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When judge Brian Ross put his hand out of his car window and gave a thumbs up after Will Faudree’s final salute, Will knew that he and Jennifer Mosing’s 12-year-old Irish Thoroughbred mare, Andromaque, had put in a pretty good test in the Adequan USEA Gold Cup & PRO Tour Advanced Division at Southern Pines II.
“I was very happy with her,” said Will. “She is like going to work with Meryl Streep in the Devil Wears Prada every time I get on her. She is all business, and I have got a great partnership with her.”
Will had a tough year in 2012 – hitting the deck a few too many times then he cares to remember, but 2013 is looking up so far for him and Andromaque especially. The pair started the year at Pine Top Intermediate and finished in second and then came out a few weeks later to win the Advanced division at Pine Top, scoring a 25 in the dressage and only adding a bit of time on the cross-country course.
Southern Pines is Will’s home event and as he is right down the road he is able to trailer his horses in for the day, so they can go back home and go out in their paddocks.
“I rode her once this morning early - mainly because it was so cold, and I wanted to get them out of the trailer and moving around. When I warmed her up she felt really good so I didn’t do a whole lot and she went in and just put in a very business-like test.”
“I have been working with Sandy Phillips and between the stuff I have done with Sandy, I have had awesome training sessions with David [O’Connor]– he has just been brilliant. I have gotten so much out of those, and he has helped me so much with the quality of the work that I do with her. She is not the biggest moving horse and if I don’t work at her trot it is really quite ordinary. She is 15.3 and built a bit downhill, so we have to work to really bring her uphill. I watched the video and I was really pleased with her frame through the whole test – she tries her heart up and does everything I ask her.”
Will’s longtime partner, Pawlow, a 14-year-old Irish Thoroughbred also owned by Jennifer Mosing isn’t too far behind his barn mate as he lies in third on a 32.7.
Sandwiched between Will’s top placing mounts is Emily Beshear with her own Thoroughbred gelding, Here’s to You. The pair held the lead for most of the morning on an even 32.
The 35 competitors in the Adequan USEA Gold Cup & PRO Tour Advanced Division will head across the road to the cross-country course tomorrow starting at 12:19. The course is newly redesigned this year by Hugh Lochore, the course designer at the prestigious Red Hills event as well as several others. Overnight leader, Will Faudree, says that it looks to be a good test with plenty to do, and he is looking forward to riding it tomorrow.
In addition to tomorrow’s cross-country competition, there are several other activities planned throughout the day culminating in the Saturday Night Britches & Bling Party where the winning team of the “Go Low with the PROs” Golf Tournament held at Mid Pines Golf Club will be announced. Area golfers are played an 18-hole modified Texas Scramble. Their scores will be combined with the riding scores of some of the Eventing stars in the Advanced Division. The Britches & Bling Party will also include Piñatas with the PROs. Custom themed piñatas representing event rider’s Allison Springer, Phillip Dutton, Boyd Martin, Jan Byyny, Doug Payne and Will Coleman will be in a silent auction. The winning bidder of each piñata will win a course walk and warm up from their rider at a future event. All proceeds will benefit the Carolina Horse Park Foundation.
The Professional Riders Organization has also planned a Stabling Tour & Rider-Horse Meet and Greet for Ft, Bragg and Operation Homefront North Carolina families on Saturday, March 23rd at 3:30PM.
This is the fourth year that the Southern Pines II Horse Trials is part of the PRO Tour Series and the first year it is a qualifying event for the Adequan USEA Gold Cup.
The Adequan USEA Gold Cup features 11 qualifying competitions throughout the United States at the Advanced Horse Trials and CIC3* levels with the final at the Nutrena USEA American Eventing Championships September 26-29 in Tyler, Texas. Riders who complete a qualifier earn the chance to vie for $40,000 in prize money in the Adequan Advanced Division and the title of Adequan USEA Gold Cup Champion.
The Adequan USEA Gold Cup Series is made possible through the support of its many sponsors: Adequan; Nunn Finer; SmartPak Equine; Nutrena; Broadstone Equine Insurance Agency, Point Two; and FITS.
The PRO Tour Series consists of 13 premier destination events in the United States and Canada in 2013 featuring the best riders and most entertainment. Riders and Horses are awarded points on the PRO Tour Rider Leader Board and PRO Tour Horse Leader Board. Riders can also earn points on the PRO Tour Series at the Intermediate or two-star level for the Multi Radiance Intermediate Challenge. The 2013 Multi Radiance Challenge Leader Board Champion will win a Multi Radiance MR4 ACTIVET Portable Laser System.
The Professional Riders Organization would like to thank the following sponsors for their support of the 2013 PRO Tour Series: Martin Collins USA, The Official Footing of PRO; Multi Radiance Medical, The Official Laser Therapy of PRO & Sponsor of the Multi Radiance Medical Intermediate Challenge ; Tex Sutton, the Official US Equine Air Carrier of PRO; SSG Riding Gloves; Finish Line Horse Products; Midlantic Ltd.; and Mythic Landing Events.
