West Coast contenders deliver in the Cosequin® Lexington CCI4*-S
Tamie Smith, Molly Duda, and Tommy Greengard lay down big performances to sit inside the top ten going into cross-country in the Cosequin® Lexington CCI4*-S
Kentucky is East Coast territory. The iconic Kentucky Horse Park, the five-star running simultaneously, the history and the atmosphere - it all belongs to the established order. And yet, scroll through the top ten of today's dressage leaderboard and a different story emerges.
Four of the combinations sitting inside the top ten are based on the West Coast.
Tamra Smith, Temecula-based and in imperious form all season, leads on Danito with a 27.0, sits fourth with Lillet 3, and 13th with Kynan. That was somewhat expected. What perhaps wasn't is the company she's keeping from her own backyard.
Molly Duda, 21 years old, is based with Tamie Smith in Temecula. Not only does she own Lillet 3 for Tamie, but she sits sixth on 31.1 with Carlingfords Hes a Clover - their best four-star dressage test together across seven international starts. The context makes it more impressive. Scoring ran 2.6 penalties above the six-run average (6RA) across both days — a tough environment — and yet Carlingfords Hes a Clover beat their own 6RA by 6.4 penalties. The biggest improvement of any combination in the field.
Then there's Tommy Greengard, 26, based in Malibu, who arrives with two horses and sits equal seventh on 31.4 with That's Me Z. That same combination finished 17th here last year. He also has Balladeer Kilbrickens Lad in the field — a horse that won his first four-star at Galway Downs just weeks ago sitting in 26th on a 36.3. One to watch tomorrow as he takes on the cross-country with two relatively inexperienced horses who show great promise. Hear from Tommy Greengard on the US Equestrian Open Podcast here.
This is exactly what the US Equestrian Open was built for. A series that gives West Coast-based (and young!) riders, not just a reason to make the trip east, but a genuine shot at competing with — and beating — the best in the country. Duda and Greengard are not here to make up the numbers. They are here because of the Series pathway, and they are walking it.
Cross-country tomorrow will ask different questions. But the West Coast has already made its point.
Read more on why EquiRatings think its possible to win the US Equestrian Open Series from the West Coast: https://www.usequestrianopen.org/stories/is-the-us-equestrian-open-winnable-from-the-west-coast
