Severson and Cooley Corraghy Diamond Earn Early Lead After Day One of Dressage in the US Equestrian Open Eventing Final CCI4*-L
Leesburg, Va.—Oct. 8—The first 17 horse-and-athlete combinations took their turn down the centerline today as the first day of dressage kicked off in the US Equestrian Open Eventing Final CCI4*-L, hosted at Morven Park in Leesburg, Va. Olympic medalist Kim Severson (Charlottesville, Va.) took the early lead aboard her partner Cooley Corraghy Diamond, a 2017 Irish Sport Horse gelding (Diamond Roller x Cruising), owned by Bill and Roslyn Johnson, with a score 29.8 penalties.
The duo produced a steady, polished test for Severson’s first CCI4*-L since 2017, earning high marks from the judges for both their flying changes and collected trot work. With the only sub-30 score on the leaderboard, the test set the tone going into day two.
Severson purchased the gelding, known as “Cory” in the barn, as a barely 4-year-old. She said the flying changes have been the biggest work in progress for the horse, making this test especially meaningful.
“He did as good a test as he can absolutely do right now,” she said. “The changes, as everybody hears me talking about, have taken him forever. I think that’s the second time he’s ever gotten both changes in the ring. It was a real struggle for him, but he’s very obedient, and he’s a very good boy, and I just tried to be as accurate as I could possibly be and give him the best possibility to show himself off.”
Heading into Saturday’s cross-country phase, Severson’s focus is on a clean, confident round.
“I am looking forward to making no mistakes,” she said. “He’s come out this year much bigger and stronger, and we’ve had some little things [to work on], and I just want to give him a good ride, not have any mistakes, and be competitive like everybody else.”
Katie Lichten (South Hamilton, Mass.) and HTS Jensen R, her own 2016 Irish Sport Horse gelding (BMC Tolan R x Rhyne Clover), delivered a solid performance to sit in second place overnight on 31.4 penalties. Woods Baughman (Lexington, Ky.) and Hopak de Greenbay Z, a 2013 Zangersheide gelding (Herald 3 x Cassini I), owned by Manderly Farm, LLC, slotted behind Lichten in third on 32.1 penalties.
The US Equestrian Open Eventing Final brings together the top riders from 20 qualifying competitions held across the country, culminating in this weekend’s final at Morven Park International Equestrian Center in Leesburg, Va. Dressage continues on Friday, October 9, starting at 1:00 p.m. EDT with the remaining 20 combinations before cross-country begins on Saturday, October 10, at 10:50 a.m. EDT. The competition will conclude on Sunday, October 11, after the second horse inspection, with the show jumping phase set to kick off at 1:30 p.m. EDT.
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