Tamie Smith (USA) and Mai Baum came close to matching Marilyn Little’s historic leading CCI5*-L dressage score with an impressive mark of their own.
A score of 21.8 placed Smith and the 15-year-old German Sport Horse in second just 0.1 points behind Little and RF Scandalous heading into Saturday’s cross-country at the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event Presented by MARS Equestrian (LRK3DE) at the Kentucky Horse Park.
“That was definitely his best performance. He was such a showman,” Smith said. “He was actually really nervous. It was kind of cute because normally he doesn’t really get nerves. He kept blowing his nose and wasn’t eating today. I think he knew it was a big day"
"He went in the ring and it was absolutely stunning. I almost cried. It was just so nice to have him go in there and have such a good performance.”
Tamie Smith and Mai Baum Photos courtesy RedBayStock.com
“Lexus” was previously ridden through the CCI3*-L level by Alex Ahearn, who owns him along with Ellen Ahearn and Eric Markell. Alex offered the ride to Smith in 2015, and they went on to win The Dutta Corp/USEF Three-Star Eventing National Championship the same year.
“He’s a phenomenal creature. I had always admired him from afar … Now I get chills every time I think about that night [when Alex offered me the ride]. It changed my career,” Smith said.
“It took me some time to get to have a partnership with him because he was very much Alex’s horse, but I feel like he’s a hand in the glove now. We’re such good friends.”
Smith and Lexus have numerous wins at the Advanced level, but this is the gelding’s CCI5*-L debut.
“It was a choice we made. We had high hopes for him going to the Rio Olympic Games and we chose not to do a Five Star until now,” Smith said.
“Looking back I don’t know that I would do that again. We really wanted to have a chance to do an Olympic Games and that just happened to be four years later — or five because of COVID. We are here. We are ready.”
Course designer Derek di Grazia has set an impressive cross-country challenge for competitors. It has been commonly said the course looks less intimidating the more it is walked, and Smith believes it is well suited to her mount.
“He is a big, galloping type horse. He’s also quick and naturally fast and rideable,” Smith said. “When I first walked it there were a couple of combinations I was quite worried about but they look really rideable now. I feel like I have a good plan. I feel ready. … The plan is to not leave anything on the table, so here we go.”
Oliver Townend and Ballaghmor Class
Looking to the rest of the field, Oliver Townend (GBR) has two in the top five. He sits in third place with Cooley Master Class on 24.1 and in fifth place with Ballaghmor Class on 26.5.
Boyd Martin (USA) piloted all three of his CCI5*-L entries into the top eleven: Tsetserleg TSF is fourth (25.4), On Cue is seventh (27.0), and Long Island T is equal eleventh (28.2). The last ride of the day, Buck Davidson and Carlevo, slotted into sixth place with a 26.7.
"All three horses are pretty different" says Boyd "When I’m walking the course now, I’m thinking about my first horse, and once I finish that, I go back to the tack room, and chill out a bit and then sort of know the course and the distances, and how the fences feel"
"My second horse On Cue has a bigger stride, so you sort of got to make slight adjustments. It’s tricky, you know - you get very nervous and fired up and terrified on the first horse, and if you get around well there, it’s important you don’t relax and think it’s an easy go. I’ve made that mistake before. Vice versa, if something goes wrong on the early rides, you’ve got to put that behind you and pick yourself up and get on with the next one"
"Thomas is not that good at turning right, he’s good at turning left, so there’s a couple right turns I’ve got to watch on him. I’ve got them all very fit. I think they’re calling for a bit of rain tomorrow, but that won’t bother my lot – they’re good gallopers, and well-schooled, and I’ve just got to ride them perfectly"
Boyd Martin and Tsetserleg TSF
Tim Price on board his second ride Xavier Faer scored 28.2 for equal 11th while yesterday’s ride on Bango now has them in 24th place, just ahead of Australia’s Kevin McNab on Scuderia 1918 Don Quidam (watch their test on the McNab Instagram TV here). Kevin shares equal 21st place on a score of 30.3 with Phillip Dutton’s Z and Sydney Elliott on QC Diamantaire
"The goal is to jump all the jumps, in numerical order, at my first time of asking, and that they come in the time" says Tim of tomorrow "They’re both experienced horses, I just want to have a good trip on both of the"
"Of course, you want to jump all the jumps well but I also want them to feel that it was really easy, so they can come out feeling really fresh and happy to work with me on Sunday – so that’s a little bit about how you start to look at things as they get a bit more experience, versus a “new to the job” horse when you really have to be on your game at every fence. I just want good, smooth rounds, and a good result at the end"
Three other USA based Australian riders, Clayton Fredericks riding FE Ophelia, Dom Schramm on Bolytair B and 5* first timer Ema Klugman on Bendigo are in 28th place, 52nd and 61st places respectively
New Zealand's Jesse Campbell riding Diachello are well-placed in 14th but it hasn’t been the best start for his travelling companion and fellow Kiwi Jonelle Price on her Badminton winning mare Classic Moet and the 5* first-timer Grappa Nera in 46th and equal 48th. However there could be no better person to set out on what is forecast to be a wet and cold day on cross country and Jonelle knows what she needs to do
"I think the cross-country is big" she says "Grappa Nera is a first-timer at this level. She’s not very big, but she’s quite a gutsy little thing, but you never quite know until you step them up and ask the question, and it’s certainly a big step up from the four-star for her"
"Classic Moet comes in with a wealth of experience, but she hasn’t run much over the last two years with the lack of events and lack of the top ones, and then Grovine De Reve had a great run at Pau last October so we’ll be looking to cement that five-star partnership"
"I think it looks fairly relentless all the way around. For me it’s getting through those first two waters, I want good shots through those first two waters and I think if you can do that it should set you up for what’s to come"
