With flood warnings in effect, portions of the nearest interstate highway closed and the promise of several more inches of precipitation over the next 48 hours, it came as no surprise to anyone at the Lamplight Equestrian Center that officials announced an early end to the American Eventing Championships today, Sept. 13.

Three beautifully-built cross-country courses went unfortunately unused, but every uncompleted division from junior novice up to advanced was able to show jump today, despite a few lightning delays and persistent heavy rain. Divisions at the preliminary level and above were scored as combined tests.

Charlee Marinovich and Rapport topped the leaderboard in the junior novice division from start to finish, taking the blue ribbon back to Minneapolis, Minn., with a score of 26.3.

Marinovich avoided the worst of the wet weather on cross-country day, making short work of the course and finishing 22 seconds under time. But Saturday’s downpour worsened just before her stadium round, and officials announced a hold three horses before Marinovich’s trip. 

“It had already been lightning for about 15 minutes, and I was all warmed up,” she recalled. “When they called the break, I went to my friend’s barn and poured the water out of my boots while we waited.”

Marinovich, 15, trains with Minnesota-based Becky Holder in the spring and summer and spends her winters riding with Darren Chiacchia in Florida. Marinovich squeezed in a last-minute lesson with Chiacchia the night before competition began.

“I was a little nervous because I hadn’t seen Darren in ages, since before his accident,” said Marinovich.  “I’d forgotten how much I missed him and how scary he is. But it was a good lesson, and it helped get me ready.”

Before Marinovich faced the soggy going at Lamplight, she had already encountered her share of problems just getting to the show. On the way down, their borrowed vehicle refused to cooperate with their trailer’s electrical system. So they had to hike an hour in the opposite direction to borrow a truck and trailer from a friend before heading to Wayne. 

Although it was Marinovich’s first trip to the AEC, Rapport finished 3rd here last year in the training horse division with Cristin Stoop in the irons. Marinovich took over the ride after the competition and has been dominating the novice ranks all year and starting the move up to training.

Elsewhere in the junior novice division, Mackenzie Kurtz and Caroline Glen struck a true tie for second, finishing on their dressage scores of 30.5. Both riders also clocked the exact same cross-country time of 4:44, just 14 seconds off the optimum. Kurtz, Sugarloaf, Pa., rode her own Harry Houdini, a 13.2-hand Welsh Pony, while Glen, Weston, Mass., competed aboard Tinian, a 21-year-old Thoroughbred gelding owned by Michael Plum.

Still Raining For Training

In the training horse division, Mara Dean kept Tracie Taylor’s Casino on track to finish the competition on their dressage score of 26.3.

Dean and Casino headed out on cross-country during the worst of yesterday’s deluge, but the bay Hanoverian stayed focused to put in his best run to date. “I don’t think I’ve ever ridden in that much rain, and he was definitely the best he’s ever been,” said Dean, Round Hill, Va.

In the final phase today, the still-green Casino had second thoughts at the first fence, but with some encouragement from Dean he zoned in and clocked around. “He was a little undone by the rain and the atmosphere, but that’s why he’s only going training now,” said Dean. “He’s just a little spooky, but he’s very, very careful. But I’m happy with how he went.  It will just take time for him to get a little braver.”

Dean’s student Kate Aldrich rode a double-clean stadium round today aboard William Don’t Tell to capture the junior training title. The 17-year-old finished on her dressage score of 24.7.

Yesterday, organizers stopped action on the cross-country course shortly before Aldrich’s ride time to evaluate the soggy grounds and modify a few fences, but Aldrich, Huntly, Va., didn’t let the disruption throw off her plan.

“I just put in the biggest studs I had and off we went,” said Aldrich. “He was kind of wild after warming up the second time, but once we started he went great. The changes they made to the course really helped.”

The role of dressage leader was a familiar one for Jamie Marlewski of Oxford, Wisc. She and Sprint Tech were the top scorers in the first phase at last year’s AEC, but had a stop on cross-country to place 10th overall. That made her win today in the amateur preliminary all the sweeter, as even with a rail down in show jumping, she came out on top with a score of 33.2.

Marlewski bought her 10-year-old off-the-track Thoroughbred gelding six years ago and trained him up through the levels herself. This summer she moved him up to intermediate, but the pair suffered a few setbacks and lost confidence, so they dropped down to training last month to get it back.

“He stopped a few times in the warm-up, so I was a little nervous,” Marlewski admitted of her ride today. “But after that last run at training, we’ve started to get our confidence back, and he went in and was great. My horse is just awesome.”

Marlewski, 23, boards with fellow AEC winner Tera MacDonald in Genoa City, Wisc., and the two share local trainer Erin Diserio as their coach.

Donna Miller captured the amateur training title with her gray Connemara stallion, ArdCeltic Art. Miller, Alpharetta, Ga., logged 3.2 time penalties on cross-country yesterday but pulled off a double-clear round in the show jumping this morning, adding nothing to her overnight total of 29.6.

Burke Bucks Up

In the preliminary horse division, one of the upper level classes to be scored as a combined test, Mary Burke earned top honors aboard Esprit de Corps. Burke lay second after dressage (34.2) and added nothing over the show jumping course, moving into the lead when Heather Morris and Slate River logged 2 time penalties.

Although the championship marks a milestone in Burke’s career, she gives all the credit to her 12-year-old gelding. “He’s come such a long way in six years,” she said. “He really deserves this championship.”

When Burke first started with the chestnut Thoroughbred six years ago, he hardly appeared to be championship material. A young Esprit de Corps fell through the cracks after his breeder developed cancer and passed away. Eventually he found himself at a local barn as a 3½- year-old, and his only talent seemed to be bucking off anyone bold enough to try to mount up. Burke finally met the horse as an unbroken 6-year-old who had been dismissed by everyone who tried to work with him. 

“I fell in love with him from the moment he walked out of the pasture,” said Burke, 47. “We’ve always been a match. He does buck, but once I got him broke, he’s been perfect for me.”

The Ellensburg, Wash., professional put the dressage work on Esprit de Corps herself, but she relies on help from Amy Tryon and Alexis Lind to keep her and her horses on track. 

When she’s not running her training facility, Brookridge Farm, or teaching lessons, Burke keeps a day job as a physical therapist at a local hospital.

A Winning Ride For Wildasin

A clean and clear stadium round boosted Arden Wildasin and I’m Happy As Larry to the top of the junior/young rider preliminary division. Wildasin, 14, finished on her dressage score of 31.3 to take the title, as well finishing 10th on her second mount, Jos Ambition.

“He’s really good cross-country and in stadium, and he’s helped me with dressage because he knows more than I do,” said Wildasin of the 12-year-old gelding. “I knew coming here that it would be more difficult than I’m used to. I was working hard on the shoulder-in and extended canter to get ready for this competition.”

Wildasin’s extra work in the dressage ring paid off at the AEC, as she logged her lowest score of the season. The pair has come up the levels together over the past three years, and the Greenwich, Conn., rider hopes that he will be her partner when she’s old enough to contest her first intermediate.

With her biggest championship yet behind her, Wildasin has set her sights on completing her first CCI* at Morven Park (Va.) this fall, the first step toward her next goal of qualifying for North American Junior and Young Riders Championships.

Holder Holds On For The Win

Becky Holder and Rejuvenate held on to the lead in the open intermediate division after a double-clean stadium round. She and the 10-year-old Oldenburg-Thoroughbred added nothing to their initial score of 25.6 to take the championship.

Holder, Mendota Heights, Minn., shares the ride on the gelding with his owner and breeder, Ann Bower.  A seasoned intermediate horse with both riders, Rejuvenate will soon be moving up to advanced. Holder picked up the ride again after returning from the Olympic Games in Hong Kong this summer, and the extra work she put in paid off on dressage day at the AEC.

“He has very extravagant gaits, but I don’t always get them in the ring because he’s quite spooky,” she said.  “But he stayed very focused, even with the pouring rain and the umbrellas and all the people at ringside.  He’s very solid at the level, and I was able to show off the schooling we’ve been working on towards the advanced movements.”

Holder ran into trouble in the show jumping ring with her ride in the preliminary horse division when the pouring rain turned her saddle slick, so she waited till the last minute to warm up Rejuvenate.

“I cut it a little close,” she admitted.  “I was a little frazzled going in the ring, but he was a trouper. He’s a really good jumper, and I’m working on his rideability between the fences. He made two inside turns on the back sides of big oxers, so I couldn’t be happier with how he went.”

Leslie Law topped the open advanced division aboard Fleeceworks Mystere du Val, earning the $4,500 top check with a score of 28.8.

The Ocala, Fla., and Bluemont, Va., rider couldn’t have been happier with the 8-year-old gelding’s performance in the stadium phase, where he jumped double-clear to clinch the championship. Law, 43, took over the ride on the Selle Français gelding last November for owners Beatrice and Guy Rey-Herme.

“He really suits my style of riding,” he said. “He’s a horse that doesn’t pull too hard. I like a horse that swings along with a big easy step that I can keep riding to the jumps. We’ve really gelled.”

Law had been hoping to notch a solid cross-country run at Lamplight before the Fair Hill CCI*** (Md.), but weather intervened to throw a wrench in his schedule.

“As it stands, the horse is heading towards Fair Hill, and I was always going to head to Middleburg (Va.) open intermediate anyway, so it’s all right,” he said. “The horse ran extremely well at Richland CIC*** (Mich.) and that helps to get a good run in there.”