Day 2: Sabrina Glaser Takes the Overnight Lead in the CCI3*-S at Aspen Farms

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 17, 2023
Aspen Farms Horse Trials, Yelm, WA, USA

A large crowd of spectators and show sponsors gathered to watch the FEI divisions show jump at Aspen Farms Horse Trials Saturday evening.

Sabrina Glaser shined over the CC3*-S show jumping track designed by Chris Barnard. She jumped double clear on both her horses in the division, and Rather Be Cooley, owned by Hildegard Johnson, (pictured above) claimed the overnight lead.

“I’m sitting on two completely different horses” Glaser said after her show jump rounds. “They couldn’t be more different if they tried; it’s interesting having the same course and having to have two very different plans.”

Rather be Cooley, a 9-year-old Belgian Warmblood gelding, has been partnered with Glaser for three years and is leading the division on his dressage score of 31.9.

“He is a brilliant jumper,” Glaser said. “We did some 1.25m Jumpers running up to this show, and he was good. That gives you a good feeling going in knowing that he likes to jump clean, and he’s still brave enough and bold enough to do the job. He’s very sensitive mentally, but he’s also one of the laziest horses I’ve ridden. I have to be careful to keep him mentally settled so he stays rideable.”

Glaser speculated on the forthcoming cross-country test: “I knew Tremaine Cooper’s courses really well. It’s taken me some time to get a feel for Morgan Rowsell’s courses. I think we’ve got work to do out there tomorrow! Rather be Cooley is quite green at this level. I’ll be trying to keep him soft while still keeping him brave. I’m going to have to trust him, believe in the schooling we’ve done at home, and hope that it will be there when we need it.”

Sophie Click is second in the CCI3*-S with her 10-year-old Oldenburg gelding, Tarantino 54.

“He was good; he was adjustable,” Click said after their ride. “We were on the same page. I’m really proud of him.”

In the CCI2*-S, Stephanie Goodman and Elwenda DP, a 13-year-old Dutch Warmblood mare owned by Deanna Briggs, delivered a convincing clear round to retain their lead on 25.7.

Goodman is followed closely by Tommy Greengard, who is tied for second with two of his horses, Joshuay MB and Kremer VD Falieber, owned by Morgan Wenell. Greengard is also in tenth in the division with his Thoroughbred mare, Count Me In.

“It was so fun,” Greengard said after show jumping. “I thought all three horses jumped phenomenally well. It was especially fun to have Josh back. He jumped a very good round. I can’t complain.”

When asked which horse might break the tie tomorrow, Greengard hinted he might give the advantage to Kremer since: “Josh is coming back. So I think he’ll be a little more conservative than Kremer. I think Kremer is ready to put in a very competitive run tomorrow.”

Greengard also moved up to the lead in the Open Training division with the young horse That’s Me Z who he owns with Andrea Pfeiffer.

“He was amazing,” Greengard said. “I was proud of him. He can be a little nervous with a lot of atmosphere. But that’s one of the reasons we love coming to Aspen. He jumped so well, and he was so focused. He just completed his first Preliminary, but this is his first time competing on the grass, so that’s why we dropped him down to Training level this weekend. We’re excited to see how he does on the grass tomorrow.”

Jordan Linstedt and Lovely Lola, owned by Lovas Partners LLC, retained the lead in the Open Intermediate on their dressage score of 29, more than six points ahead of the other competitors in the division.

“She’s pretty incredible and jumped so well,” said Linstedt. “I thought she was more relaxed in the ring than she has been. I felt like I was working really hard because she was jumping so high; just staying with her was a workout. But it’s getting smoother with her. She’s still green; the over-jumping is because she tries too hard. She’ll level that out in time. She felt confident today.”

“I think the cross-country course looks fair,” said Linstedt, looking ahead to Sunday. “For her, running Intermediate she just has to get educated and understand what is being asked of her and be brave out there because she is so careful it makes her a little hard on cross-country. She is unsure sometimes but really tries hard for me. She wants to jump all the fences.”

Alyssa Schaefer and Fuego moved up from third to second in Open Intermediate after adding just one rail to their dressage score. Stephanie Goodman and Carolina Morning jumped from eighth to third in the standings, thanks to a double clear round.

Harper Padgett and Cooley Starship held tightly to their lead in Preliminary Rider, adding just .4 time faults to their dressage score.

“There’s a few things we need to work on like having a little more step and flow,” said Padgett after her show jumping round. “But I think he was really good today. He’s kind of a spooky horse. He did a good job holding it together and not letting his nerves take over.”

The Open Preliminary division saw many changes to the scoreboard after show jumping. Most notably, Amy Silvera Olsen of Silvera Sporthorses and her 14-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding, Metropolitan, jumped clear to move up from fourth to first.

Todd Trewin was the only rider not to change positions in the division. He added just one rail to his dressage score to retain the second place spot with his wife Tracey Trewin’s horse, Cooley High Society, an imported Irish horse they purchased in Florida.

“He was a little cocky today, which is good because he’s quite a good jumper,” said Trewin. “I had a little more horse than I thought I was going to have–which I like.”

Trewin has walked the cross-country course designed by Morgan Rowsell and feels optimistic for tomorrow.

“I think it’s a great course,” he said. “I’m still figuring out where I can allow him to gallop more. Being Irish and a little bit more of a Warmblood type, he doesn’t gallop like the Thoroughbreds I’m used to riding. I’m still trying to sort that out for time’s sake. I know he’ll be fine with the jumps.”

While the other divisions were show jumping in the sand ring, eight Novice and Beginner Novice divisions contested cross-country over courses designed by Morgan Rowsell.

In a large Open Novice division, Patience O’Neal and Limitless P, a 7-year-old Dutch Warmblood owned by Lauren Collins, jumped clean and inside the time over the undulating cross-country terrain to hold their lead.

“It was great!” O’Neal said of their cross-country run. “He was super. He hasn’t been out since Twin Rivers, so this was our first show back. We’re getting ready to move him up to Training level. This was going to be a tell-all if he was ready to move up or not; he showed today that he totally is! He bombed around the course like it was nothing.”

Training level cross-country will being at 8:30 a.m. on Sunday and Novice show jumping will begin at 8 a.m. Over $30,000 worth of prizes will be awarded to the top finishers at Aspen Farms Horse Trials, thanks to the show’s generous sponsors.

Day 2 Scores:

Scores from all divisions are available on Startbox Scoring, here: https://eventing.startboxscoring.com/eventsr/aspen/ht0623/

Photos courtesy of Cortney Drake Photography.