Jessica Phoenix Leads CCI4*-L at The Event at TerraNova

Only two horse and rider combinations finished within the time allowed in the B&D Builders CCI4*-L today at The Event at TerraNova. Canadian Jessica Phoenix on her 16-year-old mare Fluorescent Adolescent made a huge leap from 14th place after dressage to take the lead on 39.1 penalties. Cornelia Fletcher and her 14-year-old mare Daytona Beach 8, who were 15th after dressage second, are now in second on 41.4. Rounding out the top three is Brooke Burchianti riding Karin Burchianti’s 11-year-old KWPN gelding Cooley Space Gray who made the meteoric rise from 17th, or last after dressage, to third place after cross country (44.8).

Just ten out of 17 horse and rider combinations completed the CCI4*-L cross country phase. Phoenix is also ranked fourth with Sara Irving’s Aeronautics, and Irishman Tim Bourke is fifth riding Lisa Takada’s 17.1h gray Irish Sport Horse gelding, Monbeg Libertine.

An eye-catching skewbald Canadian Sport Horse, Fluorescent Adolescent has been competing at the FEI levels for the past ten years, and Phoenix has been competing him since 2022.

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“I was excited to get out on the cross country today and thought what a great job they had done to glow up the course from previous years. Having said that, there was a lot of work to do from start to finish: the combinations just kept coming at you and it didn’t let up. You had to be really on your game and have a horse that wanted to fight for it.”

Fluorescent Adolescent was meant to run her first five-star at the Maryland Five-Star last month, but after a successful dressage test, the mare developed a sinus infection and had to withdraw from the event. After treatment with antibiotics and a nebulizer she fully recovered and thanks to having been prepared for the five-star, was still fit enough to reroute to TerraNova for the CCI4*-L.

“The coffin was a really challenging jump, especially early on, right next to the warm-up area, with a lot of terrain,” she said. “I just had to trust in the horses, that they had enough confidence to do it, and they totally did.” Phoenix had already been out on course with Wabbit, a 14-year-old gray Thoroughbred gelding owned by Jim Phillips, but didn’t make it past the coffin jump. She was also competing in the three-star with her first horse of the day and said, “He jumped in beautifully, jumped the ditch beautifully, and then just completely misread the way out and I had a fall there. The third time was the charm on Aeronautics!”

Phoenix said, “Eventing is such an incredible sport, it’s one of the hardest sports you could ever choose to compete in; it’s also one of the most rewarding. But when everything comes together on one weekend, it’s something to treasure.”

Phoenix dedicated her rides this weekend in memory of farrier Brian Leith, who passed away a couple of weeks ago. She shared her regrets that she could not attend his Celebration of Life, which was held today in Ocala.

CCI4*-S Wraps Up

The Insurance Offices of America CCI4*-S wrapped up today with cross country, as competitors in this division finished both dressage and show jumping yesterday. Phillip Dutton went into the final phase in the lead with Quasi Cool, a 13-year-old Holsteiner gelding owned by Caroline Moran, but added 22.4 time faults and finished second overall (55.6). Quasi-Cool’s stablemate Azure, a striking dapple grey Irish Sport Horse mare owned by the Moran Family, won the division (43.2) with Dutton in the irons.

Dutton said, “They’re both pretty experienced horses, so I felt confident that the course was in the realm of what they could do. They both campaigned pretty lightly this year. I’m very impressed with the cross country, the footing was great and the design was inventive and tested a lot of different skills. I’m full of praise. I mean, it’s not meant to be easy, it’s meant to test the horse and rider and whether they’re ready for that level.”

He said that his goal is for Azure to compete in the Kentucky Five-Star next spring and ideally place in the top five. “I was pleased with her dressage yesterday and I thought she show jumped well,” he said. “She’s a beast on the cross-country, she just goes. You’ve just got to sit there and steer. She’s certainly a hot horse and loves to compete; she thinks she’s a rock star and that everyone is just out there to watch her. I was pleased that this event was the first one where I could properly ride her and not just pray that she would keep it all together.”

Jennie Jarnstrom-Dennis, riding for Sweden, finished 3rd overall with her own 12-year-old Hanoverian mare Flower Girl. The pair was placed second after dressage, then dropped to 5th place after show jumping with two rails down.

Lucia Strini and the nine-year-old, gray Dutch warmblood gelding DHI Kevin G, owned by Plain Dealing Farm, added just .4 time faults on cross country to take the lead in The Estates at TerraNova and Laughlin Tanner Group at Premier Sotheby’s International Realty CCI3*-L with 29.5 penalties after overnight leader Isabelle Bosley parted company with Paper Doll on course. Lauren Nicholson had one of only three clear rounds within the time allowed and is currently second riding Landmark’s Jungle’s Gold (30.9), a nine-year-old Holsteiner/Irish Sport Horse cross owned by Jacqueline Mars. Canadian Karl Slezak also went double clear riding Zenith Petite Etoile, a seven-year-old gray Westphalian mare owned by Molly Adams and is currently placed third (32.8).

Lucia’s sister, Benita Strini, moved up from 14th place after dressage to 5th after cross-country riding Plain Dealing Farm’s Shirsheen Ice. Kevin is also Benita’s horse, but Benita started riding him in his seven-year-old year. “She competed him for a year but he grew bigger and he’s kind of a weirdo, so now she lets me ride him,” she said. “He’s very special and I’m grateful. There’s no sibling rivalry, we just support each other. It’s hard because I was in the warm-up while she was out on course and I wanted to be able to watch! But we’re used to it, we’ve been doing this together since we were young and it’s nice to have each other.”

Benita said that Kevin was off to a good start with his dressage test on Thursday and continued to show good form around today’s cross-country course. “The day before our dressage test we were in the ring schooling and the flags were going and he got pretty nervous, so I was proud of him for going back in the ring and staying calm,” she said. “He’s done two three-longs before this but hasn’t had a heavy competition season because I’ve been busy having babies and such, so I thought that he could really use another run and have a bit of a longer season. Everything went pretty much according to plan; it was the longest course he’s run and that was nice to feel him keep galloping all the way home.”

This is Strini’s first time at TerraNova and she said it was worth the long trek from her home in Virginia. “It’s really exciting to have a facility that, from what I’ve been told, is getting better every year,” she said. “They’re putting so much into the footing and the facilities, I’m excited and we’re already talking about when we’re going to come back.”

Results here.

Livestream here.