Well my time in Kentucky has ended. As I write this I'm back home in Pittsburgh and what a let down it is to have to go back to work in the morning. But first (since I finally have working internet again!) I've got two more exciting days at Rolex to talk about.
Saturday, cross country day. Undoubtedly the day we all look forward to the most. The day turned out to be absolutely gorgeous, sunny and warm. The footing seemed to be pretty decent, a little squishy in places but over all not too bad considering. At promptly 10:00 Allison Springer headed out of the start box. She looked great over the first fence, but it wasn't to be her weekend. The course seemed to ride well. And although there were a lot of problems on course, no single fence was the cause. Some surprising pairs did not complete cross country, but the ones who did finished looking great.
We saw Phillip Dutton early in the course. Eagle was looking full of jump over the second fence.
Hannah Sue Burnett looked great through through the sunken road. And still going strong a few fences later at the step table after the head of the lake.
Luckily I didn't witness any of the falls this year, although I did catch a few of the run-outs, including Mark Todd's at the angled brushes. After walking the entire course, I stayed at the covered bridge at the very end for a few riders, where I got to chat with a couple of very nice ladies for a bit. And I got a couple free samples of Flair strips. Score! Can't wait to try those out on my mare. I caught Hamish Cargill at the covered bridge, still looking great at the end of the course.
Eventually I moved on and parked by the farm yard for the remainder of the riders. I had a great spot to photograph and saw Mary King navigate the combination beautifully.
Sadly Friday's leader had some problems on course, including a fall (everyone OK) but that left the door open for the incredible Mary King to sweep into both the 1 and 2 spots.
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