Only five horses started in the advanced division at Galway Downs, and only two completed. But it was Billings, Mont., amateur Martha McDowell who topped the division on Sunday, finishing on a score of 58.0 with her own Thoroughbred gelding, Gaelic Marriage.

A chorus of good-natured boos rang out at the competitors’ party on Saturday night when organizer Christina Gray announced her upcoming move from Paso Robles, Calif., to Lexington, Ky. Gray, a popular organizer whose résumé includes California events at Galway Downs, Twin Rivers, 3 Day Ranch and Woodside, will be working as assistant organizer for longtime Rolex Kentucky CCI**** director Jane Atkinson.

Galway Downs was one of the first events of the year to embrace the use of deformable jumps on cross-country. “Prologs” were utilized at several combination fences, and while they showed some wear and tear at day’s end, the Styrofoam material held up as expected. Many riders did note, however, that the sound the
logs make on impact will take some getting used to. CIC*** winner Amy Tryon said her horse scuffed over the logs at the bounce into water, and while it didn’t spook him, the noise was noteworthy. “I remember thinking, ‘Well, that’s an interesting sound,’ ” she said.