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Final Spring Tune-Ups at MCTA Horse Trials at Shawan Downs..….Hans Gerling reports from Maryland
Cockeysville, Maryland – May 10, 2006 - With the victory gallop at Rolex less than a week old, the east coast eventing scene’s focus shifted to the final preparations for the New Jersey CCI** and CCI*** in early June and the Virginia Horse Park’s CCI* in mid-May. Many riders chose to have a final tune-up at the Maryland Combined Training Association (MCTA) Horse Trials located at Shawan Downs.
Although MCTA Horse Trials are long time veterans of the spring eventing schedule, the organizers added both intermediate and advanced levels to the event’s timetable, making it the only event east of the Mississippi to run novice through advanced levels on the same weekend. The expansive menu of levels yielded an entry of over 500 horse and rider combinations, almost 100 of which were competing at the intermediate and advanced levels.
Olympic gold medalist, David O’Connor, put the facility’s amazing terrain to good use in his design of the cross country courses. While the preliminary, training, and novice tracks were virtually unchanged from last year’s courses, O’Connor and his fantastic MCTA fence building crew, headed by David Wisner, created new tracks for the intermediate and advanced.
Both courses followed almost the same track, with the advanced making one extra loop. O’Connor started the course with two straightforward galloping fences. Horses and riders then had a long run to a proper steeplechase fence, which thankfully nobody attempted to jump at the pace seen at the facility’s Legacy Cup held in September. Surprisingly many combinations struggled with fence 4, the first water complex.
Although it came early in the course, one would have thought that the horses would have had the experience to cope with a simple house placed well back from the edge of the water. While the advanced horses jumped their house reasonably well, many intermediate combinations came to grief when their horses set down on top of the house after spotting the water.
After splashing through the water, the advanced track jumped a similar house placed on a bending four-stride line, while the intermediate horses galloped on to the next fence. The next fence jumped like a simple table for the horses, but the riders and spectators appreciated the massive logs that Wisner and his crew located, shaped, and polished to a degree that made the fences look like pieces of furniture.
Both courses then approached a difficult coffin fence, which featured tight distances and sharply sloping ground. Many advanced combinations started to become unglued here and missed the narrow final element. Although most intermediate horses jumped through cleanly, there were some exceptionally unattractive rides through this combination, mainly due to riders not holding their position throughout the terrain change.
After another straightforward table, horses and riders approached a tough turning combination located on the infield of the racetrack. Advanced combinations jumped a big table before bending left to a big corner followed quickly by a sharp right turn and hopping over another smaller corner. Intermediate horses jumped a sizeable table before bending right to a corner and then making a snug left turn to another table. Few horses made this combination look smooth, and undoubtedly O’Connor will want to make an adjustment here before next year’s event.
After a long gallop across the infield, riders were challenged to hold their line through a pair of right angle brushes. The intermediate question was set up on two strides, while advanced horses faced a real challenge to negotiate their brushes on a tight one stride.
Advanced horses then jumped a pair of beautifully prepared narrow stumps on an easy one stride distance. Intermediate horses faced a strange combination, where they jumped into the woods over a small table before hanging a very tight right turn and jumping a narrow circular fence. While the idea was appropriate, many intermediate horses struggled with this fence, and certainly it will be another combination that O’Connor tinkers with for next year.
Both tracks then enjoyed several let up fences, before approaching the Normandy Bank. After jumping another narrow stump, both tracks curved gently to the right before hopping up a bank and bouncing over a rail. This combination jumped beautifully for nearly everyone, and should serve as a model for other courses to copy.
The advanced track then made an extra loop, jumping over a narrow face fence, which featured an ornately carved horse head, and a nice bounce of two logs, which again featured a carving, this time of a saddle.
Both courses then had a long downhill gallop. At the bottom of the hill, the advanced jumped a big ditch and wall, while the intermediate course jumped a ditch and rail. After a brief gallop, horses and riders approached the final two combinations.
O’Connor saved two of the most testing combinations for the end, and in the process caught out many horses and riders, who had scraped around up until that point. First, O’Connor tested the horses with a road crossing, feature a tall rail followed by three strides for the advanced and four strides for the intermediate to a narrow toothbrush fence. Again, Wisner’s crew worked their magic and stuffed the toothbrush fences with broom straw, which gave the fences a unique look when compared to the standard stuffing of cedar brush.
Horses and riders then approached the final water complex. Advanced horses jumped a small table on the edge of the water, and then had to choose between a kicking three strides or a holding four strides to an upbank. After jumping up the bank, riders who had attacked for three strides were able to bounce off the island over a small log, while riders who had added a stride were forced to shuffle in a small step on the island. After dropping down the big bank, riders curved to the left and jumped a massive log on the edge of the water. Ultimately, only the riders who attacked for the three stride option made this combination look good. Riders who sat and waited for the conservative four stride option either fumbled up and over the log, or had a silly stop on top of the island.
Intermediate horses jumped a big log at the edge of the water before taking four strides to a log situated on top of a mound. After hopping over the log, horses came back into the water and had a long gallop to a small log at the water’s edge.
Horses and riders then jumped two straightforward galloping fences before reaching the finish line.
While most of the combinations jumped around safely, there were many stops scattered around the courses. O’Connor’s track certainly walked a bit softer than it rode, and riders in future years will be a bit more on their toes.
While some riders needed to be a bit sharper, there were several horse and rider combinations that looked at the top of their game last weekend. Jane Sleeper and her incredibly honest mare, UN, were the popular winners of advanced division one. Phillip Dutton and his student Kate Ditchey, who finished second and third respectively, both survived several lucky moments but still finished in the top placings.
In the other advanced section, Villanova University student, Cayla Kitayama, put her long time partnership with Docksider to good use and galloped away with the win. Carly Rodgers must be ruing her expensive show jumping round, which ultimately cost the win. Finishing lower down the order, but still looking impressive, were Tara Ziegler and Buckingham Place and Momi Black aboard Fleeceworks Mullingar.
Sharon White showed that last year’s injury did little to dissuade her competitive streak with wins in both intermediate sections, on the strength of her immaculate jumping rounds. Young riders, Alex Zavoyna and Stephanie Boyer both produced performances that were well beyond their years to finish second and third in intermediate section two.
Hopefully next year’s FEI calendar will allow MCTA to enjoy another year of a large entry, because the event’s top-shelf organizing committee, volunteers, and course builders are already making plans to make the event even better next year.
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