Jennie Jarnstrom-Dennis (SWE) was briefly in the top three with her Hanoverian mare Flower Girl (Futurist x Lucy/Romino) on 30.8 until Kyle Carter (CAN) and Christy Edwards’ Trakehner mare Reddy or Not (Oskar x Raven Riley/Windfall) moved into third place (30.1), only to be unseated from the top three by none other than Leslie Law, who was last to go on Lady Chatterly, a Canadian-bred Holsteiner mare (Connor 48 x Jucy/Mytens XX)  that he owns in partnership with Jackie and Steve Brown. This pair scored 29.5 to take third place behind Law’s first ride, Typically Fernhill.

An experienced five-star level competitor, Kozumplik-Murphy, based out of Overlook Farm in Berryville, Virginia and Mardanza Farm in Micanopy, Florida, has been involved from the outset in advising the team of owners of TerraNova Equestrian Center in creating an exceptional, world-class facility.

“I’m sort of a jack-of-all-trades with the event, I’m definitely here to help,” she said. “I’m lucky enough to have been a part of this event since its inception and I know the [property owners] Herrig and Ketelboeter families well. Hannah and Zach Ketelboeter are really a power couple and they’re off to a great start. I’ve been here since this was a field of cows, and the fun bit is that whatever we wanted to do, whether it was the arena footing or the cross country designers or builders or whatever it was, I was able to pick who I thought was the best in the world and bring it here.”

Murphy is also currently placed second in the CCI3* with Devil Munchkin, a KWPN gelding (Casiro 3 x Rhona/No Ski) which she owns along with longtime horse owner Edith Rameika. 

She said Rubens did one of the best tests of his life. “We call him ‘the Unicorn,’, he’s very reliable, he moves, he jumps, he’s smart, he loves his job but he’s a funny thing because he does get a sense of occasion. He’s very correct in his movements, but he can get tense. When that horse is ‘on’, you get a sense that he wants to do it right, and I felt that today.”

Though she is familiar with the facilities, Murphy said she walked the cross country course in full for the first time today, and thinks it will be a good, galloping test for the horses. “It’s friendly, it’s built beautifully, everything is laid out well for the horses. For the first time I think it’s important to be friendly for the horses and not be too tricky or trappy for the horses, and I think [course designer] Capt. Mark Phillips has struck a good note.”

Law, who is based in Ocala, Florida said that his two horses competed in their first four-star recently at Stable View, in Aiken, SC and he was pleased with their performances in the dressage today. He said for his second time doing this level, Typically Fernhill laid down a strong test. He said that the mare typically is good at dressage and felt good today, but he was late on the first canter change, which probably cost her points-wise, though overall he felt it was a good test.

“I think the cross-country looks really good. I think TerraNova has done a fantastic job of laying down a track, trying to give us the best footing possible. You have to give them full marks, what they’ve done here is incredible; cross-country is getting watered, the fences are beautiful, you can’t thank them enough really. As far as the four-star course goes it’s fairly straightforward except for two combinations. There’s the double corners four strides out back and about four from home you’ve got the open oxer to the open corner, and they’re strong. You’re going to have to really ride them. For my horses who are inexperienced at this level, those combinations are a strong test because you’ve got to really hold the line.”  

Riders representing eight different countries competed in the four-star: Brazil, Canada, Great Britain, Ireland, Mexico, the United States, Sweden and New Zealand. Mexico and Ireland are also represented at the event.

In the CCI3* Jon Holling has the lead riding Pioneer Archibald (Primmore’s Pioneer x Meringe M/Holland). “He’s just a nice, lovely, quiet horse. He does get pretty internal so he’s always been right on the edge of being successful in the dressage…today he put in what is quite honestly the best test he’s done so far, which was good timing!” 

“Archie” has competed at the CCI3*L level and Holling said he is hoping to move him up to the four-star level next year. Holling and his wife Jennifer are based in Ocala, Florida and other than a quick trip to preview the venue for his podcast “The Jon and Rick Show,” which he co-hosts with Rick Wallace, he is new to TerraNova. 

“It’s beautiful, it’s a stunning place,” he said. “Obviously Sarasota is beautiful and you see the water there and then you kind of feel like you’re driving into the wilderness, and into the swamp, and then you arrive at this and it’s just absolutely stunning. They’ve done an amazing job: the rings are beautiful, the cross-country course is beautiful. We’re lucky to have it, for sure.”

He said that he was worried the cross-country course was going to be really big and “extreme,” but he said, “I think it’s really fair, the lines are tough enough but if you ride them well the horses should understand the question. It’s all inviting and educational, it’s a nice track.”

Every rider in the competition, from Beginner Novice to the four-star level, is on a team representing one of three non-profit organizations. Riders could select a team or those who didn’t have a preference were randomly paired. The non-profits include Southeastern Guide Dogs, Saratoga Manatee Association for Riding Therapy (SMART), and Meals on Wheels PLUS of Manatee. After points have been tallied, with the lowest penalty score winning the challenge, the first-place team will earn a guaranteed minimum of $10,000, second place $7500 and third place $5,000. Both Kozumplik-Murphy and Law, as well as Holling, are representing Southeastern Guide Dogs and the charity leads after dressage with 1352.3 points.

The cross-country phase begins at The Event at TerraNova at 8:30 a.m. Eastern.