Monday, October 18, 2010

Team USA Finishes Second At Bokelo

U.S. Effort at Boekelo CCI3*
Updated: 2010-10-18
From the USEF, by Joanie Morris
The United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) sent four Eventing riders to Holland for the Boekelo CCI3*this weekend and produced a second place team result behind the Germans after a hard fought competition. Tiana Coudray (Ojai, CA) led the U.S. effort with Ringwood Magister. The nine-year-old Irish Sport Horse set the standard with Coudray in the pair's first overseas competition. They were sixth after the dressage on a score of 46.2, added 7.6 time faults on the challenging cross country course and then jumped a beautiful clear show jumping round to maintain their sixth place position.

Will Faudree (Hoffman, NC)  was the next highest placed American, a veteran U.S. Team member, Faudree is producing a new international star in Andromaque, a nine-year-old Thoroughbred cross mare owned by Jennifer Mosing. Andromaque was contesting her first CCI3*. They made up some serious ground after the dressage with the fastest cross country round of the day on Saturday and had the very last fence down in the show jumping to move up from 51st after the dressage to 12th in the final standings.

The third score to count in the U.S. Team effort was Sinead Halpin (Gladstone, NJ) on Carriag LLC's Manior de Carneville. The 10-year-old Selle Francais gelding was contesting his second CCI3* and the pair put in a solid effort to finish 21st out of more than 100 starters. Doug Payne (Gladstone, NJ) and Stone Hill Farm's Running Order had their learning curve increased as they contested their first CCI3* together. Two refusals at the first water on the cross country course kept them out of the placings, but the eight-year-old Thoroughbred gelding showed plenty of promise for the future.

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

USEF Sends Four Eventing Riders to Boekelo CCI3*

USEF Eventing Department - October 9, 2010
Lexington, KY - The following four rider/horse combinations have been selected to receive USEF grants to compete at the Boekelo CCI3*, October 14-17, 2010 in The Netherlands.

Rider/Age/Hometown/Horse/Sex/Breed/Age/Owner

Rider Hometown Horse Breed Owner
Tiana Coudray (22) Ojai, CA Ringwood Magister Irish Sport Horse (9yo, Gelding) Tiana Coudray
Will Faudree (29) Hoffman, NC Andromaque Irish Thoroughbred (9yo, Mare) Jennifer Mosing
Sinead Halpin(29) Oldwick, NJ Manior de Carneville Selle Francais (10yr, Gelding) Carraig LLC
Doug Payne (28) Pottersville, NJ Running Order Irish Thoroughbred (8yo, Gelding) Stone Hill Farm

Tuesday, August 31, 2010

2010 Richland Park HT CIC Three Star

Pawlow, "Ernie," and Andromaque, "Missie," and I competed this past weekend in the CIC Three Star division. Both horses were excellent and were double clear cross country. Ernie had one rail down in stadium and finished in good position at fifth place. Missie was amazing. This was her first CIC Three Star and finished 11th in excellent company.

Cross-country day at Richland Park saw 240 riders galloping through sun soaked fields, picturesque woods, and over pristine fences. The Adequan USEA Gold Cup Division was the highlight of the day, and there were very few problems on course. Check out the photo gallery by clicking here.

It was great to have my friend and Ernie and Missie's owner, Jennifer Mosing, with us at the event. It always makes campaigning a better experience. Next stop the AEC.

Monday, August 23, 2010

What a tribute to my sister, Kristen, and my friend, Jennifer Mosing.

Riding Double: Will Faudree’s Sister Continues to Inspire

The Pilot, Southern Pines, North Carolina
By Stephanie Diaz - Sunday, August 22, 2010

It may be lonely at the top, but any upper-level event rider will admit they had company on their ascent to the sport’s pinnacle.

Will Faudree will shout it.

At 28, Faudree is already a veteran of two U.S. eventing squads (with his longtime partner Antigua, better known as “Brad”) and is poised to be named to another with Pawlow, an 11-year-old Irish thoroughbred owned by Jennifer Mosing of Youngsville, La.

A stellar effort from Pawlow in the advanced division at the American Eventing Championships, which run from Sep. 9-12 at Chattahoochee Hills in Fairburn, Ga., could send Faudree to his second World Equestrian Games.

The AECs will serve as the final U.S. team selection for the Games, which open Sept. 25 and continue through Oct. 10 at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington.

Faudree, a native of Midland, Texas, whose Gavilan Farms sits on 45 acres in Hoffman, also plans to ride Andromaque, a 9-year-old Irish thoroughbred mare owned by Mosing, in advanced at the AECs.
Earlier this month, “Missie” finished second in her first advanced outing with Faudree at the Millbrook Horse Trials, and will try to secure her AEC qualifications next week in the CIC* division at the Richland Park Horse Trials.

Pawlow will also make his final start before the AECs in the Richland CIC*.

But make no mistake. Brad, now 21 and retired from competition, is still J.R. Ewing at this native Texan’s Southfork. The Australian thoroughbred gelding, who won a team gold with Faudree at the 2003 Pan Am Games and was a traveling reserve on both the 2000 and 2004 Olympic teams, has taken part in bareback puissance exhibitions since his retirement in 2008, but his chief duty at Gavilan Farm is to impart wisdom (and good manners) to younger horses.

Since moving up to advanced in early 2009, Pawlow (pronounced “Paul-oh”) has done little to suggest he wouldn’t be a valuable player on any team. The gelding began the season with an intermediate win at the Rocking Horse Winter Horse Trials, and a month later, he won an advanced division at the Southern Pines Horse Trials.

In April, he finished 15th of 53 starters at the Rolex Three-Day Event, his first four-star competition.
Faudree has done just enough with Pawlow (barn name: “Ernie”) since Rolex to keep him fit and happy. Faudree bought Ernie from California event rider Robyn Fisher in 2007, and soon realized the gelding was a horse with his own agenda.

“When I got him, he was this wild, spooky, malicious horse,” said Faudree. “He was very quirky. He had no trust in anybody. Now, he has total trust in us. He’s a total goofball but still extremely quirky. You don’t turn on clippers next to him. You don’t pull his feet out in front of him. That’s a pact I have with that horse. I’m not going to try to change him.”

Faudree laughed. “I meet him on the 50-yard line,” he said.

If Faudree could change anything, it might be the entire year of 2008.

The year began with Ernie still recovering from a Dec. 2007 colic surgery. In February of that year, his grandmother, Harriet Dublin, the anchor of his ­support system, died from cancer in his hometown of Midland.

“My family is very close, and my grandmother supported all of her grandkids in whatever they wanted to do,” Faudree said. “She was hugely influential in my career.”

In April, Faudree took Brad back to Kentucky for his third and final Rolex (the gelding finished sixth in 2006, and was in third place after cross-country in 2007, but withdrew before stadium because of a hoof injury caused by a twisted shoe).

Unfortunately, they would fare no better in 2008. Soon after arriving at the Kentucky Horse Park, Brad suffered a foot abscess, and had to withdraw from the event.

A month after Rolex came the worst news: Faudree’s sister, Kristen, was diagnosed with esophageal cancer, which rarely strikes young women.

“There was no explanation for it,” Faudree said. “She was young, she was fit … she didn’t smoke.”
A year older than Faudree, Kristen was an extraordinary young woman by any standard. She had spent time in Africa, where she taught HIV education to Zimbabwean families and started a reading program for children. She had returned to Texas in late 2007 to help care for her ailing grandmother, and fell ill shortly thereafter.

Despite being unable to contest Rolex, Faudree and Brad were still invited to the final selection trials for the 2008 Olympic Team, which were to take place in July at The Fork in Norwood. They participated, but Faudree was distracted by Kristen’s illness — she was undergoing radiation treatments but was given a poor prognosis — and he knew chances were slim that he and Brad would be named to the Olympic team.

“I knew I wasn’t going to the Olympics with that horse,” Faudree said. “He was almost 20; he didn’t owe me an Olympic Games. He had done his job with amazing grace, and never had a cross-country jump penalty. It was very emotional for me, because of what my sister was going through, and because I knew it was going to be my last event on that horse.”

Faudree’s partnership with Brad began in 2001. On the recommendation of his boss, three-time Australian Olympian Phillip Dutton, Faudree traveled to Australia to look for an upper level horse. Driving into the farm to look at the first prospect, Faudree glimpsed a smallish, sun-bleached bay tied to a lorry.

“It was Brad,” Faudree said. “I don’t know what I was expecting, but … it was just a horse. Then I got on him, and there was this magical ‘click.’”

After the selection trials, Faudree tried to spend as much time as possible with Kristen. He was also trying to sell Ernie — as an equitation horse.

“I needed the money,” Faudree said. “I had bought the farm, and added on to the barn … I was out of money.”

By October, it became clear that Kristen had a short time to live. She chose to stop radiation treatments, telling her family: “I’m done with this. It hurts. There’s a better place for me, and I can do so much more for you guys up there.”

Faudree was with Kristen the last month of her life. She died on Nov. 22, 2008.

“To see my sister face death, head on,” Faudree said. “It really showed me the value of faith.”
Shortly after Kristen’s death, Faudree was scheduled to teach a clinic in Louisiana. “They said, “If you want to cancel, we’ll understand,” Faudree said. “But I went through with it.”

At the clinic, Faudree reconnected with Mosing, whom he had met at a previous clinic (Mosing’s daughters, Kaitlynn and Madeline, had also trained with Faudree). In early December, Mosing called Faudree.

“She said she might be interested in owning a horse,” he recalled. “I told her Pawlow was for sale, and she asked what it would cost to own an event horse. She thought about it, called back and said she wanted him. I about fell out of my chair.”

Riders often depend on sponsors like Mosing to keep them actively competing at the upper levels. But Mosing has become much more than a sponsor to Faudree.

“She’s become a great friend,” Faudree said. “More like a sister. She reminds me so much of my sister. And I know it was Kristen’s hand in all of this that made it happen.”

In addition to her interest in horses, Mosing is a breeder of champion Yorkshire Terriers. In February, she asked Faudree to show one of her terriers (Brody) in the breed group at the Westminster Kennel Club show in New York City.

“I got to Madison Square Garden at 11 that morning and showed at 2:15,” Faudree said, laughing. “It was intense. It felt like the 10-minute box at Badminton.”

They won the group.

Faudree’s focus is on Ernie now, but Brad remains his gold standard. “Karen Stives (the 1984 Olympic silver medalist) gave me the best advice,” Faudree said. “She told me, “Don’t expect your next horse to fill his shoes.” I’ve never forgotten that. And I never will. No horse ever could.”

Without Kristen, Faudree acknowledges that his future triumphs will be ­bittersweet.

“There are times I would give everything up to have my sister back,” he said. “Even for an hour. I’d do it in a heartbeat. “But somehow, I know she’s still a part of it.”

Monday, August 9, 2010

Millbrook Horse Trials This Past Weekend.

Andromaque, "Missie," is officially an Advanced horse! She was so amazing and I can't even describe how elated I was after her cross country run. She finished second overall and was one of there horses to go double-clear. Her finish was even more amazing because she did her dressage test in a torrential downpour. When we changed rein across the diagonal 1/3 of the way through her test, I could not even seen the letter at the other end of the ring.
Missie at the water complex.
Missie at the water complex.


Pawlow was equally competitive at his first event back from Rolex. I ran him in an Intermediate division as part of his short list program leading up to the selection trials at the American Eventing Championships. His dressage score was fantastic and he finished fourth overall. He is progressing right on track in his program.

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

USEF Names Final Short List for 2010 Land Rover US Eventing Team

From the USEF Eventing Department
Monday, July 19, 2010  
Lexington, KY - The USEF has added the following horse/rider combinations to the Short List for the 2010 Land Rover US Eventing Team to represent the United States at the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games in Lexington, KY.

Name/Age/Hometown/Horse/Age/Breed/Sex/Owner

Buck Davidson/33/Riegelsville, PA/Titanium/9/Thoroughbred/G/Carl and Cassandra Segal
Phillip Dutton/46/West Grove, PA/Kheops du Quesnay/12/Selle Francais/G/Ann Jones and Rebecca Broussard

The Short List/Nominated Entry of 18 horse/rider combinations will be submitted to the FEI on August 16th.

Stephen Bradley/48/Leesburg, VA/Brandenburg's Joshua/15/Thoroughbred/G/Southern Edition Farm LLC
Buck Davidson/33/Riegelsville, PA/BallyNoe Castle RM/10/Irish Thoroughbred/G/Carl and Cassandra Segal
Buck Davidson/33/Riegelsville, PA/My Boy Bobby/14/Irish Sport Horse/G/Carl and Cassandra Segal
Buck Davidson/33/Riegelsville, PA/Titanium/9/Thoroughbred/G/Carl and Cassandra Segal
Phillip Dutton/46/West Grove, PA/The Foreman/14/Thoroughbred/G/Ann Jones
Phillip Dutton/46/West Grove, PA/TruLuck/13/Thoroughbred/G/Ann Jones and Rebecca Broussard
Phillip Dutton/46/West Grove, PA/Connaught/17/Irish Sport Horse/G/Bruce Duchossois
Phillip Dutton/46/West Grove, PA/Woodburn/14/NZ Thoroughbred/G/Ann Jones, Mardie Faucette and Acorn Hill Farm
Phillip Dutton/46/West Grove, PA/Kheops du Quesnay/12/Selle Francais/G/Ann Jones and Rebecca Broussard
Will Faudree/28/Hoffman, NC/Pawlow/11/Irish Thoroughbred/G/Jennifer Mosing
Becky Holder/40/Palmetto, GA/Courageous Comet/14/Thoroughbred/G/Tom & Becky Holder
Holly Hudspeth/37/Raleigh, NC/Last Monarch/9/Thoroughbred/G/Holly & Chuck Hudspeth
Boyd Martin/30/West Grove, PA/Neville Bardos/11/Australian Thoroughbred/G/Windurra USA, LLC
Boyd Martin/30/West Grove, PA/Remington XXV/14/Hanoverian/G/Henley House Stables
Karen O'Connor/52/The Plains, VA/Mandiba/11/Thoroughbred/G/Joan Goswell
Kim Severson/36/Scottsville, VA/Tipperary Liadhnan/13/Irish Sport Horse/G/Friends of Kim Severson Syndicate
Allison Springer/35/Marshall, VA/Arthur/11/Irish Sport Horse/G/Allison, Carolyn, & William Springer
Amy Tryon/39/Duvall, WA/Leyland/10/Thoroughbred/G/Elisabeth Nicholson

All Short Listed horse/rider combinations must participate in the Land Rover 2010 USEA American Eventing Championships which takes place on September 9-12, 2010 in Fairburn, GA.

ENDS

Please contact Sara Ike with any questions at , sara.ike@usef.org or 908-326-1164.

Sunday, June 13, 2010

Second Place at Bromont Three Day CCI**

Andromaque "Missie" and I, 2nd place after the XC, did our best to put pressure on Kelli by jumping a beautiful clear round.  Kelli had two rails down in stadium. I was very please with Missie at her first CCI**. She has been amazing at every event and continues to develop into a world-class horse.

Kaitlynn did a wonderful job as the groom for her mother's [Jennifer] horse.

Click here to see the results.

Saturday, June 12, 2010

Second After Cross Country.

Missie and I had a terrific cross country round today at Bromont. She was awesome and double-clear. There were very few combinations that completed the course within the time allowed. We were at the third to the last fence and were on course to be well under a minute under. She was galloping extremely well. That gave me a chance to slow her gallop to keep us closer to the optimum time.

Cross Country Phase

Missie and I are going into the cross country phase in 7th place. I was pleased with her dressage test and thought she did a spectacular test.  The weather was not the best on dressage day, rain, but Missie didn't seem to mind. Kaitlynn Mosing is doing a great job as groom.

The Mosing's Equine Motorcoach continues to be a great way to travel to and live at the horse show. We are able to keep a close eye on Missie while still being able to take advantage of all of that time in between duties and rides to take care of ourselves.

The Bromont Olympic site, home of the Bromont Three Day Event, is the only Olympic equestrian venue still in active use and, is underwent a major facelift.

Check out photos of the cross country course.

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Bromont CCI**

Andromaque "Missie" and I have traveled to Bromont for the Three Day Event hosted in Canada. The pair will run in the CCI**.  Our dressage ride is at 10:12 a.m. this morning.

Kaitlynn Mosing is with  Missie and me as the groom, an important part of the team. She is taking care of her mother's, Jennifer, horse through all phases of the competition including preparation and post-phase care. Kaitlynn has been training with me for several years. She became a working student last summer when she moved to North Carolina to attend college full-time.


Missie is in great shape and has been advancing in her competitive career right on course since she arrive late last fall in the U.S.


Stay tuned and I'll be posting updates as the weekend progresses.

Saturday, May 15, 2010

USEF Names Partial Short List for 2010 Land Rover US Eventing Team

USEF Names Partial Short List for 2010 Land Rover US Eventing Team
Updated: 2010-05-14
from USEF

Lexington, KY - A partial Short List for the 2010 Land Rover US Eventing Team has been named to represent the United States at the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games in Lexington, KY.

Additional horse/rider combinations may be named to the Short List after the final selection trial held at Luhmuhlen CCI4* June 17-20, 2010. Up to 18 horse/rider combinations can be submitted on the Nominated Entry, which is due August 16, 2010.

Name/Age/Hometown/Horse/Age/Breed/Sex/Owne
r

Buck Davidson/33/Riegelsville, PA/BallyNoe Castle RM/10/Irish Thoroughbred/G/Carl and Cassandra Segal
Buck Davidson/33/Riegelsville, PA/My Boy Bobby/14/Irish Sport Horse/G/Carl and Cassandra Segal
Phillip Dutton/46/West Grove, PA/The Foreman/14/Thoroughbred/G/Ann Jones
Phillip Dutton/46/West Grove, PA/TruLuck/13/Thoroughbred/G/Ann Jones and Rebecca Broussard
Phillip Dutton/46/West Grove, PA/Woodburn/14/NZ Thoroughbred/G/Ann Jones, Mardie Faucette and Acorn Hill Farm
Will Faudree/28/Hoffman, NC/Pawlow/11/Irish Thoroughbred/G/Jennifer Mosing
Becky Holder/40/Palmetto, GA/Courageous Comet/14/Thoroughbred/G/Tom & Becky Holder
Boyd Martin/30/West Grove, PA/Neville Bardos/11/Australian Thoroughbred/G/Windurra USA, LLC
Boyd Martin/30/West Grove, PA/Remington XXV/14/Hanoverian/G/Henley House Stables
Karen O'Connor/52/The Plains, VA/Mandiba/11/Thoroughbred/G/Joan Goswell
Amy Tryon/39/Duvall, WA/Leyland/10/Thoroughbred/G/Elisabeth Nicholson

All Short Listed horse/rider combinations must participate in the 2010 Land Rover/USEA American Eventing Championships which takes place on September 9-12, 2010 in Fairburn, GA.

For information about the Land Rover US Eventing Team for the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games, please http://usef.org/_IFrames/breedsdisciplines/discipline/alleventing/WEG.aspx.

For information about the Chattahoochee Hills venue, please visit: www.chatthillseventing.com

For information about the Land Rover American Eventing Championships, please visit the www.useventing.com.

Friday, May 14, 2010

It Has Been An Exciting Day.

I received two excellent pieces of news today. First, Pawlow "Ernie" and I have been named to the short list for the World Equestrian Games USA Team. This list has eleven rider/horse combinations and opens the door for an amazing opportunity to train and compete throughout the summer. I will post the official announcement and plans as soon as I can. A special thank you to Ernie's owner and my sponsor Jennifer Mosing. None of this would be possible without her.

Also, Cavalor Feed has offered me a  sponsorship. I feed my horses this and have gotten excellent results. More information will posted on my website in the near future.

I wanted to share this news with all of you who have been so supportive of me and my horses.

Saturday, April 24, 2010

Cross Country Day.



Our day began early with preparations with Ernie well before 7:00 a.m. We left the start box promptly at 10:50 a.m. and completed the course with no jumping faults and 6 time faults. I rode the 15-16 water combination through the long route to give Ernie lots of confidence in his first four star. It was the half way point on the course.

The course was extremely long and there was not one break or anything easy on the course. Ernie handled it extremely well. There were a couple of obstacles that required a huge effort from him and he responded as soon as I asked him. It took a lot of energy and even though he was bit tired at the end of the course, he gave me his all and jumped great.

The team vets checked him and he is doing extremely well. No sign of soreness or lameness. We were sitting outside his stall and he was munching on hay and dinner while we re-hashed the day. I think he will be happy when we leave. He is looking forward to a long night's rest.

My team - Suzanne, Yvonne, J.D. and Tom - are doing an amazing job with Ernie. He accepts all that they do and it's so good to see them work together. My owner and sponsor, Jennifer Mosing, is equally amazing. She gave me a hug before I got on Ernie and is always at the start and finish for me. Her husband, Kirk, and daughter, Maddie, are here and that really means a lot to me.

I was so excited about how great he was on course that when I jumped off at the vet box, I forgot to unclip my Air Jacket, so it inflated when I landed on my feet. Needless to say, that provided a little bit of humor there.

I was also a commentator on the Universal Sports live feed that went out all over the world. I was able to present what the challenges were on each obstacle because I had just ridden the course.

Another good thing that is happening for our sport is an advertising campaign being done by Rolex and Land Rover. I was photographed for the campaign and was happy to do it because it will promote the sport of eventing.

We've moved up to 12th place and there are only a couple of rails that separate us all. For a look at the leader board go to: http://scoring.rk3de.org/leaderBoard.html

Cross County Day at Rolex.

Yesterday was a day to walk the cross country course several more times to check and double-check all lines. The course is long 6270 meters and we will be galloping at 570 meters/minute. The optimum time is 11 minutes. Our start is set for 10:55 ET. We are all hoping the stormy weather holds off until end of cross country.

The jumps will require that the horses jump "big" and this suits Ernie's cross country style. Ernie is very relaxed and enjoyed a day off from competition yesterday. I rode him for a while and he feels ready to go.  He spent most of the day relaxing in his stall, going for walks and grazing with all of the other big boys - Woodburn, The Alchymest, Courageous Comet, The Foreman and more. All of the horses seems ready to go. It's amazing to see them all just be horses when they are not competing. It's equally amazing to see them doing their jobs. They are truly professionals.

Friday, April 23, 2010

Dressage

Ernie and I are in 9th place after dressage. Our ride went well and Ernie was full of energy. He handled his first Rolex dressage test well even with his enthusiasm.

We walked the cross country course several times. It is long and challenging, but we're ready for our start at 10:55 a.m. tomorrow morning. The rain that was expected for tomorrow has started today, so we are hopeful that we will all have a sunny day to run the course.

If you want to take a look at the course check it out online: http://www.rk3de.org/virtual_course.php

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Rolex/Bridgestone/USEF Competitors/Owners/Sponsors Event

Team Pawlow "Ernie" attended a wonderful event at Spindletop near the Kentucky Horse Park last night. It was a great night for all of the riders, owners, sponsors and USEF staff to mingle and enjoy each other before the competitor gets underway today. Jennifer Mosing, Yvonne and Susan (Ernie's groom) were all there with us.

Ernie's jog was flawless and he turned a lot of heads with how great he looked. He is such a magnificent horse and it was good see people recognize that in him. Our dressage ride is at 1:32 ET.

You can follow the results on the leaderboard throughout the event.

Fifty-Three Horses to Start the Dressage at the 2010 Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event presented by Bridgestone

Release: April 21 2010
Author: By Joanie Morris

Lexington, KY – With Wednesday at the Rolex Kentucky Three Day-Event presented by Bridgestone comes the first horse inspection – which christens the official start of the competition. Running also as a Test Event for the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games, the eventing riders at the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event this year have the company of some of the top dressage and jumping riders as Test Events for those disciplines run concurrently.

The Kentucky Horse Park is a busy place this week.

Bestowed with glorious conditions at a newly designed horse inspection venue, 53 horses were presented to the Ground Jury. The Ground Jury has been slightly improvised due to two members not being able to make it from Europe, having fallen victim to the international airline crisis surrounding the Eyjafjallajökull Volcano in Iceland.

So Marilyn Payne and Christian Landholt were the pinch hitters (for Sue Baxter and Anne-Mette Binder), and along with Ulrich Schmitz (who only had to come from his home in Phoenix – so he remained the only original Ground Jury member) the competition got underway.

Phillip Dutton will be the busiest rider of the weekend, he has four horses entered – he intended on taking one of them (Woodburn) to the Mitsubishi Badminton Horse Trials in England next week but those plans were also thwarted due to the volcano.

All 53 horses were accepted by the ground jury, three were held - but all deemed fit to compete upon reinspection.

“I am very excited to be here,” said Will Faudree, who is making his sixth appearance at the CCI4*, but his first with Pawlow. “It has been really fun with this horse because I have brought him up the levels and I am excited about being here. I am glad the jog has happened so now the competition has started.”

Course Designer Mike Etherington-Smith, also stalled in Europe because of the volcano has done, as always, a masterful job with cross-country course: a question of scope more than technicality, the course should give everyone a chance to have a great ride.

The first day of dressage gets underway on Thursday at 9.30 am; Dutton leads the way with Ann Jones and Rebecca Broussard’s Kheops du Quesnay.

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Rolex Ride Times

Will Faudree, #24, Pawlow, USA

Dressage Thursday, April 22 - 1:32 p.m
Cross Country Friday April 24 - 10:55 a.m.

To view all ride times, click here!

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Arrived at the Kentucky Horse Park.

We left Gavilan Farm at midnight so the horses could arrive today to get settled. We traveled in the Mosing's Equine Motorcoach, which gave Ernie an air-ride that had him walking off the rig like he just left his stall. Today we get settled and make sure all is set for the competition.

Here's the schedule of events. Ernie and I will know our times tomorrow when they draw the order.

2010 ROLEX KENTUCKY THREE-DAY EVENT
ALLTECH FEI WORLD EQUESTRIAN GAMES TEST EVENT
Kentucky Cup Eventing

Cross-Country Course Open
Wednesday, April 21, 1:00 p.m.
(Course open to the public as of this date and time; must stay off track of course)

First Horse Inspection

Wednesday, April 21, 3:00 p.m.

Competitor Familiarization in Main ArenaWednesday, April 21, 4:30 p.m.

Dressage Test

Thursday, April 22, 9:00 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.
Friday, April 23, 9:00 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.

Cross-Country Test

Saturday, April 24, 9:00 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.
 
Second Horse Inspection
Sunday, April 25, 8:00 a.m.
 
Jumping Course Open for Competitor Inspection
Sunday, April 25, 11:00 a.m.

Presentation of the Teams of the 2010 USPC Prince Philip Cup
Sunday, April 25, 11:30 a.m.

Jumping Test

Sunday, April 25, 12:00- 2:30 p.m.

Awards Ceremony

Sunday, April 25, 2:30 p.m.

Monday, April 19, 2010

Three Days Three Ways Interviews Will Faudree

By Courtney Young


Are you ready for Rolex Kentucky? Will Faudree is, and he'll be there with his Stetson firmly in place at the jog on Wednesday, April 21, showing off the talented and beautiful Pawlow. Will is well-known for his Texas heritage and his smile, but his ability to turn in an efficient, smooth cross-country round has taken this 28-year-old from team gold at the North American Young Riders Championships in 2001 to team gold at the 2003 Pan American Games to the FEI World Equestrian Games in 2006. Rolex Kentucky may be Pawlow's first four-star, but he and Faudree have gone from strength to strength with a win at the Southern Pines Horse Trials (N.C.) this spring and an 11th-placed finish at the Blenheim CCI*** (England) last fall. Will took some time out of his busy schedule at Gavilan Farm in Hoffman, N.C., to answer a few questions from blogger Three Days, Three Ways before he made the trek to Lexington.


Q. How would you describe yourself?
A. I don't know. I've always wanted, for as long as I can remember, to be a professional event rider. It's been my focus and my goal, and I love it. I am very passionate about the sport and passionate about the animals and feel very fortunate that I get to compete and do what it is I love to do.


Q. How did you come across eventing?
A. I grew up in Midland, Texas, which is west Texas. There's a small group of eventers out there now, but I started in the hunter/jumper world when I was 7 years old. I saw the '88 Olympics on TV and decided I wanted to jump the jumps. I drifted into eventing after I saw a movie called Sylvester about a ranch girl and her horse who end up going to Rolex, actually. It's an old western. I thought that was cool. A friend of my mom's told me about aKaren O'Connor clinic in San Antonio. I didn't ride in it, but we went and watched. That was in '94 I think. It was my first taste of eventing and it stuck.


Q. What are you so passionate about when it comes to eventing?
A. The sport. The horses. I think eventing, of all the equestrian sports, demands horsemanship, and I think that's really important. I love every day that I get to get up and work with the horses and be with them. It's not just about the riding. It's not just the competition. It's the day in and day out routine that I love and am passionate about.


Q. How would you describe your teaching style?
A. I've been very fortunate in my life to work with some pretty incredible instructors. I was based with Phillip Dutton as a working student and worked a lot with Karen and David O'Connor coming up through the Young Rider ranks. I was fortunate enough to be named to the USEF Winter Training list starting in 2003 and so have been able to work with Mark Phillips over the last seven years.
My friend Bobby Costello has helped me immensely. Having worked with so many great instructors has influenced my teaching. My philosophy is, when I get on my horse whether it's dressage or jumping or a trot set, I want to have a goal. What do I want to accomplish today? I want to do what I can to meet that goal that day. It's important to have long-term goals and vision, but it's also important to dissect that to make that ultimate goal a reality.


Q. What does the week before Rolex Kentucky look like for you?
A. At this point everything is done in the horse's training and fitness. If they're not fit now, they're not getting fit. If they don't know how to do a change now, they're not going to. Now it's magnifying the tools that I already have, that I know exist and can do in the dressage ring, on cross-country, and in show jumping. They should come out of this week and go into next week feeling like King Kong. They need to come into the competition feeling like they can take over the world. I taper the fitness so they think something must be coming up. They're not working quite as hard, so they're getting a bit more energy that way.


Q. Any additional things you need to pack?
A. At the end of the day, it's another horse show. That's something that's really important to remember. You want everything to be done: The brass needs to be shiny and your tack clean, but that's the standard that I expect of myself on a daily basis. So luckily I've got a great support staff at home, and the trailer is packed up and ready to go. So there's nothing extra special. The only extra thing is the two outfits for the jog-up!


Q. How do you get Pawlow ready for Rolex Kentucky as far as fitness and soundness? And how do you pronounce his name?
A. Mainly like "Paulo." He was bred by a Polish man named Ernesto Pavlovisnki. so the correct pronunciation would be like "Pavlov." He's Ernie to me. It's "Paulo" or "Pavlov," whatever mood the announcer is in! Every horse is different. Not one person is going to copy the next person in getting the horse prepared mentally and physically. Everyoneʼs fitness program differs. Some have the luxury of hills; some are on the flat. We're on sand footing. My fitness program starts in December when the horses come into work. It's important to do long walks and trots in addition to galloping. Some people think it's no longer long format, so we don't have to do as much fitness. But that's not correct. I do a lot of very long trot sets and gallop every five days. In the winter—December,
January, February—I do interval work in their canter sets. When they start competing, it's more sprinting since they have their base fitness. As far as maintaining fitness, that varies left and right depending on the horse. One thing I do routinely with all my upper-level horses is Adequan and Legend, and they get fed a joint supplement. I'm fortunate to be sponsored by FarmVet and Cavalor, and I believe that helps my horses the best that I can. One thing that's really important is I trot [the horses] every Monday morning for the vet. Keep professionalizing the horses so you can see the slightest change. Maintaining the horses is recognizing something that's not in their normal routine. I'm fortunate in that respect that I have a good farrier and a good vet who have their eyes on my horses a minimum of once a week.


Q. You placed fourth in the CIC*** at The Fork in North Carolina a couple weekends ago ahead of some impressive names and horses. What needs to happen to repeat such a great performance, or better it, at Rolex Kentucky?
A. The important thing is I go into every competition with a clear head knowing I have prepared my horse the best I know how to and that my horse is feeling as confident as he can. I want to go in with three solid performances, and where that places me in the end is where it places me in the end. I was very pleased with my horse cross-coutnry at The Fork. I threw away way too many points in the dressage. Obviously, I've come away working on giving myself better sharpness with the tools that I have. I was very pleased with our show jumping, and Katie Prudent, who has been working with the winter training list, had very good points after the round. I'm definitely going to think of those going into the next competition.


Q. Do you have any pre-ride rituals?
A. I listen to music. I love the musical “Wicked” (my friends think I'm crazy). I listen to music, and I focus myself that way. Music is a very handy tool for me.


Q. Is riding at Rolex Kentucky different than riding at, say, The Fork or Jersey Fresh?
A. Yeah, there's an unbelievable feel to Rolex. I've competed at the World Equestrian Games and [the Badminton CCI**** (England)] and [the Burghley CCI**** (England)] on Antigua, and for me there's so much history there; they've been around for so long. But there's something special about Rolex. At the end of the day it's another event, but it's a really cool feeling when you drive into the Kentucky Hose Park. They do an amazing job, and it's a little bit of an out of this world feeling, like this is in our backyard, this is so cool! We've all worked so hard to get there, so when you drive in it's exciting to go and get to do what you've worked up to doing.


Q. What's your favorite part of Rolex Kentucky?
A. Everything about it! You get to walk around, and it's like “Oh My God.” It's really a feeling that you can't describe. There are no words.


Q. If fans want to support you what can they do? Cheer at the water jump?
Autograph signings?
A. I'm doing an autograph signing Thursday or Friday at the USEF booth at lunch. I'll do a Bit of Britain/Nunn Finer course walk at some point too. But if you see me, grab me! I read something somewhere that I was unapproachable or scary, and I'm not. I'll talk to anyone. Come talk to me!


Q. So let's say all goes well at Rolex Kentukcy? What's next?
A. He'll have a break after Kentucky for a little bit, and then we'll see if WEG looks like it's going to be in the fall plan or we may try to take him over to Burghley. This is his first four-star, but every challenge this horse has been handed he's answered and followed up by saying "What next?" He's got a great attitude, and he's a really great horse. I'm excited for what Rolex will bring, and what goes beyond that we'll have to wait and see!


Q. Anything to add?
A. I'd love to say that Jennifer Mosing, who owns Ernie [Pawlow], is an incredible friend of mine and an incredible owner. I am so fortunate to have someone like her in my career as an owner and a friend. She's a really great woman. Her oldest daughter is Kaitlynn, and sheʼs one of my working students. She just did her first prelim at Longleaf and finished fourth! Jennifer came up for that, and then we'll drive to Kentucky together. It's going to be a lot of fun.


Courtney Young conducts in-depth interviews with the elite of the equestrian world on her blog Three Days Three Ways [5]. Check it out for a behind-the-scenes look into three-day eventing.