im Severson and Winsome Adante finished 15 seconds under the time, making the cross-country look easy as they just pulled farther and farther ahead of their competitors. Raw, damp weather didn’t stop 29,249 spectators from coming out to see them, April 30 in Lexington, Ky.

Severson stands on her dressage score of 38.2, well ahead of Leslie Law of Great Britain on Coup De Coeur (50.4). And Phillip Dutton’s three fast rounds on The Foreman, Nova Top and Hannigan moved him up to a tie for third (51.2) and fifth (55.2), respectively.

“I was way up on the clock, which I have a tendency to do, but I was too chicken to let off until the very end,” said Severson. “The changes on the course rode better than I anticipated, especially the stump [fences 16ABC]–I had thought there would be more trouble there.”

Law was thrilled with the course as Coup De Coeur’s first four-star. “It fills them with confidence,” he said of Mike Etherington-Smith’s creation. “I love Rolex; it’s a great four-star, and the cross-country has been beefed up a little each time I’ve been here. There’s talk that this is bigger than Badminton [CCI*** to be run next weekend in England], and I hope it’s true.”

Law thought Coup De Coeur was tiring by the time he approached the next-to-last fence. “I had to nurse him up the hill a little,” he said. “But he is pretty exciting. He’s everything we thought he was. He’s a fabulous jumper and possibly a horse for the European Championships this year.”

Dutton couldn’t pick any of his horses as excelling over the others–he was thrilled with all three. Hannigan was the first horse on course this morning, and Dutton wasn’t sure how the course would ride or what to expect from one of his favorite horses, who had only run one event since Kentucky last year. “The ground was slower at the beginning of the day, but he was exceptional,” he said.

He said The Foreman showed some greenness in his first four-star, but he still finished 10 seconds under the time. “He has scope to burn, and he is very fast,” Dutton said.

On Nova Top, his 2004 Olympic partner, Dutton had even more confidence than when he set out on course last year, and he said the horse posted a “nice, easy round” on his way to finishing inside the time.

“I tried to set out and make the time but ride each jump as I saw it and pick the best footing,” he said of his rides. “I wanted to make sure I wasn’t asking them something they’re not up to.”

Jan Thompson earned just 8 time penalties to claim sixth place (56.2) with Task Force. Andrew Hoy holds seventh place on Yeoman’s Point, who was allowed to restart phase A at the end of the morning since roads and tracks officials did not notify him that he had missed two gates on his first trip around phase A. Hoy is fortunate that the FEI rule changes now require officials to tell competitors when they miss a gate, since his other mount, Moonfleet, was eliminated after falling at the Hayrack at fence 25.

Karen O’Connor and Upstage stand eighth (64.6), ahead of first-time four-star riders Rebecca Howard and Wendy Lewis. Buck Davidson rode an impressive round on Let It Rain, whom he’s only ridden for a few weeks, jumping confidently and finishing with just 7.2 time penalties. Emma Winter also had the ride of her life on Mahogany Chief to stand 13th.

Amy Tryon had a run-out at the second stumps at fence 16C on Poggio, who could otherwise be standing in second place. Eddy Stibbe picked up 20 penalties at fence 9B, the Squirrels. Sara Mittleider, 19, had just one run-out at fence 16C on El Primero, but otherwise ran beautifully, including taking the direct route up the bank at the Hollow, which few riders attempted.

Clark Montgomery had to turn Falcon Flight away from the second duck in the Head of the Lake, then had a refusal when he presented the horse, racking up 60 penalties. Ralph Hill and Bad Boy Billy fell at the second of the Craftsman Corners, and he reportedly suffered a sprained ankle, but he completed the course, enjoying himself the rest of the way around. Laine Ashker fell from Eight Saint James Place after the horse jumped into the footbridge, bouncing it, but she remounted and completed the course, picking up another run-out at the first duck at the Head of the Lake. She was transported to a hospital for evaluation after she completed her ride.

Adrienne Iorio-Borden pulled up Better I Do It just before the Sunken Road after having a few stops earlier on course. Darren Chiacchia and Windfall were spun in the vet box, and Brittany Kart withdrew Semper Fidelis before cross-country. Warrie Hill and Nicky Turner also did not start. Robyn Fisher, who fell with Le Samurai at the Craftsman Corners complex this morning, was evaluated at the hospital and released.

Severson withdrew Maguire, who was making his first four-star start, this morning after steeplechase because he threw both his front shoes after the first steeplechase fence. “Everything had to go well to run him because he hasn’t had a perfect spring,” she said. “It’s OK; he has more time.”

In the meantime, she’s just enjoying the remarkable partnership she has developed with Winsome Adante, who stands on the brink of a third win in the four-star here. “It’s a feeling I get with him every time-I know what he’s going to do, and he knows what I am doing,” she said. “I don’t think I’ll be fortunate enough to ever have another like him.”