Allentown, N.J.—May 13
Tiana Coudray’s in a pretty familiar position after the CIC*** dressage at Jersey Fresh—first place. Coudray is a master of the little white ring, and today she showed that Master Hill is just as talented as her four-star ride, Ringwood Magister, by riding the powerful bay gelding to the top of a competitive CIC*** division.
“It was a good test for him. He’s a super talented horse, but he’s still coming along. He gets a bit more confirmed at the level every time out. His work at home has been even better, but he’s not confirmed enough to have the perfect test in the ring,” Coudray, 22, said.
Even though it wasn’t perfect, Master Hill’s test was good enough for a score of 49.0 and the lead. Coudray knows that Master Hill can do even better, however. “The whole canter section can still be stronger, particularly the changes. I think we threw away points on both of those. They’re coming along and getting much more confirmed,” she said.
Coudray is used to being in the spotlight with Ringwood Magister, who won the dressage at the Rolex Kentucky CCI**** two weeks ago. But that horse and Master Hill—even though they’re both by Master Imp—are very different creatures.
“The gray one was born to piaffe all day long, and this horse was born to do extended trot all day long. They’re polar opposites that way. This horse is very powerful, and he still has to develop the collection. [Ringwood Magister] is the other way around. They’re similar in their minds, but in their physicality, they’re complete opposites,” Coudray said.
Since Coudray was coming east for Rolex Kentucky with Ringwood Magister, she decided to bring Master Hill along and add another CIC*** to his résumé. The big bay moved up to the advanced level last fall after winning the CCI** at The Event At Rebecca Farm (Mont.). She doesn’t have a confirmed plan for the rest of Master Hill’s summer. “I’m trying to put together a way to go to England for the rest of the year. It’s just a matter of funding and logistics,” she said.
Just A Matter Of Experience
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Coudray is looking forward to the CIC*** cross-country with Master Hill. “I think it does suit him. There are a few questions that are a decent test, and there’s a really nice feel to it. On a CIC course, sometimes it’s hard to have room to gallop, and I think that we have that out there. I’m happy about it,” she said.
To keep her lead, she’ll have to avoid making the same kind of mistakes—a few run-outs and a fall—that lost her the lead at Rolex with Ringwood Magister. Coudray is philosophical about her Rolex disappointment with “Finian.”
“I didn’t give him as good a ride as he needed, and he was too green to make up for the errors I made. We were both too green, and I take the blame at the end of the day for not giving him the ride that he needed,” she said.
“I think that I just don’t have a lot of experience at that level, and I have to get it. I’ve been thrown into the forefront based on how good a horse he is, and unfortunately, there’s no way around the fact that you have to get experience somehow.
“In a weird way, when you take it out of context, I’m really pleased. I’m excited for the future. I’ve always thought my horse is pretty darn special, but I have an even greater appreciation now for just how much he is the part,” she said. “I think I need to be better. He’s got a bit more learning to do. The pieces are coming together, but clearly we didn’t have all the pieces on the day.”
Finian is hanging out at Molly Rosin’s farm in Pennsylvania while Coudray concentrates on Jersey Fresh with Master Hill. “He’s mowing the lawn,” she said.
Big Plans For Cambalda
Another rising star who’s always a threat is Jennie Brannigan, and today she had a CIC*** test on Cambalda that wasn’t quite up to her normal standard, but she still managed to score well enough to take second place.
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Cambalda gave some points away right at the beginning of the test, when he popped into canter at the beginning of the medium trot. Brannigan took a cue from that mistake and rode quietly for the rest of the test. “He was just a bit of a boiling kettle! He’s quite fit right now, so I definitely rode conservatively in there; I didn’t push for the big medium trots, and I didn’t really go for it in the shoulder-ins,” Brannigan said.
And while Brannigan is just half a point behind Coudray, don’t necessarily expect to see her gunning for the top spot tomorrow on cross-country. Brannigan is aiming Cambalda for his first four-star at the Luhmuhlen CCI**** in Germany on June 15-19. “My goal isn’t to win here, it’s to do well at Luhmuhlen. I’m planning to run slow tomorrow and save his legs,” she said.
Behind Coudray and Brannigan is veteran Phillip Dutton on Mighty Nice, a younger horse coming up to the three-star level. Dutton is also leading the CCI** on Ben. In the CIC***, Boyd Martin is fourth on Otis Barbotiere.
A surprising number of riders had the bell rung for errors today, and CCI** competitor Liz Riley was excused from the ring by judge Eric Smiley due to unevenness of her horse, Ghost Whisperer.
Tomorrow, the CCI** division goes first, at 9:00 a.m., followed by the CCI*** division at 11:50, the CIC*** division at 1:40 p.m., and finally the CIC** at 3:15.
