PrintTremaine Cooper’s cross-country track shook up the leader board today, Saturday, Nov. 14, at the Poplar Place CCI**. After the final rider crossed through the finish flags, two new leaders emerged from the pack.
Danica Moore and Dunlavin’s Token moved from seventh to first (56.4) after a clean jumping effort with only minimal time penalties.
“He can be pretty cheeky at the skinnies, that’s where most of my concern was, but he was right on the money today,” said Moore, Middleburg, Va. “Towards the end of the course I was feeling him tire a little bit, he was getting a little on the reins, so that’s where I caught the time penalties.”
Moore said that her 9-year-old Zangersheide gelding jumped the Burial Mound, fence 5AB and the fence most of the riders had concerns about on dressage day, particularly well.
“He jumped up the bank well where a lot of people were having trouble,” she said. “I’ve never ridden something like that before. I just hung on and let him take care of me!”
Jesslyn Woodall said her horse, Tucker, also handled the tricky questions on course with ease, and she was thrilled to move up from 15th to second (57.8) after posting the only double clear in the two-star.
“He took off a little long for [the Burial Mound], landed on top and kind of looked down,” she said. “It was a long two [to the angled cabin] coming out, so I just sat back, and he’s so honest that he looks for fences now.”
Tucker, a 15-year-old off-the-track Thoroughbred, flew around the course and snuck in just under the time, much to Woodall’s surprise.
“I didn’t think time would be all that fast. I thought time would be a little easier to make,” Woodall, Georgetown, Ky., admitted. “He felt a little sluggish at times, the first part of the course was a little bit of a roller coaster, and I wasn’t sure if I should have pressed or if he’d slip on the hard left-hand turn after fence 4, but he just eased around it. He is a saint to me.
Kelli Temple and Veelion, the overnight dressage leaders, slipped to third after a clean jumping effort, but they tacked on 14 time penalties to their dressage score. Leslie Law and Hugo Fast, second after dressage, had an unfortunate run-out at fence 5C, the angled cabin coming off the Burial Mound. Law also took a tumble on his other mount, Java, at the Burial Mound, but both horse and rider walked off the course after being reunited.
Most of the problems on course occured at the Burial Mound complex, with five riders adding 20 penalties to their score at fence 5C, the angled cabin.
