PrintIt was all Allison Springer today, Sept. 10, at the Land Rover USEA American Eventing Championships.
Springer, Middleburg, Va., went early in the division, which stretched from 8:08 a.m. to 5:08 p.m., but her score of 35.7 with Arthur held over everyone else’s in the 51-horse advanced division dressage in Fairburn, Ga.
“I was actually a little disappointed after my test,” Springer said. “I had some mistakes that were just pilot error. But I was able to watch it on video later, and he looked great. He was more relaxed today than he has been.”
The pair, fresh off an advanced horse trial win at Richland Park (Mich.) two weeks ago, rode straight into the lead more than 5 points ahead of Phillip Dutton on The Foreman and Becky Holder with Courageous Comet.
The AEC, held at Carl Bouckaert’s Chattahoochee Hills venue, also serves as the mandatory outing for horses and riders vying for the Land Rover U.S. Eventing Team for the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games. In addition, Canadian selectors are also using the AEC as their mandatory outing. (Names in bold denote U.S. and Canadian short-listed athletes.)
Unsurprisingly, it was these horses who completely dominated the first phase of competition.
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Dutton and The Foreman logged a 41.5, but their score could be much higher at the WEG if the selectors choose the veteran gelding. “Chip” was quite forward and had some bobbles in the canter work, swapping leads twice in the wrong places, but Dutton said those mistakes were no surprise.
“He walked and trotted well, but I was quite aggressive in the canter because he started to back off a bit,” said Dutton, West Grove, Pa. “Saying I ‘schooled him’ wouldn’t quite be the right words, but I sort of did it on purpose to let him know he can’t back off when he gets in the ring.”
In the morning session, Dutton rode into fourth and a tie for fifth place aboard Woodburn and Connaught, respectively. Both horses put in expressive, correct tests, but the former looked more relaxed in the arena. To Dutton, however, Woodburn’s test was a bit lackluster, and that experience in the morning encouraged him to push for more with The Foreman in the afternoon.
“With Woodburn I was actually a bit disappointed—not in him but in myself,” Dutton said. “I had him going really well in warm-up, and then I let him back off a bit. This test requires you to really have the horse in front of your leg.”
Connaught gave a small spook just before he entered the ring when U.S. Chef d’Equipe Capt. Mark Phillips and team veterinarian Catherine Kohn zipped up in their golf cart to catch the test. That edginess showed in several portions of the test, especially the lead changes near the end, but Dutton held the performance together admirably, and the judges rewarded him.
“I was thrilled with Connaught, because he probably hadn’t had my attention as much as the others,” Dutton admitted. “He doesn’t go that well at home for me, but he does in the ring. He really does enjoy it, and he does his job so well.”
