PrintBecky Holder and Courageous Comet (39.3) remain in first place following cross-country at Rolex Kentucky, April 26, followed by Phillip Dutton and Connaught (41.7) in second and Stephen Bradley and From (47.8) in third.
“Courageous Comet was pretty amazing,” said Holder. “He came out of the box with his game face on, and so did I.”
While Saturday morning went off without a hitch, the afternoon was full of drama, including serious falls for Sarah Hansel and The Quiet Man and Laine Ashker and Frodo Baggins.
The Quiet Man didn’t clear the Footbridge at fence 13 and fell upon landing, throwing Hansel clear. He was transported off the course in a horse trailer. He was reportedly stable and resting comfortably, although he incurred an injury to his right front leg.
Frodo Baggins hit fence 5, the Flower Basket, at high speed and had a rotational fall. The course was held for an hour and a half while Ashker was stabilized, and she was airlifted to the University of Kentucky Hospital. She has sustained injuries but is conscious and able to move her extremities. She is being cared for by the emergency and trauma services at UK. Vets attended to Frodo Baggins for some time, and he was transported off the course to Hagyard Equine Medical Institute just across Ironworks Pike from the Kentucky Horse Park.
This morning, Holder had been held briefly on course before the Hammock at fence 9 while medics assessed Dornin Anne North after a minor fall. “My first response [after being held] was to find out whether the rider and horse I was being held for were OK, then I focused on getting started again,” she said. “I was lucky it was early in the course, and he wasn’t terribly stressed yet.”
But Holder had mistakenly pushed something on her watch that erased her time when she started back up. “It zeroed out and started beeping at me incessantly. I finally had to bash it with my fist,” she said. “It was a great opportunity to focus on one jump at a time and my position as I galloped, and let the time fall where it may. The horse finished well within himself, and I was absolutely ecstatic.”
Disappointments
Some riders in the top 10 after dressage had heartbreaking rides, including Heidi White and Northern Spy, who’d been in second place. They went easily around the course until the final water complex, the Duck Marsh at 28AB and 29AB ,where White met the fourth of the ducks with too much pace. Northern Spy scrambled over, decapitating the duck, and White fell, although she remounted and finished and is in 31st.
Corinne Ashton and Dobbin had been in fifth place, but Ashton fell at the second duck in the final water complex. According to announcer Nigel Casserley, Ashton was having some sort of tack malfunction that might have contributed to her fall.
Young rider Emilee Libby and Cahir, who took sixth in dressage, started having problems at the fourth fence, the Downhill Oxers, with four strides in between. Cahir got underneath the first, managing to clear it, but couldn’t get out over the second and stopped. Libby then had a second stop at the first part of the coffin, the Cedar Hop at 6-7AB, represented and cleared it, then chose to retire.
“Courageous Comet was pretty amazing,” said Holder. “He came out of the box with his game face on, and so did I.”
While Saturday morning went off without a hitch, the afternoon was full of drama, including serious falls for Sarah Hansel and The Quiet Man and Laine Ashker and Frodo Baggins.
The Quiet Man didn’t clear the Footbridge at fence 13 and fell upon landing, throwing Hansel clear. He was transported off the course in a horse trailer. He was reportedly stable and resting comfortably, although he incurred an injury to his right front leg.
Frodo Baggins hit fence 5, the Flower Basket, at high speed and had a rotational fall. The course was held for an hour and a half while Ashker was stabilized, and she was airlifted to the University of Kentucky Hospital. She has sustained injuries but is conscious and able to move her extremities. She is being cared for by the emergency and trauma services at UK. Vets attended to Frodo Baggins for some time, and he was transported off the course to Hagyard Equine Medical Institute just across Ironworks Pike from the Kentucky Horse Park.
This morning, Holder had been held briefly on course before the Hammock at fence 9 while medics assessed Dornin Anne North after a minor fall. “My first response [after being held] was to find out whether the rider and horse I was being held for were OK, then I focused on getting started again,” she said. “I was lucky it was early in the course, and he wasn’t terribly stressed yet.”
But Holder had mistakenly pushed something on her watch that erased her time when she started back up. “It zeroed out and started beeping at me incessantly. I finally had to bash it with my fist,” she said. “It was a great opportunity to focus on one jump at a time and my position as I galloped, and let the time fall where it may. The horse finished well within himself, and I was absolutely ecstatic.”
Disappointments
Some riders in the top 10 after dressage had heartbreaking rides, including Heidi White and Northern Spy, who’d been in second place. They went easily around the course until the final water complex, the Duck Marsh at 28AB and 29AB ,where White met the fourth of the ducks with too much pace. Northern Spy scrambled over, decapitating the duck, and White fell, although she remounted and finished and is in 31st.
Corinne Ashton and Dobbin had been in fifth place, but Ashton fell at the second duck in the final water complex. According to announcer Nigel Casserley, Ashton was having some sort of tack malfunction that might have contributed to her fall.
Young rider Emilee Libby and Cahir, who took sixth in dressage, started having problems at the fourth fence, the Downhill Oxers, with four strides in between. Cahir got underneath the first, managing to clear it, but couldn’t get out over the second and stopped. Libby then had a second stop at the first part of the coffin, the Cedar Hop at 6-7AB, represented and cleared it, then chose to retire.
