Little and RF Scandalous, a 2005 Oldenburg mare (Carry Gold x Lario) owned by Jacqueline Mars, Robin Parsky, and Phoebe & Michael Manders, performed a stellar stadium round, which was smooth and accurate, exemplifying the mare's scope and carefulness. The pair stayed well away from all of the rails, and will head into cross-country as the last pair on course, with the CIC 3* and Advanced divisions running in reverse order of go.
"I was really pleased with her. As I've said, we've been working a lot on the show jumping throughout the winter. It was great to see her come in relaxed to the warm-up area and in the ring," commented Little.
As a seasoned grand prix show jumper, Little has a breadth of experience jumping in large atmospheres and feels that her knowledge as helped the mare gain confidence in the stadium phase.
"She knows exactly what to expect now. That was one of the problems when we first started working with her. She's such a careful horse that she didn't really know what to expect next," she explained. "She does better when she knows what's coming so that she can be relaxed in her program. That's when you get the best out of her. She feels very confident."
Heading into tomorrow's final phase of cross-country, Little will look to pilot RF Scandalous to a strong and confident round ahead of their summer plans for the season.
"I've walked the course twice now and it's just gorgeous. I think it's going to be difficult to make the time," she noted. "I think one of things that I've been trying to pay attention to is not just where the jumps are, but what is the best route through the terrain."
While this is the duo's first FEI run of the season together, Little commented that while she will look to give RF Scandalous a solid run, she will also focus her ride on perfecting the more difficult questions asked on course.
"This is her first run so I won't start off too quickly. We'll see how she's handling it and where her adrenaline is," said Little. "I think once I get across the bridge, I may start to pick it up a bit more and see where I can make it up. I want to take care of her out there and have a nice confident round. This event will determine where our season goes from here."
