Show Jumping Finishes With A Happy Majority

Several pairs showed off their show jumping prowess in today's Mandatory Outing conclusion.

There may not have been a victory gallop after the conclusion of today’s USEF Mandatory Outing for Olympic Eventing, but there were plenty of performances worth celebrating.

Because selection for the Olympic eventing team is subjective, scores and placings were not awarded this weekend. All nine horses passed this morning’s jogs and completed the show jumping course today, and the majority of riders were happy to know that had there been a scoreboard, their rounds would have added nothing but zeros to it.

Five of the nine pairs jumped without fault. Phillip Dutton and Connaught logged the first clear round, putting in a calculated and careful performance. They were followed by Bonnie Mosser and Merloch, who zipped energetically through the course without error. Becky Holder on Courageous Comet seem to have dispelled their show jumping troubles, logging a very relaxed clear round as well. Bruce Davidson on Ballynoecastle RM and Jennifer Wooten on The Good Witch also showed impressive form.

Single-rail rounds went to Heidi White-Carty on Northern Spy and Dutton on Woodburn, both of which came at relatively easy, straightforward fences. Kim Severson and Tipperary Liadhnan knocked two poles; they struggled with striding in a difficult, forward 5-stride line which troubled several pairs. Will Faudree pulled an unfortunate three rails with Antigua.