Last week I began the long story of our trip at the American Eventing Championships. If you missed it you can catch up now at Ammies at AECs…Part 1. We left off on Thursday…it was a free day to catch up on rest and let our bodies (most importantly Suzy’s and Tiger’s) unwind from nearly 14 hours of travel.
Friday the competition began for Beginner Novice riders. While the upper levels were wrapping up we were ramping up. Suzanne was blessed with lovely midday times. Dressage was Friday at 11:12 am. Not too early and not late either. It was still hot but there was no way around that.
Because of the heat we didn’t plan on a long warmup. As she arrived to the warmup ring she was informed they were running early…so early she was next to go. It’s fine, they had plenty of time until their actual time so they warmed up as needed. I have a brand new camera body so I went up to find a spot to film her. The camera now takes video in addition to taking photos.
I thought I’d have a few minutes to get my settings right but as I sat down to get my settings I see Tiger and Suzanne enter the arena. Oh shoot! Time to roll! My video was entirely overexposed, but I managed to get a couple stills and rescue them to a slight degree.
This is the first event that had more than 1 judge, she received scores from C and B. They completed a beautiful test with a 31.1 placing them 13th in a division of 44.
We brought Tiger back to rest and went out immediately to walk the XC course. Suzanne’s XC ride time was Saturday at 12:34pm. Another good time. We were able to walk the course around the same time of day as her start time allowing us to see what the jumps looked like under the 12:30pm sun/shadows. The first two jumps seemed harmless. It was a log to a red-roof house…I forgot to take photos of both of them! The third was going into the shady grove of trees. It was a red green and yellow bench. I made a mental note that the bench was in the shade and also that the yellow was halfway up, not a ground line. Horses can see yellow but the red and green would just appear grey.
Jumps 4-8 were in quick succession…4 was a table, 5 was a brushy type, 6 was a combination faux ditch on a bending line to a brushy log. They proceeded around a left-turning loop to jump a coop (with hollowed openings), and moved up a hill to an airy stack of timbers.
Fence 9 was an oxer that proceeded the scary blue rolltop on the biggest mound we’ve seen at the beginner novice level. After the mound the horses cruised across the road to a table going downhill towards 12, another combination oxer to brush. They moved on to cross another road and tackle a pheasant feeder leading downhill to a shady water complex at the head of the lake. The water looked eerie at that hour so we made mental notes. A ramp was placed for jump 15 a few strides out of the water. It was going uphill. They jumped up and crossed the road to a brush, and crossed the road again to finish with a blue house.
After our walk, we had time to enjoy some lunch, but the only open food trucks around were serving HOT food in 100-degree weather; fail! We opted for salads from the cafe near the barn.
Around 4pm we returned to the cross-country field to meet up with Chris Talley who led a group XC course walk. The day before he won the Preliminary Horse division piloting Fast Forward. As a massive herd we gathered around the jumps and walked the course while asking questions and listening to Chris’ thoughts on approaching each one. He noted considerations about the lighting, footing, and what the horses might see. His strides were a LOT larger than the ones we counted out, a combo we counted in 6 he was aiming for 4…but perhaps due to his experience riding upper levels on faster tracks (I think the BN fence in question did end up riding as a 6).
My only issue with the massive group walk was it took place in the middle of Novice XC. I don’t really know how you’d get around that given how busy the day was, but it was stressful having so many people so close to the direction of travel. Most of the group were riders and knew how to look for incoming riders, but not everybody showed that common sense and some were very slow to clear the path. I could only imagine how upsetting it could be if a person got time faults navigating their horse around a hoard of humans conglomerating in their way.
Having walked the course twice we were hot, tired, and hungry. We all returned to the Air BnB for a shower before going to the Riders Banquet and watching the Advanced Riders finish their event with stadium jumping.
We arrived to the VIP tent in time to miss the torrential downpour. The stadium jumping was postponed for about an hour or two.
We enjoyed some brisket, music, and good company while we waited out the storm.
Finally, the rain died off and we were ready to begin again. Amazingly Rolex Stadium, which appeared to be a small lake during the storm, drained remarkably fast. The footing looked perfect and ready to host our advanced riders.
The rides were all nail-biters. I was amazed at Allison Springer, who was riding with taped fingers after breaking her finger after the first XC jump the day before on her intermediate horse.
Will Coleman had an amazing ride, which was great to see.
Finally, the final ride of the night was Boyd on Thomas. The pair was in the lead. Unfortunately, they had several rails in their round, making way for Will to take the win. Although I was sad to see Thomas drop all those rails it was nice to see Will win after having to scratch from the Olympics earlier this year.
We went home to get sleep after, but I was choked up when I saw Will, Boyd, and Phil all write Get Well Soon, Liz on the back of the prize check.
This sport is not necessarily a “team” sport…but it’s one that you have to look out for one another. You might be competing against each other but in the end it’s a pretty great community that cares for one another. I’ve experienced this at the lowest of levels and here we are seeing it at the highest level. This is one of the many reasons I love eventing.
On Saturday Suzanne was slated to ride at 12:34. We arrived at the barn, did our routine, and walked over to the cross-country course for a final look. Suzanne wanted to see how different aspects of the course were riding and I wanted to scout the best views for photographs.
With our third walk complete we began to get back and get ready. It was yet another HOT day. Prep for cross country is involved, so I do my best to be a good support team. Suzanne prefers to place her own tack so I take care of his feet. Cleaning, studs, boots, bell boots, scalping boots. I also put her number in her bib while she set her watch.
Once he’s ready we get Suzanne’s vest and bib on snug and secure and get her mounted up. The pair had a nice long walk to the start box so Nick and I took the golf cart, picked up our friends, and beat her to the XC field. I walked our friends over to a cove where I thought they could see a good number of jumps up close while keeping in the shade (they have an infant).
Nick was in charge of getting Suzanne to the start box and catching her at the end. I stood on the hill and tried to get a decent photo of her coming up over the scary mound. In our morning walk we watched several pairs take the rolltop on the mound with ease. It looked like it rode smoothly which set our minds at ease.
As I stood and waited for them to go, I had a fantastic opportunity to cheer on a 27-year-old horse as he made his 100th XC start. What a treat it was to see him and his rider tackle the course. He had more spunk than horses half his age!
The rider prior to Suzanne had a stop at the rolltop in front of me…the horse put his legs on the rolltop but as he took a step backward lost his balance and toppled over. The rider was okay and he got up and stood, walked slowly, and allowed himself to be caught. He was fine but looked bewildered.
Finally, I saw our team walk up towards the start box! My heart was pounding in my chest.
Tiger seemed sticky from where I stood, he didn’t look very amused to be leaving the crowd but they took the first log and soon disappeared from my line of view.
Luckily I could hear the announcer from my spot. I heard they stopped at jump 3…that’s the one I pointed out with a yellow stripe in the middle. Between the color and the spotty shade, and going away from home I’m sure Tiger was not very thrilled. I then heard the announcer mention they had missed jump 2…but then say they will continue.
Huh?
I’m so grateful that they did let them finish the course but I was shocked they didn’t pull her up after missing a jump. It was kind of the AEC team to give them the run anyway. Suzanne and Tiger jumped well through the cove around our friends. They took off out of the cove up the hill to the stack of logs and I saw them coming for me. Over the oxer through the trees and next was the mound!
With Tiger being sticky I knew Suzanne was riding defensively and having to get after him to push on. This jump could be another stop or they’d be fine if she growled at him enough. They bounded up the mound, and slowed a bit, but Suzanne was decisive and Tiger went right with her beautifully over the rolltop and back down the other side.
They made their way across the street and back out of view so I was at the mercy of the announcer.
The next 3 jumps went well.
BUMMER
Tiger and Suzanne had another stop at the pheasant feeder leading towards the water. This was the jump we expected a stop at most. They went over in a second try and slowed way down to the water, walking into the Head of the Lake.
They finished their course looking tired and sweaty, but no worse for wear. Even though they were eliminated they completed the track and I was massively proud of them.
It was so hot that day, so Suzanne and Tiger cooled down on their ride back to the barn and we met them there. I helped untack Tiger, pull his studs, etc. Nick held and gave Tiger his protein shake and some water. Suzanne got some water of her own.
After a bath Tiger was ready for a nap. And we wanted to shower.
Saturday night we had a chance to go out to dinner with our friends. We went to a place recommended by the Heels Down Happy Hour podcast and is said to be among Doug Payne’s favorite stops…Local Feed. It was a lovely local farm-to-table restaurant. The steak and lemon maple carrots were wonderful and I enjoyed it with a Blueberry Spritz.
The Green Horseman 
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