Michael Jung and Fischerrocana FST take an eight point lead in the dressage

© USEA/Leslie Mintz

To no one’s surprise, defending champion Michael Jung and his super mare Fischerrocana FST (Itaugno XX x Rose II) top the 2016 Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event scoreboard after day one. The pair, who pulled 34th in the draw, performed their test in the second half of the day. The 11-year-old German Sport Horse, who is owned by Jung’s parents, Brigitte and Joachim Jung, was the first of the day to break into the 30s and established an eight-point lead ahead of the rest of the competitors.

This formidable pair will head to cross-county on a 34.40, a five-point improvement from their score last year. “Every competition is different. We have always different judges and this time was a different test [than] last year, so I think you cannot really say this is the same, but I’m very happy about Fischerrocana. She did a wonderful test,” Jung said on the improvement of the mare’s score this year.

Jung and Fischerrocana return to Lexington the defending champions, and they’re already well on their way to a second consecutive win. “I feel that Rocanna likes this competition a lot. She was very happy in the stable. She traveled more easy than [Sam] for example. She liked the stadium. She liked the cross-country, so that’s the reason I ride her here,” he said.

 Liz Halliday-Sharp and Fernhill By Night.

© USEA/Leslie Mintz

Liz Halliday-Sharp and Deborah Halliday’s Fernhill By Night (Radolin x Argentina XII) follow behind Jung as the top placed American pair sitting in second on a 43.0. The 13-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding, “Blackie,” performed a flashy test to improve their score from last year by five points.

Halliday-Sharp describes Blackie as a, “big black Labrador,” and tailored her riding today to his disposition. “He’s very lazy. I think I got my warm-up right today. It’s all about trying not to get too excited,” she said. A short and sweet warm-up suits Blackie best.

“[I] pick up the trot, canter, do a change each way, go in the ring. He’s not like a normal four-star horse, but he tried really hard today. I felt like he was with me the whole way through. I think he really enjoyed it, and I did too,” she said.

Phillip Dutton and Fernhill Fugitive

© USEA/Leslie Mintz

Phillip Dutton rounds out the top three aboard Tom Tierney and Ann Jones’ Fernhill Fugitive (Lux Z x Barnadown). Dutton and "Jack" were the first competitors in the ring this morning, and dazzled the judges enough to remain in the top three at the end of the day. The 11-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding scored a 43.10.

Dutton has three entered this weekend, Fernhill Fugitive (43.10), Fernhill Cubalawn (48.20) and Mighty Nice, who will do his dressage test tomorrow. “It’s not always great going first, but when you enter three horses you know you’ve got a good chance of going first. I didn’t know what the scoring was going to be, but I was pleased with the way it went. That’s probably his best four-star score. There’s still another day to go yet, so we’ll see what it looks like at the end of tomorrow,” Dutton said.

Jack had a top ten finish here last year with Dutton in the tack, and has returned after a successful trip at the Pan American Games in Toronto, Canada with an even improved ride this year. “I think it’s taken him a while to get mature. Silva Martin had a big influence on him. She took him for quite a few weeks and worked with him flatwork. I think it’s all a combination of things that’s come together, and he’s a very quiet, good natured horse, so he’s pretty easy to teach,” Dutton commented on their success.  

Dressage resumes tomorrow at 8:30 with Lillian Heard and LCC Barnaby first in the ring.

Source: USEA