VideoWith 43 out of 87 eventing pairs having gone down centerline for the FEI Eventing World Championships in Aachen, Germany, U.S. riders Caroline Pamukcu (HSH Blake) and Phillip Dutton (Denim) are sitting 14th and 15th, respectively. The U.S. Eventing Team is provisionally sixth.
Dutton is the squad’s pathfinder, and he said he was happy with Denim’s test, though he wished it had scored better than its 32.6 penalties.
“He was pretty much mistake free,” said Dutton. “I got off the centerline a little bit with the entrance, but then the rest of it was good. It needs a little bit more power and energy to get a good score, I think, but he was a real professional in there. I was really proud of him for that.”
Pamukcu was candid about her frustration with her test (32.3 penalties), which included a costly error in a canter depart when Blake picked up the wrong lead.
“Definitely that was a stupid mistake, but stuff happens,” she said.
“I know I have a lovely horse,” she added. “He’s a very, very special guy. So, obviously, I’m pretty disappointed with that, because I know we both could do better—or I could do better, not him. Yeah, I didn’t give him the ride I wanted to today, but it is a sport, and that’s a fun thing about a sport.”
After today’s dressage, New Zealand’s team is sitting tied for first with Great Britain, and Germany is third.
England’s Tom McEwen on JL Dublin is the highest-placed individual rider with 26.6 penalties. Jonelle Price, riding Senor Crocodillo for New Zealand, is not far behind on 27.2 penalties.
Tomorrow, U.S. individual rider Tamie Smith (Lillet 3) and the remaining two members of the team—Will Coleman on Diabolo and Boyd Martin on Cooley Nutracker—will take their turns in the dressage ring, before attention turns to cross-country on Saturday.
“It’s a tough course,” said Dutton. “It’s a lot of turning. Time’s going to be hard to get, and there are probably three or four places out there that are really proper five-star questions.”
See full results here.
