2004 Radnor Hunt International CCI**

Mara Dean Means to Turn Narrow Cross Country Lead Into Victory At Radnor Hunt International CCI**

By Nancy Degutis - photos by Steven Berkowitz DVM

After being the overnight leader twice coming into stadium day where she dropped to second, Mara Dean isn't going to let the same thing happen at the Oct. 6-10 Radnor Hunt International two-star event which hosts the U.S. Equestrian Federation's fall two-star championship.

"At the Harry T. Peters finals in1991 and again at the 1996 Rolex Kentucky show, I was leading coming into show jumping but I lost it there. That's not going to happen tomorrow (on stadium day). My horse is a very good jumper," said the Virginia horsewoman who logged only 1.20 time penalties on her cross country trip with her Good Stuff.

The Vermont native admitted "I started out quiet to have enough fuel at the end. I planned to go all the straight ways," said the 31-year-old woman. "My horse is green and I felt that trying to make the time with the changes at the end (with more difficult obstacles there) would it more difficult."

The ground was also slippery in spots and the rider after Dean fell on course. The terrain posed a problem too, admitted Dean's rivals, Ralph Holstein (tied with her at 44.2) and third pace rider Stuart Black (46.0). The rolling land on the track and fences claimed four entries who were eliminated, nine who withdrew and five who retired out of a starting field of 86.

Still, she started out slow to have enough "fuel coming home" with her pony-like Irish Thoroughbred she bought two years ago as sale prospect. Her mount's native foot dexterity led her to decide long before she got to the start box "to make the time," she said of the optimum 58 minutes allowed for the entire ride. "But I didn't want to leave out any strides."

Still, her steeplechase time on her first time out lagged behind that of her second trip around. "We went slower on the first loop of the steeplechase because Phillip (Dutton, her trainer) told me not to let my horse go crazy. I knew that he (course designer Michael Etherington-Smith) had made some changes at the end and I wanted to have enough gas for them."