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With the threat of stormy weather behind them, competitors at The Dutta Corp. Tryon International Three-Day Event enjoyed a calm and mild day as the cross-country and show jumping phases got underway on Saturday, November 12, 2022.
The Dutta Corp USEF CCI4*-L Eventing National Championship
Competitors in The Dutta Corp. CCI4*-L Eventing National Championship were the first out on Tryon’s White Oak cross-country course, where they tackled Mark Phillips’s course of 30 questions on Tryon’s hilly terrain. The second phase proved influential, shuffling the leaderboard heading into the final phase.
Dan Kreitl (Muncie, Ind.) and Carmango, Kay Dixon’s 9-year-old Westphalian gelding, came into cross-country in second place and turned in a clear jumping round with just two time penalties to move into first-place position. This event is the first CCI4*-L for both Kreitl and Carmango and is the result of a long partnership.
“My friends Kay and Steve Dixon own the horse. I don’t do this for a living, but they kind of sponsor me as a friend, and then I’ve developed these young horses,” said Kreitl. “Leslie Law found him for us when he was four years old, and he’s nine this year, so he was really green, just barely started when we got him. I’ve had him from beginner novice up through this point. He’s a genuine horse that tries his guts out for us. I’ve never ridden a horse that puts in 110% every day. He’s so easy in all three phases.”
Kreitl admits that the round didn’t go perfectly—he had a nail-biting moment toward the end of the course, but the pair got through it.
“Thankfully the horse raised his head right at the right moment and it kind of helped throw me back in the saddle and off we went,” said Kreitl. “It made it a lot of fun and definitely got my adrenaline pumping a bit more!
“I haven’t ridden at this venue a lot, only one other time, but I thought the footing was as good as it could be given how much rain we had,” said Kreitl. “I felt like it was a challenging course...It was a heck of a workout, but [Carmango] recovered quite well and looked good afterwards, so we were really happy to see how he handled the longer course.”
The pressure will be on tomorrow when the national championship contenders take to the Tryon Stadium for the show jumping phase. With a score of 31.2, Kreitl stands less than two penalty points ahead of the second-place combination, Phillip Dutton (West Grove, Pa.) and Azure (Omar x Cavalier Roseliar), a 10-year-old Irish Sport Horse mare owned by Caroline, Anne, and Michael Moran, who also had a double-clear cross-country round. Liz Halliday-Sharp (Lexington, Ky.) had a clean jumping effort but 5.6 time penalties on cross-country with Deniro Z (Zapaterro VDL x Zonne-Trend, a (14-year-old) KWPN gelding owned by Ocala Horse Properties, LLC, moving them from first to third place in the standings.
USEF Eventing Young Rider Championship presented by USEA
Because of the schedule rearrangement caused by Friday’s heavy rainfall, there were some changes to the jumping phases, including moving the show jumping phase ahead of cross-country for the CCIJ1*-L in the USEF Eventing Young Rider Championship presented by USEA.
The combined Area II/VII team moved into the lead after show jumping with a total score of 100.4. Area VII's Lizzie Hoff (Gig Harbor, Wash.) maintained her individual lead with HSH Limited Edition (Sibon W x Tinirana Velvet), Caroline Martin’s 7-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding.
After the CCIJY2*-L cross-country phase on Saturday, the combined Area II/IV/VI team climbed up the standings to take first place with a score of 116.3. Canada’s Cassandre Leblanc (Beaumont, Quebec) had a double-clear cross-country phase with Riffel (Mountain Boy x Jenny), her own 16-year-old Thoroughbred gelding, to move into first place individually.
In the CCI3*-L, the Area V/VIII team moved into first place with a 150.4. Tommy Greengard (Malibu, Calif.) and his 8-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding, Joshuay MBF (Foreign Affair x Fernacchy MBF), maintain their lead in the YRC after a clear jumping effort and just four time penalties in their cross-country round.
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