Thomas 2nd After Cross-Country at Fair Hill

Boyd and Cold Harbor
Photo copyright Amber Heintzberger

The weather turned it on for a fantastic Fair Hill International three-day event cross-country day. First out was Manny and Dana Diemer’s Cold Harbor; he struggled with the heavy footing early in the course but showed plenty of heart and fitness to finish well. He jumped around the course showing style and class and finished one second outside the time to move up to 11th place going in to the show jumping. I’m very encouraged by Bo’s jumping ability and I’m confident that this horse will find his stride at the three-star level next year.

Boyd and Ying Yang Yo
Photo Copyright Amber Heintzberger

My old sparring partner Thomas in enjoying his time back in the limelight; I set out a little bit conservatively on the course, not quite knowing what to expect from Thomas. We were both a little bit rusty at this level and it was the first time he stretched his lungs in two years. He finished strongly and jumped well towards the end of the course but unfortunately was a bit off the time and slipped to second place, which is going to make tomorrow a very exciting day of show jumping. It was enjoyable seeing Thomas’s part-owner Faye Woolf happy and emotional after watching Thomas cross the finish line since she has played a huge part in his illustrious comeback.

Hats off to Jan Byyny, who took the lead in the three-star. Jan has gone through a very lengthy recovery to make this comeback from her accident at Pine Top Horse Trials two years ago. It’s inspiring watching Jan’s determination and I was impressed with her no-quit attitude in getting back to this level.

Both Thomas and Bo look like they’ve come out of the cross-country well, so fingers crossed for the show jumping tomorrow.

Boyd