Harding, Come On III place third 7/5/2008 11:31 PM
By BEN BAUGH
Staff writer
It was a strong showing for Shawna Harding and Come On III during the Collecting Gaits Farm/USEF Festival of Champions at the 2008 United States Equestrian Federation National Intermediare I dressage Champions on June 27 through 29 at the Oaks Blenheim Show Grounds in San Juan Capistrano, Calif.
The tandem finished third overall in the event behind Olympians Michelle Gibson, who rode Don Angelo, and Steffen Peters, who was in the irons on Montango.
Harding and Come On III, a 9-year-old Danish Warmblood gelding, have been a formidable force. According to the United States Dressage Federation, they are in first place in the national standings at the following levels Dressage Horse of the Year, Prix St. Georges, Intermediare Musical Freestyle Award and Intermediare Musical Freestyle Challenge. Harding and Tonya Rowe's Rigo are also ranked first at Second Level.
The duo had a long an arduous journey, with their sojourn starting in Aiken, taking them through Ocala, Fla., Houston, Texas, and finally to California, with Harding accompanying Come On III on the plane ride.
The team narrowly missed winning the Prix St. George Class on June 27, placing second in the class.
"We had it," said Harding, who said Come On III made only one mistake in the halt rein back, and finished with a score of 70.150 percent, only .35 percent behind the winner Michelle Gibson and Don Angelo. "He felt super strong in the warmups, and he was just being an absolute good boy. He held the atmosphere; there were a lot of people there, a lot of spectators and they weren't all dressage people."
The dynamic duo also performed well on June 28 in the Intermediare class, once again finishing second to Gibson and Angelo.
"Friday and Saturday Come On III's trot work was fantastic," said Harding, whose score was a 71 percent, and noted his shoulder-ins were fluid. The Danish Warmblood bucked during the warmup, jumped out of the ring and over a couple of people on Saturday, she said. "But when you go for the higher collecting gaits with the pirouettes and the changes, where you really have to hold a lot of weight behind, that's where it kind of showed up, and you could see he was a little bit tired. Pirouettes are hard, and his are getting super tight, nice and small.
He has to figure out how to hold that balance; he's a big horse."
By Sunday, Come On III was tired, had strained a muscle in his back, seemed dehydrated and placed fifth in the I-1 Freestyle on June 29, with a score of 70.20 percent, said Harding.
"They loved my music; it was fun; I'm super proud of Come On III," said Harding,
"It was a good stepping stone. They invite the 12 best in the country to go out to California. It was an honor to be invited and we came into the championships ranked in the top three and maintained that ranking for the United States Equestrian Team. Next year, we'll be geared up for Olympic level training and hopefully, we'll be in for the 2010 World Equestrian Games."
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