PrintElsie Patterson comes away with the blue and earns her qualification for the North American Junior and Young Rider Championships.
Elsie Patterson was on a mission to redeem herself in the CCI** at the Colorado Horse Park after a disappointing Twin Rivers CCI** (Calif.) finish in April. She more than made up for the earlier mistakes by taking home blue aboard Normandy Soldier.
She joined a fleet of young riders who made their way across the West from California to Colorado to test their skills at the Colorado Horse Park Three-Day and Horse Trials in Parker, Colo., May 28-31. Three of them took the top places in the two-star.
Patterson, 20, methodically moved up the standings with her 7-year-old Thoroughbred gelding (Slewrescent—Amawfe).
Heather Morris led the 11-horse field after dressage (50.7) with Slate River, a horse she recently acquired from John Staples. Patterson and “Vinny” sat in a comfortable fifth place with a respectable score of 59.0.
“Although dressage is our weakest phase, I was really happy with our test,” said Patterson, who lives in Woodland Hills, Calif., and is an English major at California State University-Northridge. She currently trains with Jennifer Johnson in Malibu, Calif.
Patterson bought Vinny as a 4-year-old when he was just four months off the track. He had started the retraining process, but his ground manners were terrible, so he went on the market immediately.
The pair moved up from novice to the two-star level in just three years. Patterson finished cross-country with no jump penalties and a few seconds to spare, which boosted her into second place. Morris retired Slate River on course.
