dressage after the first day of competition. (See picture below right.)

David said, of his 18 year old partner's impending retirement, "It's definitely bittersweet. He's been a great campaigner. He's never been here (to Fair Hill) before. It's fun to have him at home. (Custom Made has been in England and then in Spain as David's back up for Giltedge for the WEG.) Keep your fingers crossed that the weekend goes well."

Regarding Course Designer Derek DiGrazia's Cross Country course, David commented, " He's upped it. He's made it a little stronger here and there. The end is a little softer. There are not so many fences (crammed in) towards the end. There's the bounce into the first water and a new bounce closer to the second water. It (Fair Hill) always rides tougher thanks to the terrain."

Of the 30 competitors who tried to beat Custom Made's score of 37.01, Vicki Baker, of Rougemont, NC, and her 14 year old thoroughbred gelding Reggae Mon (See picture at left.) came the closest, with a score of 41.40, 4.39 faults adrift of the leader. Vicki and Reggae Mon finished 13th at the Foxhall CCI***, in 2001.

Vicki said, "I'd give anything to be second to David and Custom Made, any day! - and we're not far behind. He (Reggae Mon) went to Menfelt, Plantation Field and Morven to prepare for Fair Hill. My strategy is not to gallop very quickly at the horse trials. He's a little bit older horse and I like to conserve him. This is what I've been conserving him for. The foot's going down on the accelerator!"

Vicki continued, "I'm originally from Denver, and Colorado will always be my home. After Foxhall, in 2001, I took a job working for the USET. I had been slated to take over Jim Wolf's job, when he moved up. (Baker was downsized last February as the USET was cutting back because of the fight with the AHSA.) That was not time enough to get him ready for the spring events. Fay Wolf introduced me to Carroll Hill, of Quail Ridge Farm, in North Carolina (where Vicki is working now.). It is a fantastic facility. It was originally a Show Jumping barn. Now we are starting 3-Day. We have just broken ground for a new Cross Country course."

William Coleman III, who resides in Gordonsville, VA, riding Second Hope, is just .20 of a fault back of Baker, on a score of 41.60. William and Second Hope have had top ten finishes at Morven Park and Over The Walls Horse Trials this year.William is a pupil of David O'Connor. David said of him, "William is a fantastic rider.. He's got incredible talent. We got this horse last year in Germany. He is very, very difficult on the flat. He used to get 60's and 70's. He (William) rode really smart today. I sit on him (the horse) sometimes in the lesson. They all have a chance to ride mine too."

Custom Made and David are the only pair to have broken 40 thus far. Thirty-four others will ride on Friday trying to sneak closer to, or even to best, the reigning Olympic Champions. The competition begins again on Friday at 9:00 AM.

Oh, incidentally, that farmer's rain from Radnor is back. It started about 3 PM today and has rained fairly steadily since then. It's supposed to rain on and off Friday, with rain "heavy at times" Friday night. It seems to me that this is "where I came in", as we used to say in the days when we didn't always go to movies at their beginnings. Stay tuned!

Wednesday, October 23, 2002

66 horses trotted up before the Ground Jury at the Fair Hill International CCI***, in Maryland, this afternoon. Four horses were sent to the Holding Box: Amanda Vines' (CAN) Major Reserve; Darren Chiacchia's Power Ty, who had an injury on the front of a pastern, which was seeping blood; Beale Morris' Eastern Shore; and Caroline Dowd's Raw Deal. All passed upon re-examination except Raw Deal who. sadly, was noticably unlevel the second time past the Jury.

Included among those who presented horses who will compete were John Williams, of Middleburg, VA, the highest placed American at the recent World Equestrian Games and a member of the USET's Gold Medal Team. John will ride Hazmat. (Pictured at right.)

John's Gold Medal teammate, David O'Connor, will ride his Olympic Individual Gold Medal winner from Sydney, Custom Made, as well as Texas Pride, a new ride for the multiple International Medalist from The Plains, VA.

Phillip Dutton, who resides in West Grove, PA, but is an Australian national, will compete on three horses, Dusky Moon, who belongs to his wife, Evie, Bill Speakman, and Audrey Evans; I'm So Brite, the property of Nina Gardner; and Its a Knockout. Phillip was the highest placed Australian at WEG in Jerez.

Karen O'Connor, who was a member of the USET's Silver Medal Team at the Sydney Olympic Games, in 2000, will ride Dick and Vida Thompson's Upstage.

Dorothy Crowell came from Kentucky with Radio Flyer. (This pair is pictured at left.) Dorothy was the Individual Silver Medalist at the WEG, at The Hague, in 1994, with her much admired Molokai.

Dressage will begin on Thursday morning at 9:00 AM. The Test Ride will be at 8:30 AM