Prather, Ballinakill Glory shine to finish
Though far from insurmountable, Kelly Prather knew her lead was safe.
Prather completed the finest round of show jumping among CIC three-star riders Sunday, solidifying first place at The Event at Rebecca Farm.
Riding Ballinakill Glory, Prather led The Event from wire to wire, pulling away by 13.1 points in her first year at the advanced level. Sara Mittleider, who tied for the second-cleanest round Sunday, finished second.
Prather posted 70.2 total points, including 47.8 dressage penalties on Friday and 12.4 cross country time penalties on Saturday. She tallied just six time penalties and four jump penalties Sunday on a scorching afternoon that saw every other competitor incur at least two rails.
"I didn't come expecting to win," said Prather, a Bodega, Calif., native. "I thought I had a chance at it for sure. I mean, some of the real top dogs weren't here because of the (Pan American Games), but (Ballinakill Glory) has been feeling unbelievable."
Ballinakill Glory, an 8-year-old Irish Sport Horse mare owned by Andrea and James Pfeiffer, was the reason Prather felt her 5.6-point two-day lead would suffice.
"She's very good," Prather said. "She loves to jump clean and she doesn't find the show jumping super challenging.
"She really tried really, really hard. The only reason she had (one) rail is because I tried to help her a little bit too much. Otherwise, I think she would have had a clean round."
Mittleider, a 21-year-old rising star from Kuna, Idaho, received only 12 total penalties atop El Primero to vault from fourth place, where she sat after both dressage and cross country.
"I'm a little surprised just because of my dressage score, but I know the horse jumped great on the cross country," she said. "And then he just jumped out of this world in the show jumping."
Debbie Rosen finished third with 94.1 total points atop The Alchemist, giving The Event a new trio of top-three finishers from a year ago. Last year's champion, Gina Miles, chose to compete at the Pan American Games in Brazil rather than defend her crown.
Andrea Baxter and Estrella finished fourth with 97.5 points, followed by Christian Eagles and The Gingerbread Man (99.3), and David Koss and Candy (99.8).
Hawley Bennett, a 2004 Olympian, who placed third a year ago, came in seventh with Livingstone (105.4), followed by Erin Spohr and Corner Street (107), Tamra Smith and Chaos Theory (110.1), and Hannah Cohen and Simply Larry (171.5).
Jen Johnson and Tambo Unico retired after dressage while Dawn White and Vapor Trail, Gregory Stritzel and Balabooga Brawley, and Koss and Ben Cruise were eliminated during show jumping.
Prather claimed $10,800 for her performance, along with a host of prizes.
"This would be the top thing I've ever won," said Prather, who recently won the advanced division at California's Woodside Horse Trials. "(Ballinakill Glory) was amazing there, too, but this, I think, is probably a step up from that.
"This place is amazing. I mean, the courses, the stabling and the arenas - the place is unbelievable. They put on a great show. It's a delight to be here. It's a great event."
Mittleider earned $7,200 in her final event before this fall's Burghley Horse Trials in England.
"(El Primero's) form all weekend has just been way up to par, and it's a huge confidence builder for this to be my last run before a really big show," she said.
"My horse feels great after this event and the whole weekend. I didn't feel like the difficulty touched him at all."
As was the case during cross country, there were no double-clear rounds on Sunday. Mittleider, who rode 10th, said performing near the end can tax one's nerves, but it proved a blessing for one day.
"Watching (the other riders), I could see that they got off of their lines and off their plan of what they were going to ride, and that's where their problems happened," she said. "It just made me that more determined to stick with my plan and really make sure that my eyes stayed up and I landed on my stride and didn't let my horse deviate from that."
Mittleider said she has a love-hate relationship with El Primero, a 12-year-old thoroughbred her family bought for $300 nine years ago after a failed racing career.
"He's still stubborn and arrogant, but when the going gets tough or I really need to count on him, he always comes though, and he did it for me today," she said.