Darren Chiacchia took the lead on the first day of dressage at The Fork, Norwood, N.C., and he never relinquished it, despite Kim Severson breathing down his neck, less than a point behind him. Both jumped clear cross-country rounds on April 9, to finish in the top two spots aboard Windfall and Winsome Adante.

Seven of 28 starters in the CIC***W jumped clear and inside the time over Mark Phillips’ new course, held at The Fork Stables, which encompasses more than 1,500 acres owned by Jim Cogdell. In addition to Chiacchia and Severson, Phillip Dutton put in three clear rounds, to finish third aboard Nina Gardner’s House Doctor, 15th on Bruce Duchossois’ Connaught, and 20th on August Vettorino’s Amazing Odyssey.

Hannigan finished just 2 seconds over the time to finish 14th, also for Duchossois. Kristin Bachman produced one of the day’s clear rounds, with a remarkable recovery at the second water complex, to finish sixth on Gryffindor (see it here), and Will Faudree provided the seventh clear round, to take fifth on Antigua.

“He was just super,” said Chiacchia of Timothy Holekamp’s Windfall. “The course was challenging, and things came up fast, but that’s where he’s at his best.”
   
Severson said her round with Winsome Adante benefited from mistakes she made on her first ride, Royal Venture. She had a sticky ride through the first water on “Vennie” and then a stop at the goose in the second water. “Having had the ride on Royal Venture woke me up to some of the issues on the course,” she said. “ ’Dan’ was great. The tougher the courses, the better he goes. I was surprised it rode as hard as it did—it was harder than I’d anticipated.”

Dutton thought the water complex was a stiffer test than the rest of the course. “You had to have a good line and a bold and clever horse,” he said. “The rest of the course was softer, but Mark [Phillips] was planning for everyone to have a good ride before Rolex.”

“I think [Mark] and Jim [Cogdell] accomplished what they set out to do,” said Chiacchia.
   
In the CIC***, Stuart Black took the win with more than 20 points in hand after posting the only round inside the time in his division.   

CIC***W
1.    Windfall, Darren Chiacchia, 33.8
2.    Winsome Adante, Kim Severson, 34.7
3.    House Doctor, Phillip Dutton, 39.1
4.    McKinlaigh, Gina Miles, 48.6
5.    Antigua, Will Faudree, 48.7
6.    Gryffindor, Kristin Bachman, 49.6
7.    Poggio II, Amy Tryon, 50.0
8.    Northern Spy, Heidi White, 52.7
9.    Courageous Comet, Becky Holder, 53.1
10.    Lion King II, Jonathan Holling, 56.2

CIC***
1.    Fleeceworks Starlight, Stuart Black, 37.8
2.    Pickle Road, Heather Gillette, 58.5
3.    Call Me Clifton, Donna Smith, 61.5
4.    Gaspar II, Darren Chiacchia, 63.3
5.    Aly Cat Two, Ashley Johnson, 64.5
6.    Let’s Make A Deal, Karen O’Connor, 64.9
7.    Theodore O’Connor, Karen O’Connor, 65.5
8.    Draco, Jennifer Libby, 68.4

Advanced
1.    Kingpin, Mike Winter, 38.5
2.    Sloopy, John Williams, 41.3
3.    Windswept, Penny Rowland, 46.0
4.    Paleface, Waylon Roberts, 50.10
5.    Orion, Craig Thompson, 54.7
6.    Dunraths Alto, Lauren O’Brien, 61.6
7.    Mahogany Chief, Emma Winter, 65.80
8.    Oberon, Rebecca Barron, 74.0