Dressage for the CCI*** and CCI** was in full swing at The Dutta Corp. Fair Hill International in Fair Hill, MD. Marilyn Little, born and raised in Frederick, MD, maintained the lead after dressage in the CCI*** with RF Scandalous on a 41.5. Little is also in second place with RF Demeter with a 44.6. In the CCI**, Emily Beshear with Silver Night Lady continues to lead the field with a 43.0 going into Saturday's cross country.
The USEA Young Event Horse East Coast Championships came to a close and Tim Bourke and Foreign Quality maintained the lead and won top honors in the five-year-old division while Matthew Flynn riding 2 A.M. won the four-year-old division.
Showing another strong performance in dressage, Little followed Thursday's leading performance with RF Scandalous with a brilliant performance on her second mount, RF Demeter, to take second place. Moving into the third position was Ryan Wood aboard Powell with a score of 45.0.
"Demi (RF Demeter) was a bit more tense and anticipatory than I had hoped for. She was looking forward to the test and not as relaxed as she can be. All in all, I'm pleased with her," said Little. "We trust her to do her job. She can almost under-do in the warmup, knowing she will be beautiful and put on a show."
Known for being quick and bold on cross-country, Little is optimistic for Saturday's cross-country with RF Demeter. "With Demi, I have to keep control. She is very strong, knows her job, and comes out of the start box like a tornado and just wants to do it all at once. This looks like a good track for her."
Little's first place horse RF Scandalous is coming back up to the CC*** level and is looking forward to Saturday's course. "I really hope to do a good job," said Little. "We are prepared and she is a courageous horse, and a big galloper. I'll probably be a little bit more conservative in the beginning of the course; I want her to come home as confident as she left the start box."
Beshear and Silver Night Lady remain in the lead in the CCI** heading into Saturday's cross-country competition with a dressage score of 43.0. Following in second is Jennie Brannigan riding Stella Artois with a score of 44.5 and Dasha Ivandaeva riding DB Cooper moved into third with a dressage score of 45.3.
"I was really pleased with my score and I know there were a lot of good competitive horses to go today. What can I say, I'm happy to still be here," said Beshear. "My mare has such a great foundation, very honest and very brave. There are a lot of places where you can get rolling and (course designer) Derek (Di Grazia) is not going to let you make-up time at the end of the course, you've got to make the most of the galloping lanes. I'm looking forward to it, it's a great course. I'll let her gallop on and hope to manage her well."
The USEA Young Event Horse East Coast Championships came to a close as Tim Bourke and Foreign Quality secured the win in the five-year-old division with an 86.87%. In the four-year-old division, Matthew Flynn riding 2 A.M. topped of the leaderboard winning the four-year-old division with a score of 86.87%.
"Badger (Foreign Quality) is a super nice horse, easy to produce and easy to ride," said Bourke. "He's a lovey horse, happy to have him."