The podium at Maryland CCI5* - Tamie Smith, Tim Price, Oliver Townend
Read more articles from Maryland 2022
Tim Price leads after cross country
Ian Stark talks about Maryland cross country
Tim Price underlined his dominance of world eventing in 2022 with victory aboard debutant Coup de Coeur Dudevin in the Maryland CCI5*-L at Fair Hill presented by Brown Advisory in the United States.
The recently-crowned world no.1 was second after the dressage on a score of 27.4 penalty points, taking the top spot on the leaderboard with an impressive cross country run. They added just 0.8 time in the showjumping to end the event on 28.2. It is Tim’s fifth CCI5* win and the second time he has steered a debutant to victory at the top 5* level.
Olympic veterans and first-time 5 Star horses from three countries were the ones to beat for the show jumping finale.
Like Tim Price, second-place finisher Tamie Smith (USA) added only time faults to her score aboard Ruth Bley’s 13-year-old Hanoverian gelding Danito, but her final score of 29.8 kept them just 0.1 ahead of Britain’s Oliver Townend (GBR). Oliver finished in third place with his dressage score of 29.9, riding John Peace’s 11-year-old Spanish gelding As Is with one of only five double-clear rounds on Sunday.
Course designer Ken Krome (USA) presented the MARS Maryland 5 Star competitors with a difficult 16-effort, 1.30m track, but the top three horses answered all the questions to land them on the podium despite their inexperience
Not far behind them were Americans Phillip Dutton and Jennie Brannigan, who rounded out the top five with their double-clear show jumping rounds. Dutton piloted his Tokyo Olympic partner Z into fourth place with their dressage score of 30.5; Brannigan moved into fifth place on her dressage score of 31.5 aboard Nina and Tim Gardner’s FE Lifestyle
Tim Price and Coup De Coeur Dudevin
“I’m very proud of Coup De Coeur Dudevin,” said Tim “In fact, I think all three of these top horses are incredible. It’s exciting for the sport, it’s exciting for us personally, and it’s just so unexpected to have a top result like this.
I came in hoping that I would have a top-five finish with this horse, but I expected there would be a couple of things that showed his lack of experience. Luckily, we were able to do that while keeping a nice, low score. I thought he did quite well.
“For my round, there was a lot of pressure,” he added. “But you just stay focused on the job. To build up the rhythm before the start was the most important part of it. Then I just tried to give him a good ride and stick to the plan. If I had to execute Plan B, I had to do it quickly and do it well.
He’s got a really long stride, which was more evident today than in some of the other show jumping rounds I’ve had, but he really turned himself inside-out for me. He really impressed me, and I’m very excited about him.”
Tim Price and Coup De Coeur Dudevin
Maryland is Tim’s last event for the year, and it was a lucrative one with the event providing $100,000 prize money for the winner
“What a great way to put myself on the bench for a few months,” he said
Tamie Smith and Danito
“It has not been the fairytale year that you might think,” said Tamie Smith, who earned a Team Silver medal at the FEI Eventing World Championships in September.
“Long story short, California in my area was infected with EHV this winter. I got out of there right before that and went east, but then I promptly broke my ankle and tore all the ligaments in it. I could just see my dreams kind of fading away. I didn’t think I’d be in contention for the World Championships, but I also wouldn’t take no for an answer.
Tamie Smith and Danito
“These guys are legends in the sport, and it’s an honor to be up here with them,” she added of her fellow podium finishers. “The first three months of 2022 was a disaster for me. My horse had broken his wither on top of everything else, so to have the fall season that I’ve had from Pratoni on has been really special.
I have a huge, wonderful support team, and I know that we’re all just ecstatic about this accomplishment.”
Oliver Townend and As Is
“I’m obviously delighted with him,” said Oliver Townend “He belongs to my new job at Caunton with the Peace family.
It’s the first time I’ve had a job since I was 21, so delivering these results to the people employing me for the first time this year is really special to me. It’s been a different year for me with so many people behind the scenes at Caunton, but one that’s been so, so positive.
“As Is was purchased earlier this year, and for us to deliver the result that we thought he was capable of is incredible,” he continued. “You never know with a new horse and a 5 star; anything can happen.
He went out a bit green yesterday, and I thought last night, ‘Let’s just hope he’s as careful in the show jumping, and we’ll be alright.’ To know that I was on such a good jumper, it came down to me to press the right buttons and get the right distances. It’s just hugely exciting that we have a horse of this calibre.”
Tim Price was not the only Kiwi competing at Maryland and, although she may not have been a winner like Tim, Hayley Frielick was rapt to complete the 5* aboard her debutant Dunedin Black Watch.
“I am so proud of my little guy,” said Hayley. “He just got in there (in the showjumping) and felt really green. He wanted to leave the rails up but he’s about six months off where we needed to be. It is great experience to get under our belts though and was awesome to actually meet the other Kiwis in person too.”
Britain’s Harry Meade and Superstition also recovered well from a slow start in the dressage phase, moving up to finish in seventh place on their dressage score of 37.4
