- Florida’s field of 17 CCI** horses was disappointingly small compared to the 73 in the inaugural division at Fair Hill (Md.) in October, prompting the question of whether the East Coast needs two fall three-days. “The Florida Horse Park really stepped up last year when Radnor (Pa.) wasn’t able to continue their two-star, and they filled a huge void in the calendar and need to be commended for that,” said Karen O’Connor, who sits on the Park’s board. “I do think the two-star at Fair Hill will continue to be more popular. Whether there’s enough demand to run two fall three-days will likely be sorted out in December at the U.S. Eventing Association Annual Meeting.”
- Ruthie Harbison, Wellborn, Fla., topped the training level three-day with Moet II, a palomino Thoroughbred gelding owned by Nicole Shinton. The pair finished on their dressage score of 33.5. Donna Miller, Alpharetta, Ga., took second place with her Connemara stallion ArdCeltic Art, who also won the amateur training division at the American Eventing Championships (Ill.) in September.
- After a three-year hiatus, U.S. Equestrian Federation President and Olympic gold medalist David O’Connor has quietly returned to competition this fall on a 6-year-old pinto mare named Agent 99. In a three-way tie for first place in the open training division after dressage, the ever-competitive O’Connor attempted to finish exactly on the optimum time on cross-country, but garnered .4 time faults when he finished 1 second over. In the end, O’Connor had to withdraw on Sunday afternoon anyway, as his division’s show jumping ran quite late. He opted instead to make his scheduled flight to Buenos Aires, Argentina, for the Fédération Equestre Internationale General Assembly meeting.
