MYAKKA CITY, Fla.--Alyssa Phillips of Fort Worth, Texas, on Oskar won the CCI4*-S at The Event at TerraNova following the third phase, the cross country, on Saturday, March 30.
Alyssa Phillips on Oskar (Photo by Shannon Brinkman)She also won the Open Preliminary division on Keep Calm and placed third in the CCI3*-S with Cornelius Bo.
Jessica Phoenix of Canada finished second in the CCI4*-S on Freedom GS, and Lauren Nicholson of Ocala, Fla., placed third on I'll Have Another.
Nicholson also won the CCI3*-S on Larcot Z .
The cross country course's 34 jumping efforts had technical questions that posed stiff challenges, but they offered options that some riders found saved the day.
FEI 3*/4* Course Designer Alec Lochore's goal was to create a "nice galloping open start to the course."
He said he placed the first combination at fences five and six "so the course would begin with a test but on a really positive, forward stride."
PHILLIPS said that before setting out on the course, some riders were questioning how to ride that combination.
"It was designed to be ridden in three and four strides. We considered that, but most of us changed our minds and did five and four. It worked out really well."
The combination led to a big solid oxer constructed of thick logs.
The route then required four committed strides on a straight line to a brush open ditch.
Riders could tailor the distance by jumping to the left or the right side of a parallel there.
The middle of the course presented a brush oxer and two rails jumped on an angle.
At the top of the slope, horses ran immediately down on two strides to the second element.
"I wanted the slope to set the horses up so they would just pop over it, and then the riders would be able to sit up and go down to the angle. It's just about being controlled in this environment," said Lochore.
About the last portion of the course, he said, "They've really got to get going. They've had some technical jumps, and now comes the second last of the really technical jumps. They've got a big spread jump at the bottom of the slope, four strides up the slope to this pretty skinny little wedge at the top. Horses can't see where they're going to land. They can see that the ground is running away after them, and then they land, and then there are three quite gentle strides down to the frangible rails wedge at the bottom of the hill. This is about power over the first jump, accuracy and bravery over the top jump, and control down the slope."
Phillips called her experience at TerraNova "wonderful."
"It's always a treat to come here," she said. "Every time I've come, new improvements have been made, and they're all absolutely fantastic. The turf on the cross-country course is the best that I've ever seen it, and it made it really fun to run across.
"I appreciate all the effort that everybody involved put into the event, the organizers, the volunteers, the TerraNova staff, the owners, everybody's put a lot into this venue. People should make this a place they come to every year because it's a very spectacular venue. I'll definitely be back next year."
