The Green Horseman

Sunday is the 4th and final day of the 3rd annual MARS Maryland 3* and  5* event.  The last day wraps up by testing the horses stamina after Saturday’s cross country.  The stadium jumping phase is a huge draw to the public.

We started our day rising with the sun and saw a beautiful sunrise from our 4th floor hotel room.  We got to the showgrounds, got so coffee, and made our way to the jog strip for horse inspections.  Daring this session, you get to see the horses up close without tack.  They present to a group of veterinarians and jog down and back.  This allows the vets to assess if the horse remains sound and fit to move forward after a grueling cross-country course.

Of the 26 5* riders who began with a dressage test Thursday and Friday, only 16 finished cross country.  Nobody was seriously injured, but there were a few rider 5 several pulled up and retired early.  I’m still heartbroken for Booli Selmayr to have been pulled up.

At the jog, 2 horses withdrew after being held, leaving only 14 rides in the 5* stadium round.  The top “20” receives prize money, so all 14 will go home with something.

After the inspections, we got breakfast at Waffe and Joe’s….an iced coffee with Bailey’s and a waffle with banana, chocolate, and whipped cream.  It was so good! 

One hundred corgis raced on the turf track but we missed them waiting for our food.

We found our seats and watched the action, starting with the 3* stadium jumping.  The wind was picking up.  During one of the rounds, 3 jumps blew over in front of the horse.  They rebuilt the jump, and she moved on to finish a great ride.  one of the horses caught its leg on the back rail of the final fence. It face planted and rolled in front of our eyes just a stride away from the finish. We think the rider was stepped on 1 or 2 times, and we watched in horror waiting for the medical team to come out. Luckily, she got up and managed to walk to the side-by-side for treatment. Later, she posted that the two are OK, and after some rest, banamine, and advil, they’ll be back at it.

One the 3* riders finished we made our way to the Hall of Fame tent to meet Main Sequence,a 14 year old thoroughbred who won $3.4 million in 21 starts, including the 2014 Breeders cup. We also got to meet Bye Bye Melvin who raced in last years Longines Breeders Cup turf. In 19 stard he won $400k.

Also in the tent was Mighty Nice “Happy” who was ridden by Philip Dutton to with individual broze at the 2016 Rio Olympics. He is also the face of the Triple Crown Complete bag and was USEFs 2016 horse of the year. Philip joined us with his bronze medal to take photos and do signings.

We went back to Waffle and Joe’s for lunch…sorry, no photos. Suzanne and I split a caprese and a Muffeletta New Orleans. I couldn’t yell you, which tasted better. They were both so good!

We took our seats once again and watched the 5* stadium jumping rounds.

It was so nail biting…we all held our breath each and every ride. The wind was gusting, so the rails were extra delicate. All of the jumps were weighed down by sandbags. The 5* round seemed to have sped by, and 14 rides go fast. In the blink of an eye were were down to Oliver Townend, who was leading the field. He could afford one rail and still win, but he got 2… placing him 3rd. Austin O’Connor from Ireland won the Mars Maryland 5* The Day Event! It was Ireland’s first win at 5* level in 58 years. Behind him was William Fox Pitt, Oliver Townend, and Hannah Sue Hollberg. Mia Farley, on her first 5* at only 23 years old, placed a remarkable 5th place and was the only one to finish cross country within time.

As we exited the stadium, we were swept to the Korbel tent for a champagne toast with the winners. We got a flute of champagne and raised a toast as Austin, William, Oliver, and Hannah Sue all walked through the door.

We all looked at each other in amazement. How is this happening? Is this real life? We were utterly amazed and bewildered that we were able to be part of so many cool things during this trip. It left us all on cloud 9.

At 5 p.m., the show was over. The victory lap was done. The winners were packing up, and some were headed overseas for the next event. We hugged and said goodbye, got on the car, and headed for home. The traffic sucked, I hate driving through New Jersey and close to the city, but after 5 hours, we pulled in safely to my driveway. Thirty minutes later, Suzanne was home.

What a weekend it was. I have no words.