Doug Payne and Vandiver Photos courtesy Shannon Brinkman Photo
Read the report after dressage and show jumping here
Doug Payne and Vandiver Claim ProElite CCI 4*-S Win
Doug Payne (USA) and Vandiver, the 2004 Trakehner gelding (Windfall 2 x Mystic Replica XX) owned by Debi Crowley and Doug and Jessica Payne, were the only pair to avoid adding time faults to their score after Cross-Country, securing the win in the ProElite CCI 4*-S Division on a score of 25.7 at The Fork at TIEC presented by Nutrena.
Payne also collected fifth place with Quantum Leap, the 2011 DSP gelding (Quite Capitol x Corporate Report) owned by Doug and Jessica Payne, on a score of 34.6, while Starr Witness, the 2011 Dutch Warmblood mare (Chello III VDL x Veneur) owned by Laurie H. McRee, Doug Payne, and Catherine Winter, scored 37.9 to grab eighth place.
Holding steady all weekend at second place, Boyd Martin (USA) finished on a score of 28.1 for reserve with Tsetserleg, the 2007 Trakehner gelding (Windfall *PG* x Buddenbrock) owned by Christine, Thomas IV and Tommie Turner. Tamie Smith (USA) held onto the podium with Mai Baum, adding 7.2 to her score to finish with a 28.4 in third aboard the 2006 German Sport Horse gelding (Loredano x Rike) owned by Alexandra Ahearn, Ellen Ahearn and Eric Markell.
Boyd Martin and Tsetserleg
Payne, whose three CCI 4*-S mounts are all qualified for Tokyo should he get the chance to go, reported that his goal with each horse was to “let them flow and see what we could get done,” which resulted in top ten finishes.
“Quinn [Vandiver] is the old man of the group, but he’s just getting better and better each year! He’s honestly easy and efficient – it’s not that I wasn’t trying to go fast, but he’s just a quick horse. He covers the ground and is easy on himself,” Payne explained. “Whereas, with Quantum [Leap], who was pretty close to the time, every once in a while needs to be set up a little more. He’s a five-star horse in the making, without a doubt.”
Starr Witness, Payne’s Pan-American Games mount, is aiming at a 4*-L run in Jersey unlike the others, who are aimed at the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event, he explained.
“Clearly, she’s a classy horse as well. She just doesn’t have the base fitness that the other two do at the moment. Fitness is a little less urgent with her right now. We’ll see what we can do the rest of the season!”
Payne was one of numerous riders to take advantage of jump schooling opportunities under the lights in Tryon Stadium and Dressage test of choice schooling offerings.
“I think it’s a great opportunity, and honestly, under-utilized,” Payne shared. “You seldom ever get a chance to ride in an atmosphere that’s provided here, so to do that in a schooling environment is awesome. Hopefully that continues, because it was super valuable.
“Only at Tryon could you jump and event in the same weekend easily,” Payne emphasized about his multidiscipline weekend. “The footing [on Cross-Country] was excellent, I thought. It’s super helpful that they pulled the little jumps off last night. I can’t say enough [about the team here.] Tryon has done an excellent job here, and we look forward to coming back as often as we can!”
“I’m really lucky to have this group of horses and the team behind us that makes it all happen. There’s certainly a lot going on, but it’s great.”
Lucienne Elms (GBR) and Tremanton
Lucienne Elms and Tremanton Breeze to CCI 3*-S Win
Lucienne Elms (GBR) blazed around the White Oak Cross-Country Course with Tremanton to maintain their lead in the CCI 3*-S Division, finishing on a score of 28.9 for the win.
Allison Springer (USA) and Crystal Crescent Moon, the 2013 Connemara cross gelding (Catherston Dazzler x Mystic Replica) owned by Nancy Winter, grabbed reserve on a score of 29.3 after their double-clear Cross-Country run, while Tamie Smith and Solaguayre California, the 2011 Silla Argentina mare (Caspara x Casall) owned by David and Julianne Guariglia, kept their 30.8 score to receive third place.
Elms said that the 2012 Sport Horse Breeding of Great Britain mare (Birkhof’s Graffenstolz x Hand in Glove), previously ridden in the UK by Hannah Bate, felt confident and balanced, lending to a speedier ride than she had anticipated.
“Genuinely, my plan was actually just to let her find a rhythm and then not hassle her out a bit, but I set off riding forward and actually, the way they built it, the course rewarded quite forward riding, I guess, and the combinations were built to sort of just keep moving. So she felt confident, and balanced, and the ground was great. So I just kept the same rhythm and when I got to the furthest part of the course, I saw that I was on a pretty good time at that point.
"Every time she landed, I kept her just moving forward; she’s got a lot of blood in her with a natural gallop. I rode carefully through the second water. That was a little bit big for her. And then she had loads of gallop left!
“That’s the joy of her having a full thoroughbred dam: she can open up and dig deep when she needs to!” Elms emphasized. “But I’ll definitely now back off for a month or so to give her some time, but I’m really encouraged with that run. The course was brilliant; it was really educational, and there was a table on four strides to a corner on the way home. When they build like that, it’s lovely cause it just prepares them for the next level. It’s just lovely education for the horses’ brains.”
After a successful weekend with multiple rides beneath her, Elms is now looking to aim Tremanton for a 3*-L at the Tryon International Three-Day Event in November, after a lighter summer ahead of her.
“I really just want to say thank you so much to the Tryon team for creating such a professional, international environment. The arenas and the footing are fantastic. I know how much effort they’ve had to put in, given that we had so much rain here last week,” she concluded.
Maya Black and Double Diamond C
Maya Black and Double Diamond C Dominate CCI 2*-S Division
Maya Black (USA) and Double Diamond C, the 2015 Hanoverian gelding (Diacontinus x Lois Land CBF) owned by Laurie Cameron, capped off the weekend with a win in the CCI 2*-S Division, making light work of the White Oak Cross-Country course to finish on a score of 28.8.
Meghan O’Donoghue (USA) and Fashionable Man, her own 2013 Thoroughbred gelding (Charitable Man x Unknown), claimed second place on a score of 30.8, while third place went to Jordan Crabo (USA) on a score of 32.3 aboard her own FE Uncle Sam, a 2014 Holsteiner gelding (Uriko x Paramount).
Black summed up her Cross-Country tour with Double Diamond C, whom she calls “Perfect Peter,” as a “pretty perfect round. He was perfect out there, and everything rode great. He jumped very confidently, and very rideable, and he jumped really well into the water. Sometimes he can jump a bit big into the water, but now at this level, the water jumps are getting bigger, so he’s jumping more normally into the water because it’s a bigger drop. He felt very well prepared and comfortable and just galloped around and felt exactly how I would have hoped him to be!”
Facing no trouble at the drop-in at the water obstacle that caused her to take a tumble last fall, Black emphasized that she was extra prepared to have good rides on all three shots she took on course.
“I jumped off that jump into the water three times today, and I made sure to put my arm back all three times, which might’ve been a little extreme, but I [was determined] to not do that again! They all three jumped in super, and didn’t have any bobbles, so that was good.”
After qualifying her rides for a 2*-L later in the season, Black will give her young mounts some well-deserved rest time before planning for the fall season.
“Really, for their age, my horses are ahead of schedule, basically, so they’re going to have an easy while when we head back to Virginia. They’ll get out in the fields for a month or so, and then we’ll start working on flat work and fitness again before we look at the plan for the fall. I’m trying to keep them sound and happy for the future!”
