Dressage Ends with Kim Severson (USA) and Winsome Adante on Top of the Rankings at the 2005 Rolex Three-Day Event

By Brian Sosby

Lexington, KY -- If Virginia’s Kim Severson has her way, she will be adding a third Rolex watch to her growing collection. At the moment, the winners of Team Bronze and Individual Silver medals for the United States at the 2004 Athens Olympics, are poised to do it. She and partner Winsome Adante are sitting at first after the second day of dressage competition wrapped up at the 2005 Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event presented by Farnam at the Kentucky Horse Park on Friday.

The rain and clouds were still on hand, but the competition heated things up as a battle was staged as the horse and rider combinations posted their dressage scores and set their collective eyes on the challenging cross-country course that awaited them on Saturday.

Severson, when asked to compare this year’s dressage test against last year’s admitted that she liked last year’s test “a little bit better.” She acknowledged that she and Winsome Adante, the 12-year-old bay Thoroughbred gelding owned by Plain Dealing Farm, were more in tune during last year’s ride, but it was obvious that she was being her own worst critic after having posted the dressage competition’s lowest score of 38.2.

“[Winsome Adante] knows his job well,” she said. “And, he puts up with me when he knows I’m not quite right.”

“Off-going” is a word that no one wants to hear, but it certainly seems to be in the forecast. This is something that might bring some surprises for Saturday’s cross-country and Severson was quick to mention that it could be the case.

“With Winsome Adante, I’ve actually never ridden him in really bad weather,” said Severson. “Although, that is one horse that I would want to be riding in really bad weather.” She mentioned that her other horse in the competition – Maguire – was really quite green at this level. “We’ll have to see, if we get inundated, how he goes at this level,” she shared. Maguire is currently scheduled to be the fourth horse on the course, whereas Winsome Adante will be one of the last.

“As far as Winsome Adante goes, it depends on how the footing holds up and what ends up happening at the end of the day,” she concluded.

Darren Chiacchia and his mount, the 13-year-old black Trakehner stallion Windfall 2 (owned by Dr. Timothy Holekamp), were excited to be back at Rolex, and their score of 46.0 put them in a two-way tie for second place after dressage with Britian’s Leslie Law and Coup de Coeur, the standing Gold medalist from the 2004 Athens Olympic Games.

It was just last year that Chiacchia claimed his first four-star title when the pairing took the win at the Modified CCI**** Championship in preparation for their work at the Olympic Games. When asked about his preference of the modified format (where there were no Road & Tracks or Steeplechase sections contested) he commented, “I wanted to come back to Rolex, and we’ve been pretty aggressive so far.”

A bobble on the pairing’s canter-serpentine seemed to be the only glitch in today’s dressage test, and Chiacchia was somewhat surprised at the action himself. He said, “What was that all about?” laughed Chiacchia. “I was like, ‘Oh my God, I’m on the wrong lead.’” He said that Windfall has never done that before, but admitted that he, himself, was a bit anxious for a moment and threw off the timing for the last change. “It was a little miscommunication,” he said.

Overall, he was pleased with the day’s efforts and results, and as always, he was thankful for his luck and quick to give credit to his impressive partner. “I thought I did a great job today, and I was really please with him [Windfall 2].”

Law and his 11-year-old dark brown Thoroughbred gelding Coup de Coeur had much to prove at this year’s event after having stood atop the medal’s podium at the Athens Olympic Games to claim the Individual Gold medal in eventing. He did not disappoint.

Posting a 46.0 he tied Chiacchia for a seat in second place going into Saturday’s sure-to-be grueling cross-country test.

There was a noticeable absence of British pairings at this year’s event, but this was not a concern for Law, who admitted his fortune at currently having three four-star level horses at his disposal.

This is Coup de Coeur’s first four-star, and Law is hoping that the success he had with Shear L’Eau (who he medaled with at the Athens Games). Law mentioned that he brought Shear L’Eau to the Rolex event and went on to great things at the Olympics. He said he hoped that he could repeat this trend of successes with Coup de Coeur. “I hope it is going to work out the same for this guy,” he laughed.