Kalispell, Montana: Kelly Prather and Andrea Pfeiffer's Ballinakill Glory took the lead after dressage in the CIC***-W at The Event at Rebecca Farm in Kalispell, Montana and never looked back. Prather and the eight-year-old Irish Sport Horse mare put in a lovely test on Friday for a score of 47.8, and after that the rest of the field couldn't keep up, especially in the show jumping arena where FEI designer Richard Jeffery's course caused more than the usual number of dropped rails and eliminations.

Going into Sunday's show jumping, Prather and Ballinakill Glory were on a score of 60.2, just a rail and change ahead of David Koss and Candy on a 65.8. Dawn White and Vapor Trail stood in third on 70.6, so it was still anyone's guess as to who would walk away the winner. As the division wore on, it was clear that the CIC***-W field were not up to the challenge of Jeffery's course. Not one pair jumped clear, and only two managed to finish the course without time penalties (Hannah Cohen and Simply Larry who unfortunately had six rails down, and Christian Eagles and The Gingerbread Man who ultimately finished fifth). There were several bogie fences on the course, including a deceptively simple looking narrow Mountain Horse sponsored gate that stood alone in the middle of the course, and the double combination, 4AB, which was on a bending line after the Rebecca Farm signature fence. Almost every pair had 4A down, and Dawn White and Vapor Trail, who had been poised in third place, were eliminated trying to negotiate the obstacles.

After White and Vapor Trail were no longer a threat, it was up to David Koss and his mother Vicky's 12-year-old Thoroughbred cross mare Candy to put the pressure on Prather. Unfortunately the Hailey, Idaho native had more than his share of difficulties with eight rails down and two time faults, dropping them into sixth place.

This left Prather and Ballinakill Glory with a 23-point cushion over the next in line, Young Rider Sara Mittleider and her $300 off-the-track Thoroughbred gelding El Primero standing on a score of 83.3 after a workmanlike round with just two rails down and four time penalties. Prather and the talented young mare needed just ten of those points, after jumping fabulously throughout the course—dropping just one rail and adding six time penalties for a final score of 70.2. This performance catapulted Prather and her talented partner into the top spot on the Adequan USEA Gold Cup Series Advanced leaderboard with 425 points – now ten points ahead of former leaders Will Faudree and Antigua and Becky Holder and Courageous Comet, both with 415. Faudree has Antigua entered at Millbrook Horse Trials, and Holder has already indicated that she’ll be running Comet at Richland Park, both August Gold Cup Series events, so expect another leaderboard shake up soon.

Thanks to the generosity of the Adequan USEA Gold Cup Series sponsors, Prather went home with $500 cash, a seven-dose pack of Adequan, SCS3 boots from Mountain Horse, fly sheet from Back on Track, Nunn Finer American Style brushing boots, saddle pad from Ogilvy Horse, grooming tote with a three-month supply of Wellpride Omega-3 fish oil, Nutrena Feed, and a gift certificate for $175 worth of products from World Equestrian Brands. Mittleider took home a $75 gift certificate from World Equestrian Games, Nutrena Feed, a pair of Back on Track No-Bow wraps, and Nunn Finer brushing boots. In addition, Prather earned considerable prize money and prizes from Rebecca Farm in acknowledgement of her World Cup Qualifier win.

Rebecca Farm is owned by Jerome and Rebecca Broussard. This eventing wonderland of the West hosted over 460 entries and welcomed over 10,000 spectators for a glorious four days of competition.

CCI**

In the two-star division, there was trouble in show jumping (just one double clear), but not quite the scattering rails seen in the three-star. The final fence, a double combination 11AB, caused the most problems with a lot of the field taking down 11A, which was on a bending line from the Rebecca Farm signature fence.

Anne Carr and Safari lost their lead to Canadian Hawley Bennett and SplendoroftheSun after Carr's 17.2-hand Dutch Warmblood gelding pulled three rails, dropping the pair to third. Bennett and John and Pam Hudson’s 11-year-old chestnut Thoroughbred gelding also pulled a handful of rails in the final phase, but beat out Carr by slightly more than a point to finish on a score of 62.2, besting Carr's 63.7. Emily Hansen-Palmus and Bridging Hope Farm’s 16-year-old New Zealand Sport Horse stallion Internet stepped up from third to second and though they dropped two rails as well, beating out Carr by a tenth of a point. Hawley Bennett's other ride, Gin N' Juice, held a steady fourth place throughout the competition and were able to finish on 68.4 after lowering two rails.

Their win at Rebecca Farm moved Bennett and SplendoroftheSun to the second place position on the Adequan USEA Gold Cup Series Intermediate leaderboard, adding a 140 Gold Cup points to their previous score for a current total of 255, settling right on the heels of Will Coleman and K. du Manoir who have 260 points. In addition Bennett took home the same list of Gold Cup prizes as Prather, with one change—from Mountain Horse she received a Cirrus jacket. Bennett also earned prizes and prize money from Rebecca Farm.

Keep a watch on the Gold Cup leaderboard in the next few weeks as the top riders in the country make their final attempts to become "Keepers of the Cup" by competing at the remaining Gold Cup events: Millbrook, Richland Park, Woodside, Poplar Place, and Twin Rivers.

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, including the complete calendar and leaderboard, follow this link to the Adequan/USEA Gold Cup Series page. Click on this link for more information on The Event at Rebecca Farm.

Photos Attached, credit Amy J. Daum/USEA.