The Plains, Va. – The U.S. Eventing Team completed the second day of their mandatory outing at Great Meadow International in The Plains, Va., with a morning of cross-country, providing one last galloping opportunity for all participating combinations. The mandatory outing commenced yesterday with athlete-and-horse pairs completing a test ride of the new Olympic Dressage Test for FEI judges Mark Weissbecker and Debbie Adams before sitting down to review the tests together with Chef d’Equipe Erik Duvander, Weissbecker, and Adams to identify and discuss areas of improvement. The opportunity to review and discuss the test was welcomed by the athletes, who rode through the test for the first time before two notable judges and were provided key takeaways for the next few weeks of preparations.

A second horse inspection will begin at 8:00 a.m. tomorrow with the U.S. Eventing Team Mandatory Outing concluding with the final phase of show jumping beginning at 10:00 a.m. ET.  

“Leading into the Olympics we needed to have a preparation competition and to have that practice is very important before you go to a competition like the Olympics. There’s still a few more days that we have for training where we can flag up anything that we need to be better at and we can spend the time to improve and get everything in place before the Olympics,” said Erik Duvander, Chef d’Equipe and U.S. Eventing Team High Performance Director.

All U.S. combinations finished the day’s cross-country phase without jumping faults and only added time as they tested themselves against the short track built by Ian Stark meant to prepare both horses and athletes in a positive, yet challenging way. The course was built to CCI4* specifications to provide a similar feel to what is expected in Tokyo, but as the outing is not a recognized-FEI competition, the course allowed athletes to prepare and build confidence in a competitive atmosphere.

“We brought in Ian Stark to design the course because he has a lot of experience is a good course designer. He has a little bit of his own personal style that showed on the track we rode around today. It was very good because it got the riders a little bit more alert and aware. It was challenging for the riders and the horses, and it was a good test. I was super happy with what Ian put together for us this week,” added Duvander.

Reigning USEF CCI5* National Champion Boyd Martin (Cochranville, Pa.) brought both of his selected horses to the outing, with On Cue, a 15-year-old Anglo European mare owned by Christine, Thomas, and Tommie Turner, and Tsetserleg, a 14-year-old Trakehner gelding also owned by Christine, Thomas, and Tommie Turner, both working through their final preparations. Martin has been named to the team with Tsetserleg, who he won the 2020 CCI4*-L National Championship with last fall and will look to maximize their competitive ability in just a few weeks’ time overseas.

“My two rides were good. It’s nerve wracking with your last run before the Olympic Games because you want it to go perfect. On Cue was first and she just ate up the course. She is just getting better with age and the old campaigner, Thomas, he is feeling really fit and strong. I think I’m in good shape, the horses are fit and feeling good, so we’re ready to go,” said Martin. 

Martin’s teammates also took to the track with Phillip Dutton (West Grove, Pa.) and Z, a 13-year-old Zangersheide gelding owned by Evie Dutton, Ann Jones, Suzanne Lacy, Caroline Moran, Simon Roosevelt, and Thomas Tierney completing a masterful run of the course, was well as Liz Halliday Sharp (Lexington, Ky.) and Deniro Z, a 13-year-old KWPN gelding owned by Ocala Horse Properties, and traveling reserve Doug Payne (Aiken, S.C.) and Vandiver, a 17-year-old Trakehner gelding owned by Debi Crowley, Doug Payne, and Jessica Payne, both making easy work of the track and providing a solid last run for their horses prior to their departure to Europe next week.

 

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