I apologize for the delay in getting these updates posted today, but I had to go from the competition to the press conference to the CAA office, as we (the CAA) were hosting this evening’s competitors’ briefing. Once that was over, there was a bit more work to be done, and then I finally got home and sat down to dinner at about 9:30. Tomorrow morning, I’ll add photos, I promise!

Out of a class of three drivers, Tracey Morgan leads the FEI-level pair pony division after dressage, with a score of 54.14 penalty points. In second place: Jennifer Matheson (60.42), and in third, Katie Whaley (69.12). Tracey said later that it was “a thrill” to drive in the arena (which will be used again for next year’s WEG), and that she was pleased with her mares’ performance and with the outcome.

In the FEI-level pony team division, Lisa Stroud is in the lead after dressage, with a score of 50.30. In second place is Elizabeth Keathley (73.60), who is also the only other competitor in this division. Lisa said later that, despite a new leader in her team, her ponies were very consistent. She was, not surprisingly, pleased with how they performed.

The FEI-level horse pair division also has only two competitors: veteran national champions and world championship competitors Lisa Singer and Larry Poulin. Larry ended the dressage portion of his final competition (he’s planning to retire from competition after this event) with a score of only 37.50 (the best dressage score of the day).  Lisa is in second place with 48.78 penalty points. Larry admitted later that he was a bit emotional about this final dressage test, but that he was pleased that it ended this way. He said that his horses usually need time to settle before a competition and that they were a bit off yesterday; if he had had to perform his dressage test a day earlier, he feared he might have been in trouble. Today, however, Larry felt that Natasha Grigg’s horses had an excellent warmup and that the atmosphere here at the KY Horse Park was perfect. The horses were forward and supple and gave him their full attention.

This event, in addition to being the WEG test event, will also decide the 2009 USEF National Champions in each of the FEI-level divisions.

The current leader in the four-in-hand (horses) division, Chester Weber (40.06), and the driver currently in second place, Tucker Johnson (41.98), are both six-time National Champions. Fewer than 2 points separates these two, so the stage has been set for an intense competition for a record seventh National Championship. Currently in third place is Australia’s Boyd Exell (47.87), who’s driving Keady Cadwell’s team of horses.

When asked whether their focus this weekend was more on this competition (and a possible seventh National Championship) or next year’s WEG, both Chester and Tucker said that, this weekend, they’re concentrating on this show.

Chester described his dressage score as “acceptable.” He said that he expects this new team will be capable of the types of scores his previous team received last year (in the low 30s), but he was pleased with how this team is working. He explained that one of his leaders is only 5 and is in training to replace a successful veteran leader — but he understands that it’s important to “continue to develop new horses behind the good, steady old ones.”

When asked what he thinks of the marathon obstacles for Saturday, Tucker said that the obstacles for this event are meant to accommodate a wide variety of levels and types of driving (singles, pairs, and fours), so that they’re more “flowing.” He said that he expect next year’s (WEG’s) obstacles to be geared specifically to the FEI-level four-in-hand drivers, which would typically mean more changes of direction and shorter turns.

Boyd said that he was pleased with the performance of Keady’s horses, especially since the team had only just been “cobbled together” this week from the pair Keady had competed at this year’s World Pair Championship and another pair. Although she’s trained with them some as a team, this was, in fact, their first dressage test as a team.

Having been for many years two of only a small handful of consistent international-level competitors, both Chester and Tucker said they were encouraged by the interest in four-in-hand driving that next year’s WEG has ignited in many U.S. drivers. As Chester said, they “hope this will stick.”

Don’t forget that scores will be posted each day, as they become available, at www.hoefnet.com and at www.alltechfeigames.com.