EN Today: Marilyn Little-Meredith and RF Rovano Rex are your Bromont CIC3* leaders

John has been sitting ringside at Bromont for the past two days–someone please fetch that guy a cold one. In his latest post, he recaps the CIC3*.

Photo: Marilyn and RF Rovano Rex.

From John:

Boyd Martin and Remington were first to ride after the lunch break in the Bromont CIC3* and they took control with a beautiful test, leading to a roar from the crowd and scoring a 39.0.  Boyd told me later in the day that it was the first time Remington had broken into the 30’s.  They remained atop the leader board until late in the afternoon when Marilyn Little-Meredith and RF Rovano Rex jumped into the lead.  The 17 hand bay Hanoverian gelding had one more inch of bounce in his step than Remington and he was a bit more consistent than Comet.  Boyd and Neville Bardos ended the day with quiet and steady trot work and silky smooth changes to move into third.  The USA holds the top 9 spots in the Bromont CIC3* heading into the cross-country.

CIC3* Dressage Results:
1. Marilyn Little-Meredith and RF Rovano Rex  38.6
2. Boyd Martin and Remington  39.0
3. Boyd Martin and Neville Bardos  42.0
4. Karen O’Connor and Mr. Medicott  43.0
5. Becky Holder and Courageous Comet  44.8
6. Hannah Burnett and Harbour Pilot  45.2
7. Allison Springer and Arthur  46.0
8. Phillip Dutton and Mighty Nice  46.8
9. Buck Davidson and Ballynoecastle RM  47.2
10T. Selena O’Hanlon and Colombo (CAN)  47.4
10T. Will Faudree and Andromaque  47.4
[Bromont Live Scores]

–Marilyn and RF Rovano Rex withdrew from Rolex after a brilliant cross-country ride due to a minor knock sustained on course.  Rovano Rex is back in action with a vengeance at Bromont and he just topped all but two of the very best horses in North America on the flat.  Marilyn didn’t give the judges any chance to take points away and her aids were almost invisible.  Rovano Rex’s withdraw from Rolex put his opportunity for Olympic selection in serious question, but the US selectors and coach Mark Phillips were paying rapt attention to his dressage test and a good cross-country and show jumping will put him right back into the mix.

–Karen O’Connor and Mr. Medicott sit in 4th behind Boyd’s two rides.  I showed their test a lot of love in our interview post with Karen earlier this afternoon.  When I watch a dressage test, I want it to be first and foremost undeniably forward, and I want to see all of the movements to flow together effortlessly–that’s what I saw from Mr. Medicott today.  As an aside, Mr. Medicott’s barn name is “Cave,” after the Irish town in which he was born.

–Phillip’s best horse in the dressage, Mystery Whisper, is resting comfortably at home this weekend.  Phillip demonstrated that he has a very nice backup ready to go in Mighty Nice and they moved into 8th on a 46.8.

—8.8 points separate the top 10 of the CIC3* after the dressage.

–Will Coleman’s typically perfect position showed off Twizzel’s excellent gaits but they had too much inconsistency, including a break to the canter in their extended trot, to draw the really great marks from the judges.  They head into the weekend on a 51.4 and tied for 14th.

–Buck Davidson was all smiles and clearly very proud of his horse after his test with Ballynoecastle RM.  They are 9th after the dressage, 8.6 points off of Marilyn’s lead.  I’m fascinated to see how the selector’s approach “Reggie,” but as of right now Buck is making it hard to leave him off of the flight to England.

–Canada’s Rebecca Howard and Riddle Master suffered several uncharacteristic and significant bobbles in their canter work to really hurt their score.  I’m not sure if Riddle Master “Rupert” was just getting wound up under the pressure or I would even wonder if he was bothered by a fly.  Rebecca worked hard to ride through the tough moments and they finished on a 54.6.

–Whitney Weston and Rock On Rose followed Remington’s test with a very nice effort.  Boyd used to ride Rock on Rose and “Lusty” still has that characteristic red mare energy in the dressage.  Whitney did a wonderful job keeping her calm.  Quite a few of the horses were feeling very fresh–it was a windy day and there is always a lot of atmosphere with raised seating areas surrounding the Bromont dressage arenas.

–Hawley Bennett-Awad with Gin N Juice and Selena O’Hanlon with Columbo had the two best rides for Team Canada.  I thought that Micheline Jordan also rode really well aboard Irish Diamonds–they are one of several pairs competing for that last Canadian team spot.

–Becky Holder rode Can’t Fire Me this afternoon.  Can’t Fire Me’s test was more consistent but less flashy than Comet’s and the judges appear to have preferred flashy.  Can’t Fire Me is in 15th on a 50.0.

–Karen O’Connor and Mandiba’s lead held up throughout the rest of the CCI2* rides and they will hold a 0.8 heading into Saturday.

Go eventing.