September 2020 Issue

Page 12 September 2020 EAST COAST EQUESTRIAN Dutton Wins Maryland 5 Star at Fair Hill Test Event score. A double-clear show jump- ing round secured them the win. Dutton, West Grove, PA, also finished ninth with the Sea of Clouds Partnership’s 9-year- old Thoroughbred gelding Sea of Clouds, 18th with Lee Lee Jones’s 9-year-old Irish Sport Horse geld- ing Fernhill Pick Pocket, and 24th with Christine Turner’s 13-year-old Trakehner gelding Tsetserleg, who is normally ridden by Boyd Martin. “Obviously, I’m really pleased with my horses,” said Dutton, “but I’m also so excited about this venue for the eventing world in the future. I think, for a test event, it couldn’t have gone off better.” Ariel Grald and her longtime partner Leamore Master Plan, Anne Eldridge’s 11-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding, scored a 24.9 in dressage and posted two double clear jumping rounds to move up from fourth to second. Maya Black and Laurie Camer- on’s 8-year-old Swedish Warm- blood gelding Miks Master C were eighth after dressage on a score of 26.4 and added just one second of cross-country time to their score to jump up the leader- board to third place. The cross-country track for the CCI3*-S at Fair Hill Inter- national, which was designed by Maryland 5 Star at Fair Hill course designer Ian Stark, rode quite well with only four combi- nations incurring jumping faults. Time, however, proved hard to make, with only three combina- tions coming in clear and inside the time. Twenty-four of the 36 pairs who show jumped did so without knocking a pole. US Equestrian Managing Di- rector of Eventing Jenni Autry and High Performance Director Erik Duvander were both on site at Fair Hill this weekend to observe the competition and the new facili- ties. “All who attended the Test Event for the Maryland 5 Star at Fair Hill saw a promising snippet of what this event will be when it comes to fruition,” said Autry. “The new arenas have world-class footing that received very positive feedback from the riders, and Ian Stark’s cross-country course brings an entirely new feel to this venue. The Fair Hill Organizing Committee is incredibly dedicated to producing a competition of the highest caliber. We are confident that, once approved by the FEI, the new CCI5*-L will attract the very best in the world to compete here in the U.S.” “I believe having the Mary- land 5 Star at Fair Hill in the fall will contribute to the contin- ued development of our future championship teams,” Duvander added. “It is a competitive time of year to hold a CCI5*-L with both Burghley and Pau also running in the fall. However, this venue has superior arenas, both for training and competition, and with the unique, galloping layout of the cross-country, it should attract foreign competitors.” (Continued from page 9)