Beth Rasin

Ron Danta and Danny Robertshaw, of Camden, S.C., have been rescuing dogs for many years, stepping up their efforts in 2005 after Hurricane Katrina. At the end of March, they reached a milestone by adopting dog No. 2,000 to Bruce Duchossois, of Aiken, S.C.

William Fox-Pitt of Great Britain rode a beautiful clear round aboard Cool Mountain to win the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day event with a rail to spare in Lexington on April 25.

“I came for a top-10 placing and kept reminding myself that when I went in the show jumping ring,” he said. “That’s where he was when he came here. I wanted to jump a clear round, and I felt pretty sick. I knew I had a fence in hand, and my chap tries pretty hard. I knew if I had one or two down it would be unlucky.”

Great Britain’s William Fox-Pitt overtook all the U.S. riders with a dressage score of 42.8 late on Friday afternoon, April 23, after the sun had reemerged at the Kentucky Horse Park. He and Cool Mountain, a 10-year-old British-bred Thoroughbred, displayed a lovely canter and nice changes, a floating extended trot and just a few low marks for the walk half-pirouette and the reinback.

Allison Springer dominated the dressage at Blenheim (England) last fall, and she lived up to the high expectations for her performance at Kentucky as she rode Arthur into a tie for the lead in Friday morning’s dressage. She scored 43.7 in the rain, equal to Karen O’Connor and Mandiba.

Tina Konyot and her black stallion Calecto V captured the audience at the Kentucky Cup CDI freestyle, riding to the tunes of KT Tunstall’s “Black Horse And The Cherry Tree” and Beyoncé on their way to a win in the class. Konyot’s score of 76.25 percent in the dusk of the Kentucky Horse Park, April 22, far eclipsed her competitors, with Chris von Martels of Canada coming closest in second with a score of 70.20 percent aboard Naomi and Jacqueline Brooks in third on Balmoral (67.35%). More than 2,200 spectators gathered for the seven rides.

Karen O’Connor swept into the lead this afternoon as she rode Mandiba to a score of 43.7 with beautiful flying changes and a solid, rhythmic performance. She bumped the morning’s leader, Becky Holder and Courageous Comet, to second, while Phillip Dutton grabbed third aboard his second ride of the day, The Foreman.

It all started 15 years ago in a quiet country town in Belgium, with a plumber, a 12-year-old girl, and her bike.

When Sapphire’s dam Idjaz C (by Hedjaz) started to foal, young Sofie van Bunder jumped on her bike to find her father, Walter, who was working as a plumber in the nearby village of Sint-Gillis-Waas. Upon hearing the news, Walter, a part-time horseman who bred about three mares per year, jumped on the bike and pedaled furiously to the foaling. But by the time he arrived, a chestnut filly was already on her feet.

With a CIC*** win on her resume, she moves on to a new rider.

The thing about Lady Calido is, if she doesn’t like you, she’ll let you know.

She’s had a fruitful career with her fond owner and rider Robyn Fisher, who has won numerous events with her, including the Twin Rivers CIC*** in Paso Robles, Calif., Sept. 25-27.

But that was probably the last ride Fisher will have on the mare for a while, since Amy Tryon will be taking over the reins, aiming for a CCI*** next spring.

•    Tamra Smith, Temecula, Calif., won the advanced division on Bubbles At Bricky, while her daughter Kaylawna Smith won the junior training rider class with Happy Go Lucky III.

•    Mark Watring, who walked all of the upper level courses at Twin Rivers, noted some definite changes in the sport in the two decades since he’d last competed.

Tamra Smith is reinspired after a CIC** win with a new partner.