PrintHe and Corinne Ashton take their third victory at this Massachusetts fixture.
Open intermediate winners Corinne Ashton and Dobbin certainly know their way around the victory gallop at the Groton House Farm Horse Trials II, June 27-29 in Hamilton, Mass.
The venerable pair have won at Groton House twice before (advanced intermediate in 2004 and 2005) and finished second in intermediate last year.
“Dobbin knows and likes this place,” said Ashton, from Princeton, Mass., of her 14-year-old, Thoroughbred gelding. “I let him come here to have a good time, so it’s not always Rolex when he goes out there.
“It’s always spectacular to come here,” Ashton added. “We’re fast losing upper-level events in [U.S. Eventing Association] Area I, and I think it’s important to compete here every year and support [the upper-level sections].”
After winning the dressage and jumping faultlessly, Dobbin displayed only a moment of impetuous behavior during his victory lap, where he cavorted like a youngster and forced Ashton to canter him all the way back to the trailers, where he finally settled down.
“He’s dreamed about running with horses his entire life,” said Ashton of Dobbin, a homebred who never raced.
“The closest place he gets is during the prize giving.”
Groton House marked Dobbin’s first run since completing the Rolex Kentucky CCI**** in April. “He feels the best physically and mentally than ever before,” said Ashton. “Neither of us are ready to retire.”
Dobbin’s stellar dressage test was marred only by the two 5s he earned on the canter diagonals, where Ashton lost her way. “My daughter, Marissa (12), warned me that I didn’t know the test, and I should have listened to her,” Ashton confessed. “I couldn’t remember whether I was meant to ride long or short diagonals.”
Eight of the 12 cross-country intermediate starters jumped clear rounds, Dobbin among them, although no one finished under the optimum time. Three riders incurred problems at the double corners (13AB) while the narrow off a steep drop (15) caused one elimination.
“In the past I’ve hit the odd distance from the half-moon (22) to the water (23ABC), so this year I was determined to ride forward in four strides,” said Ashton. “But Dobbin remembers it here, and he said, ‘Mom, I need five here.’ So he popped a short one in. Next time I’ll let him make all the decisions.”
Carol Kozlowski, Geneseo, N.Y., and Lynn Blades’ 15-year-old Connemarra crossbred Take Time posted the fastest cross-country time of the division, incurring 11.6 time faults, which moved them into second place.
“The course really flowed well, and it tested everything you’d want an intermediate course to test—to go forward, come back, brake and turn, to be quick one place and careful another, like the double corners,” Kozlowski explained. “It’s a known fact here, the time is hard to make because the course goes through so much varied terrain.”
Open intermediate winners Corinne Ashton and Dobbin certainly know their way around the victory gallop at the Groton House Farm Horse Trials II, June 27-29 in Hamilton, Mass.
The venerable pair have won at Groton House twice before (advanced intermediate in 2004 and 2005) and finished second in intermediate last year.
“Dobbin knows and likes this place,” said Ashton, from Princeton, Mass., of her 14-year-old, Thoroughbred gelding. “I let him come here to have a good time, so it’s not always Rolex when he goes out there.
“It’s always spectacular to come here,” Ashton added. “We’re fast losing upper-level events in [U.S. Eventing Association] Area I, and I think it’s important to compete here every year and support [the upper-level sections].”After winning the dressage and jumping faultlessly, Dobbin displayed only a moment of impetuous behavior during his victory lap, where he cavorted like a youngster and forced Ashton to canter him all the way back to the trailers, where he finally settled down.
“He’s dreamed about running with horses his entire life,” said Ashton of Dobbin, a homebred who never raced.
“The closest place he gets is during the prize giving.”
Groton House marked Dobbin’s first run since completing the Rolex Kentucky CCI**** in April. “He feels the best physically and mentally than ever before,” said Ashton. “Neither of us are ready to retire.”
Dobbin’s stellar dressage test was marred only by the two 5s he earned on the canter diagonals, where Ashton lost her way. “My daughter, Marissa (12), warned me that I didn’t know the test, and I should have listened to her,” Ashton confessed. “I couldn’t remember whether I was meant to ride long or short diagonals.”
Eight of the 12 cross-country intermediate starters jumped clear rounds, Dobbin among them, although no one finished under the optimum time. Three riders incurred problems at the double corners (13AB) while the narrow off a steep drop (15) caused one elimination.
“In the past I’ve hit the odd distance from the half-moon (22) to the water (23ABC), so this year I was determined to ride forward in four strides,” said Ashton. “But Dobbin remembers it here, and he said, ‘Mom, I need five here.’ So he popped a short one in. Next time I’ll let him make all the decisions.”
Carol Kozlowski, Geneseo, N.Y., and Lynn Blades’ 15-year-old Connemarra crossbred Take Time posted the fastest cross-country time of the division, incurring 11.6 time faults, which moved them into second place.
“The course really flowed well, and it tested everything you’d want an intermediate course to test—to go forward, come back, brake and turn, to be quick one place and careful another, like the double corners,” Kozlowski explained. “It’s a known fact here, the time is hard to make because the course goes through so much varied terrain.”
