Boyd Martin Splashes Into The Lead At Fair Hill

Boyd Martin made the best of bad conditions today in Elkton, Md., Oct. 17, and bounded up the standings from 16th to first place with the only double-clear round in the Dansko Fair Hill CCI*** aboard Neville Bardos (51.0).

Continuous steady rain left the ground sodden, and the ground jury decided to remove 10 fences from the course of 40 jumping efforts and reduce the optimal speed from 570 mpm to 510 mpm. Although 21 of the 66 starters withdrew, including second-placed John Williams and Sweepea Dean, this is the only CCI*** in North America this fall, and many riders needed a qualifying score.

“He’s a real Thoroughbred, so he’s quite suited to these kinds of conditions,” said Martin of his 10-year-old ex-racehorse. “He really galloped on top of the mud and did it quite easily, to be honest. I didn’t feel like I was pushing him much.”

Martin wasn’t the only one to take advantage of the difficult conditions.

His mentor, Phillip Dutton, moved up from 17th place with Kheops Du Quesnay into a tie for second place with Karen O’Connor and Mandiba (55.2). O’Connor had led the dressage, but 15.6 time penalties knocked her down a spot.

For all three riders, a good go around cross-country meant more than a chance at a top placing. Neville Bardos placed fifth at Fair Hill two years ago in his first three-star, and then he jumped to ninth place at the Rolex Kentucky CCI**** the following year. However, two minor injuries at inopportune moments meant that he hasn’t been able to go to another major three-day since.

Although Dutton has ridden Kheops Du Quesnay for more than a year, the experienced 11-year-old Selle Francais hasn’t been easy to figure out.

“One of the highlights of my career is seeing this horse turn around,” said Dutton in a rare show of emotion. “I think the horse frustrated me a bit too much, and I had to let that go. I’m quite excited about him because he went bloody well today, and he’s the type of horse that isn't suited to this kind of ground.”

Dutton’s plan was to start out quietly on course and try to make up time later on if the horse still felt fresh. Martin followed this advice as well, but O'Connor wasn't able to.

She consulted with Dutton about Mandiba because he'd evented the 9-year-old Thoroughbred twice for O’Connor prior to Fair Hill when her shoulder injury prevented her from riding.

“My shoulder got really tired at the end, so I didn’t hammer him home like Phillip suggested—I slowed down a bit,” said O’Connor. “But he was very, very straight for me at the accuracy questions, which has been a weakness for both of us.”

O’Connor likened riding at Fair Hill in the sloppy conditions to doing a long-format three-day.

“I think the horses had to soldier on,” she said. “You had to work very hard at keeping the horse together, just like 'way back in the day.'

“The people that went out there today and had that experience [in the difficult conditions] are better riders for it,” she continued. “There was a ton of work in the second half of the courses to put them in a balance and make sure they were moving their feet. The mud has a way of delaying their reactions, and when that happens the riders have to be quicker in their reactions.”