Margie Engle, competing with her extremely fragile healing leg, which she broke on Feb. 13, (see Breaking News) jumped to a very impressive clear on Hidden Creek’s Perin.  “It’s definitely sore,” Engle said of her left leg after her round.  “When I got off, I definitely felt like I had done some damage.  I don’t think I rebroke it, but I think there’s some muscle tearing.”  While she’s unsure about her own strength, she still has no doubts about Perin. “I know he can do it. He feels fantastic; I don’t think he touched a jump tonight.  He carried me around even though I was only kind of half there.” L

Beezie Madden had a disappointing round on her 2002 World Equestrian Games mount, Judgement.  The big stallion pulled rails at a vertical and a liverpool oxer for 8 faults.  “He just doesn’t love this place,” said Beezie’s husband, John, about Judgement.  “We hope he’ll be better tomorrow, but it’s just a little bit of a hard atmosphere for him.”  The round tonight took place in the Del Mar Fairground’s ring, enclosed on two sides with tall grandstands, and under the lights.  Beezie’s other two rides made up for it though’Authentic and DeSilvio both jumped clean.

Engle’s teammate on the 2000 Olympic team, Lauren Hough aboard Clasiko, jumped clean tonight. Richard Spooner also has two with pristine scores so far’the venerable Robinson and Hilton Flight.  Norman Dello Joio and Glasgow looked at the top of their form, as well, and didn’t touch a rail.

Molly Ashe, who won the 2002 WEF trials on Kroon Gravin but then had to withdraw from the Games due to the mare’s injury, looks ready to challenge with another game mare.  Ashe and Lutopia, who was second in the $647,000 CN International [Canada] last year but had no major good results yet this year, jumped to a great clean round.  “She felt great.  My plan for the year kind of went out the window earlier this year,” Ashe said.

Alison Firestone guided Casanova to an impressive clean trip. “I’m really happy with how he went. 

He felt like he’s right on target and in great shape,” she said. “I came out here early and showed in a few small classes under the lights here.  He’s better when he’s in a groove, and I definitely think he’s in form.”

Peter Wylde and Fein Cera, who earned the individual bronze at the 2002 WEG and shipped from Belgium to to California for the trials, had a very unlucky 4 faults at the first fence.  “I don’t know what happened.  I think we were just asleep,” said Wylde.  “She feels good’fit, fresh and in form.  I’m just frustrated with that rail.  If it had come in the middle of the triple or something, it might have been OK, but to have the first fence down is killing me.”

The first fence was a cream-colored wall, and was also the only fault for Schyuler Riley and Opus Sept. The meaty parts of Leopoldo Palacios’ first course, though, lay along the long sides of the ring.  Fence 4AB to 5 had a triple bar-vertical two-stride combination, followed in a tight five strides to a narrow, white vertical.    On the other edge of the arena was a tall plank vertical set on a tight four strides before the vertical-oxer-vertical triple combination.  The last line, a liverpool oxer set away from the in-gate followed in a bending seven strides by the final oxer.