Kim Severson and Winsome Adante Wrap Up Spring Session of Adequan USEA Gold Cup Series with Win at The Fork CIC***-W

After an unseasonably cold and blustery weekend, Kim Severson and her long-time partner Winsome Adante can finally breathe a sigh of relief after winning the CIC***-W at The Fork Horse Trials in Norwood, North Carolina on April 5-8.

Severson and “Dan” started out the year with a rocky run at Pine Top (Georgia) earlier this year, with the bay Thoroughbred gelding having two uncharacteristic run-outs on cross-country. After their win this past weekend, against many of the top horses and riders in the country, it appears the competitive twosome are back in fine form.

They started out the competition leading the field of 36 on a dressage score of 40.3 and never looked back. Even though Severson took a few longer routes on cross-country, she was able to finish double clear on Captain Mark Phillips’ challenging course, a feat that few accomplished. “I did what I felt comfortable doing, even though I felt a little could be better, but hopefully we’re on the right track,” said Severson. She and Dan, owned by Linda Watchmeister of Plain Dealing Farm, are preparing for their trip across the Atlantic to compete in the prestigious Badminton CCI4* in England, a challenge neither has yet attempted.

The Marc Donovan-designed show jumping course had quite a large number of clear rounds toward the end of the day, and many riders felt that it rewarded good riding. “I thought the show jumping course was brilliantly designed and the footing was fantastic, though I was a little surprised to see so many rails fall in the beginning,” Severson said.

The Fork served as Severson and Winsome Adante’s debut on the Adequan USEA Gold Cup Series Advanced leaderboard. Their 290 points put them in a tie for fifth with Tiana Coudray and King Street.

For their Gold Cup Series victory, Severson and Dan earned a shot at the 2008 FEI Eventing World Cup Finals, as well as a blue ribbon, prize money, and a list of prizes that includes for the Gold Cup Series $500 cash, a seven-dose pack of Adequan, pair of SCS3 boots from Mountain Horse, fly sheet from Back on Track, Nunn Finer American Style brushing boots, Ogilvy Horse saddle pad, grooming tote with a three-month supply of Wellpride Omega-3 fish oil, Nutrena feed, and gift certificate for $175 worth of products from World Equestrian Brands.Closest to Severson in the final standings of the CIC***-W and impressively moving up from tenth after dressage were Will Faudree and his 18-year-old Thoroughbred gelding Antigua, affectionately known as “Brad.” The pair, who competed on the 2006 World Equestrian Games team, ran double clear in cross-country and pulled off a faultless show jumping round on Sunday to finish on their dressage score of 48.4.

“It’s such an honor to even tack him up—he’s a privilege to ride. Brad’s such an athlete, and such a competitive horse. He knows the countdown in cross-country and is very businesslike. He’s the first one who wants to be ridden, every time I walk in the barn,” Faudree said.

The 26-year-old Texas native has a bright future ahead of him, with several Advanced wins under his belt including the 2005 Wellpride American Eventing Championships. “We’ve had a lot of really great competitions and I look forward to more, even though I’d love to go to the Olympics, this horse owes me nothing. We’ll probably just do some horse trials in the fall and see where it goes from there,” Faudree said.

Severson commended Jim Cogdell, owner of the 1,300-acre state-of-the-art equestrian center, which is home to his Irish Draught sport horses as well as abundant wildlife. Cogdell and his generous staff at The Fork Stables maintained excellent care of the course and footing, frequently watering and aerating the soil in order to limit the pounding on the horses’ legs.

“Jim’s done a great job with producing such a wonderful event. He’s managed to bring together all the important parts to make this event a success. This event is such a necessity. It’s really important to have these CICs,” Severson said.

Faudree agreed that the farm’s attention to detail was first class. “The crew was amazing in maintaining this facility. It’s incredibly hard to keep this clay soil from being rock hard, and I can’t imagine the time and effort it took to make this event as successful as it was.”

Their second place finish at The Fork, combined with a fourth place at Southern Pines Horse Trials last month, launched Faudree and Antigua to the top of the Gold Cup Series Advanced leaderboard with 415 points. They also earned a gift certificate for $75 worth of products from World Equestrian Brands, a pair of front and hind Nunn Finer brushing boots, and No Bow wraps from Back on Track.

Four intermediate divisions were held at The Fork, with the top scores from the group being combined to award Gold Cup Series points. Will Coleman and K. du Manoir led the divisions with an astounding score of 26.2, and were able to ride off with the win even after gaining 3.2 time faults on cross-country. For the Gold Cup win, Coleman will take home the same list of prizes as Severson, with one change—he will be sporting a Cirrus jacket from Mountain Horse instead of a pair of SCS3 boots.

Samantha Taylor and Lucinda II won their Intermediate division on their dressage score of 30.3, which put them in second overall for the Gold Cup Series. Stuart Black and Fleeceworks Mystere du Val followed right on their heels, in third for the Series with 30.4. That finish, plus earlier points earned at the Red Hills Horse Trials, sent the pair to the top of the Intermediate Gold Cup leaderboard with 180 points.

The USEA would also like to extend thanks to Jim Cogdell and the staff at The Fork Farm for hosting the USEA Future Event Horse In-Hand Symposium on the days following the event. Without their generosity, the pilot program would not have been possible.

The Adequan USEA Gold Cup Series is made possible through the support of its many sponsors: Title: Adequan; Legacy: Nunn Finer, Nutrena, and World Equestrian Brands; Contributing: Cover-All, UlcerGard, and Wellpride; and Patron: Back on Track, Mountain Horse, Ogilvy Horse, and Platinum Performance.

For more information on the Adequan USEA Gold Cup Series, click on the Gold Cup logo on the USEA website homepage. For more information on The Fork Farm, including complete results, visit www.forkstables.com.

Photo: Kim Severson and Winsome Adante on their way to their win in the CIC***-W at The Fork Horse Trials in Norwood, NC. Credit: Amy J. Daum/U.S. Eventing Association.