DressageDaily: Dressage Leaves Field Tightly Bunched at Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event

Dressage Leaves Field Tightly Bunched at Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event, Presented By Farnam

With less than 1 point separating the top five horses in the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event, presented by Farnam, tomorrow’s cross-country course will be decisive.

Amy Tryon, of Duvall, Wash., grabbed the narrowest of leads today on Le Samurai, scoring 47.0 penalties from the three-judge panel. But Polly Stockton of Great Britain rode Tangleman to a score of 47.2 penalties to move into second place, while Clayton Fredericks of New Zealand and Becky Holder, of Mendota Heights, Minn., rode Ben Along Time and Courageous Comet to scores of 47.4 to tie for third.

Jennifer Munson Photo: Amy Tryon

Missy Ransehousen, the Thursday leader, is fifth (47.8), while Thursday’s runner-up, Kristin Bachman on Gryffindor, is sixth (48.2). And today Bonnie Mosser, of Unionville, Pa., slipped in to seventh place by scoring 48.3 on Jenga.

With eighth-placed Phillip Dutton scoring 48.7 on Connaught and ninth-placed Tiana Coudray scoring 49.3 on King Street, it means the difference between fist and ninth place is only 2.3 penalties, or 6 seconds on the cross-country course. In addition, another 13 horses are close behind after receiving dressage scores of between 52.0 and 59.8.

Tryon, the individual bronze medalist in the 2006 World Championships, accomplished her winning performance after coaxing Le Samurai through an exciting warm-up session. She said the crowds and the noise made him very anxious.

“He likes to leap mid-stride, and he kind of doesn’t care where he goes or what he crashes in to,” said Tryon with a grimace. “I tried to pat him to calm him, and that didn’t work. So I tried yelling at him, because I was too afraid to kick him.”

But she was pleased that Le Samurai’s mind settled a bit as she began her test before the 19,394 spectators here today. Thursday’s attendance was 10,441.

“I only think I had about 40 percent of his attention,” Tryon said, adding, “I do feel like there is a lot more to come from him.”

Stockton rode Tangleman to a top-three placing at Rolex Kentucky in 2002, and she said she had returned “because it’s an amazing event.”

And Fredericks, who finished just ahead of Tryon at the 2006 World Championships and claimed the silver medal, said that one reason he’d come to Kentucky was that “Polly had given it such a good review,” particularly of the footing on the cross-country course and of the event management. “It’s certainly a relaxed and friendly atmosphere,” he said.

The cross-country competition begins on Saturday at 10 a.m. and continues through approximately 11:50 before breaking for lunch. Competition resumes at 2 p.m. and will end at approximately 4 p.m.