At the conclusion of the Fair Hill CCI*** cross-country, Oct. 20, Phillip Dutton and Annie Jones’ The Foreman maintained their lead (42.4) with a double-clear round, and Dutton also moved into third aboard Woodburn (50.9). Meanwhile, his student and employee, Boyd Martin of Australia, retained second place with Ying Yang Yo (46.5) and also held fourth with Neville Bardos (52.4).

Karen O’Connor stands fifth with Mandiba (53.5) and seventh with Hugh Knows (56.9), while Dutton’s student Cayla Kitayama is sixth on Esker Riada (53.9).

The day’s six double-clear rounds over Derek DiGrazia’s course in Fair Hill, Md., were posted by The Foreman, Woodburn, Mandiba, Neville Bardos, Esker Riada and Selena O’Hanlon of Canada on Colombo (currently eighth).

Donna Smith and Rocket, who stood third after dressage, had run-outs at three fences before retiring at fence 18, a double of corners that caused difficulties throughout the day.

The two worst falls of the day came at fence 18. First, Becky Douglas and Courageous Comet, who’d already had a refusal at fence 6AB, the Farm Yard near the trade fair, fell hard at fence 18A, with Comet appearing to land on Douglas. The course was held while the ambulance was called, but Douglas stood up before medics transported her off the course for evaluation. She appeared not to be seriously injured, but no information was available at press time.

Meanwhile, Melissa Hunsberger had been held just before the Wild Horses brush fence at 17 while medics attended to Douglas. But when Hunsberger started back on course, she, too, fell at fence 18A with Just Fun Stuff. The horse appeared to have injured one or two legs and was transported off the course by a trailer after his leg was stabilized. Vets have radiographed Just Fun Stuff’s distal limbs, and no fractures were found. He is resting comfortably at the University of Pennsylvania’s New Bolton Center.

Dutton and The Foreman, who were scheduled to start three horses after Hunsberger, were held before the start. According to Dutton, there was some concern about the visibility of the corner in the changing sunlight, and officials put duct tape on the front rail and more footing on take-off in an attempt to make it more distinct.

“[The hold] didn’t do The Foreman that much good,” said Dutton. “He didn’t feel like he was going in the first few minutes. He’s usually an incredibly fast horse, but we were a few seconds down on all our minute markers until the end, and then he finished well. But warming up and then getting off and then getting back on again had a mental effect on him, and it took him a while to get into the swing of things.”

Dutton said he’d misread fence 18 when he walked the course. “I thought it would be a show jumping four strides, but it rode longer than that due to the dip in the ground,” he said.

But he didn’t think any one fence had caused the 11 retirements or seven eliminations that took place today.  “The terrain is constantly up and down, so you are constantly rebalancing and adjusting, which is tiring for the horse and rider and makes it harder to be accurate,” he said. “There was pressure on horses and riders all the way around.”

He said he gained a lot of respect for his new partner, Acorn Hill Farm’s Woodburn: “He galloped phenomenally well and did it very easily. He was impressive. He’s still a bit of a work in progress—some parts of the course he was a bit too bold, but I’m not sure if he needs a bigger course or more training.”

Fence 5, the Elk Chapel Crossing, which required riders to jump a log, then down onto the road and back up the other side, and out over a corner, also ruined several riders’ days. William Coleman and K. du Manoir, eighth after dressage, went no farther after the horse refused three times here.

One of the crowd favorites was Jessica Ruppel of Canada riding the Morab/Appaloosa, Naughty By Nature. The 15-hand horse stands 17th after moving up from 35th place after dressage.

Other difficult fences included 8ABC, the Dansko Village Cobblers Cottages and Otters in the main arena, and the coffin at fence 12, Wayne’s Walls, caused several run-outs as well.

“It was one of the tougher [Fair Hill] courses,” said Dutton of the route that was run in the opposite direction of its usual flow. “But I think they got the time close to being right.”

Top 20 After Cross-Country
1.    The Foreman, Phillip Dutton, 42.4
2.    Ying Yang Yo, Boyd Martin, 46.5
3.    Woodburn, Phillip Dutton, 50.9
4.    Neville Bardos, Boyd Martin, 52.4
5.    Mandiba, Karen O’Connor, 53.5
6.    Esker Riada, Cayla Kitayama, 53.9
7.    Hugh Knows, Karen O’Connor, 56.9
8.    Colombo, Selena O’Hanlon, 59.8
9.    Frodo Baggins, Laine Ashker, 63.5
10.  Hollywood, Kelly Sult, 66.0
11.  Arctic Dancer, Ralph Holstein, 67.3
12.  Roundabout, Penny Rowland, 68.8
13.  Dobbin, Corinne Ashton, 69.8
14.  Orion, Craig Thompson, 71.6
15. Livewire, Samantha Taylor, 72.9
16.  Kings Whisper, Blair King, 74.1
17.  Klimax, Werner Geven, 74.2
18.  Naughty By Nature, Jessica Ruppel, 75.4
19.  Oz, Mikki Kuchta, 79.2
20.  Manny, Diana Burnett, 82.5.

Fair Hill International CDI
Driving Results
Single Pony
1. Sara Schmitt, 147.99
2. Sherri Dolan, 165.24
3. Vivian Creigh, 165.8
4. Jennifer Matheson, 170.14
5. Sybil Humphreys, 183.92
6. Mary Mott-Kocsis, 185.93
 
Multiple Pony
1. Boots Wright, 166.55
2. Lisa Stroud, 171.28
3. Monroe Russell, 202.00
4. Kelly Valdes, 204.29

Single Horse
1. Robin Groves, 157.37
2. Bill Peacock, 158.58
3. Donna Crookston, 160.55
4. Dana Pigford, 166.88
5. Marjas Becker, 169.41
6. Scott Monroe, 171.47
7. Kim Stover, 174.43
8. Amanda Kantor, 175.40
9. Wilson G. Groves, 211.86

 Pair Horse
1. Larry Poulin, 160.56
2. Lisa Singer, 162.52
3. Alan Aulson, 174.14
4. Gary Stover, 176.59