This year marked the first Radnor CCI** (Pa.) run without steeplechase (see p. 8). (Last year doesn’t really count, since terrible weather meant the cross-country had to be moved to Sunday, but the course was designed with a full-format three-day in mind.) And, as difficult as it is to say, Radnor was a better event for not having those first three phases on endurance day.

Permission to use the adjoining land to the Radnor Hunt property has been a worry as suburbia creeps ever closer. The roads and tracks had become a bit makeshift as riders had to trot up and down the roads. With the short format, there was no longer a need to cross Goshen Road since course designer Tremaine Cooper had all the added land of the steeple-chase track to use. Keeping the Radnor cross-country on Radnor Hunt property means there’s one less threat to Radnor’s continued existence.

As one of the few three-days that actually draws throngs of spectators, the decision to run without steeplechase made sense too. Radnor is an event run for charity, and Philadelphia’s elite travel from the city to enjoy a day in the country. The management even offers a tailgating contest, and no longer was the picturesque infield taken up with steeplechase. Instead of the elderly and the inebriated trekking out over hill and dale to catch a glimpse of an actual cross-country fence, they could remain comfortably seated at their tailgate to see much of the action.

Creating an appropriate warm-up was a definite concern for many riders before cross-country, but eventually they were given the whole hillside at the back of the course to conduct their own roads and tracks or steeplechase if they wanted. The riders reported that they couldn’t have been happier with the warm-up.

And the cross-country went well. There were a lot of stops on course, but that had more to do with Cooper taking the challenge of creating a two-star championship seriously than the lack of phases A, B and C. He asked tough accuracy and scope questions on course, and the wheat was separated from the chaff by the end. Good riders on well-prepared horses skipped around the almost 10-minute cross-country course with ease. They knew they were ready to take on the next level after finishing Radnor. Unprepared horses and green riders had run-outs (often multiple problems), but at the end of the day the horses still had their confidence, and the riders knew what they needed to go home and work on.

I’m no veterinarian, but the horses didn’t look unduly stressed near the end of the course, and they didn’t appear to hit a wall at any point either. The majority appeared fresh and fit for show jumping, and no horses were spun at the third horse inspection, although two were not presented. The riders discussed the learning curve of figuring out the short format and stressed that the horses needed to be just as fit.

I won’t deny that a three-day without the steeplechase is definitely missing something. It’s still an amazing accomplishment to finish, but that line between a championship horse trials and a three-day event grows hazier by the competition.

But the riders don’t want to participate in the long format any longer, and without their participation nothing else matters. The inclusion of the Virginia two-star at the end of the fall calendar on the East Coast challenged Radnor’s place as the premier fall two-star. By adapting to the changing face of eventing, the organizers have ensured that Radnor will remain a destination event for years to come.

Sara Lieser