Saturday was the busiest day of competition at Stable View in Aiken, SC, as all seven levels competed. The Training, Modified, and Preliminary divisions all began their dressage in the Tree Arena at 8am. The focus of the spectators quickly shifted to cross-country as the first CCI3*-S competitor left the startbox at 9:30 am.
As the day continued, more spectators arrived; the Pavilion was full with those who had purchased a VIP ticket, while many others watched from chairs and blankets scattered around the rest of the course at key combinations. Spectator Renee Hoilk said, “It’s a world-class facility.”
The CCI4*-S division began at 12:45 pm with Arden Wildasin and Billy Beaufort the first ones out of the box. They were quickly followed by Boyd Martin and Federman B (“Bruno”) who caused gasps from the Pavilion as they had a scare at the Defender Columbia Coffin where Bruno caught a leg on the A element and Boyd was almost unseated. Boyd used his decades of riding experience to navigate the rest of the question with no penalties to cheers from the audience. Ultimately, the CCI4*-S saw three glance-offs at the D element of the Coffin Question and a few other refusals and flags throughout the course.
At the conclusion of cross-country, Boyd Martin and Commando 3 ended with the blue ribbon, adding 8 time penalties to reclaim the lead they had after dressage and finish on a 38. Boyd and Federman B also added 8 time penalties to finish on a 38.8, good for second place. Boyd also finished fourth with Luke 140 who accumulated 11.2 time penalties to finish on a 40.4.
Boyd commented, “Fantastic course today. Helen West did a brilliant job designing this track. It was inviting and kind, but really challenging and I feel like the horses had a good run around it. All three of my horses performed well and felt happy and fresh at the end. It was a good fitness run and it had a lot of the Kentucky questions with the double of skinnies in the water, a major coffin, and out the back we had an oxer, corner, and narrow that is very Derek di Grazia. I think she’s done an incredible job with preparing horses.” Barry Olliff added, “I just want to congratulate Boyd because he’s one of Stable View’s most loyal supporters.”
Julie Wolfert and Team Pivot’s SSH Playboy were the quickest round of the day with only 1.2 time penalties to finish third on a 39.3. She shared, “He felt amazing out there. I knew it was going to be a big-technical track but he ate it up. It’s exactly what I want to feel like preparing for a five-star. I still have adrenaline going an hour or two later. It’s cool because it takes so many years to get to this level, but once you’re here it just feels like heaven on Earth.” Julie is preparing for her first five-star later this month at Kentucky. She said, “It will be my first five-star. I’ve never been in this situation before, so I’m really thrilled and I’m just going to bubble wrap him until then.”
CD Helen West also shared her thoughts on how the CCI4*-S course rode, “I was really pleased with how the four-star rode. I thought there was enough out there. There were problems sort of evenly spread and there was no one real bogey fence. I think the technical fences took some riding, but actually I thought the Defender Columbia Combination, although it was a proper test and the angle was quite acute, it rode more forgiving than I anticipated, which is a great thing. We had a couple of glance-offs there. Boyd’s first horse, Federman B left a leg, but he was still able to navigate B,C, and D and he read the question. Overall I was absolutely thrilled with how that all went.”
Sharer Dale, Aiken Real Estate Agent and Equestrian herself, sponsored two of the new Gazebos set along the cross county track and the show jump warm-up arena. Sharer said, “This venue would rival that of the Masters.” Her gazebos were full of spectators enjoying the sport. Mary Guynn shared, “The only thing better than the sport was the camaradie.” Madison McEvoy, also a member of the Sharer Dale Team, said, “I think this is the most horse-friendly facility we have in Aiken, Every horse I’ve ever owned has been the happiest here.” Another spectator, Stephanie Caston, shared, “It was a lovely experience. The jumps and the ground are fabulous. The team has done a great job putting together a top-notch event yet again.”
The CCI3*-S saw Sydney Hagaman and her own Charmeur finish in first on a 35.5, with Chris Talley and FE Marco Polo close behind on a 36.8. To round out the podium was Emilie Mudd-Guy and Quite Nice 11 with a 37.4. Helen West said, “The three-star I also thought went really well. I thought the horses read the questions well. I expected the angled brushes on the Academy Alp to cause a few more problems. The angle on the first brush was quite strong for a three-star question but the horses read it so well. Even there riders were able to make a mistake and the horses still stayed on the line. I was sad two riders missed a fence, but I can’t be responsible for that, but overall really pleased with how it rode. The horses looked happy, they were traveling well which is a testament to the work Stable View has done to the grounds and horses finished really well. I went up to the finish and spent a lot of time up there. They were finishing full of running and ears pricked. All in all, it was a really good day for the sport.”
All eyes then turned to the CCI2*-S division. They jumped in the morning over Chris Barnard’s show jumping course and then finished the day with cross-country over Mogie Bearden-Muller’s track. Isabelle Bosley and Connor held their lead and went double-clear to finish on their dressage score of 24.4. Mya Poulos and DHI Rock Dancer added 2.4 time penalties to finish second on a 29.4. Mia Farley and Nikita finished in third on a 31.1 after adding 6.4 time penalties over Mogie’s track. The Advanced saw Woods Baughman and Hopak de Greenbay Z hold their lead to finish first on a 47.7. In the competitive Intermediate division Kimmy Cecere and OS Hermintage finished first on a 36.9.
Results here.
