Temecula, Ca. – Oct. 29, 2020 – Twelve top horse and rider pairs ventured to beautiful Temecula, California for the Galway Downs International CCI4*-L, which kicked off with dressage late Thursday afternoon. While some of the 4* riders reside in California, a handful of them made a cross-country trek to compete in the weekend’s competition, including overnight leader after dressage, Boyd Martin, who sits in pole position on a score of 29.40 with Luke 140.
Owned by the Luke 140 Syndicate, the nine-year-old Holsteiner gelding is one of Martin’s newer mounts. The duo made their FEI debut together in May of 2015, where they came in second place in the CCI3*-S at Jersey Fresh International. Together, Martin and Luke 140 have acquired an impressive list of top placings at the 3* level and most recently moved up to the 4* level at Great Meadow International. In addition to the other fierce competition at Galway Downs this weekend, Martin is also competing against himself with his second entry and longtime partner Long Island T, who is currently sitting in 6th with a 34.80.
“My first horse (Long Island T) was brilliant in the warm-up and terrible in the ring, and Luke was not very good in the warm-up and a champion in the ring,” Martin shared. “I prefer they do it like that.”
Sitting in second following dressage is another East Coast pair, Phillip Dutton and Fernhill Singapore, who garnered a score of 31.30. Hoping to make the West Coast proud, California native Tamie Smith holds third place going into Friday’s cross-country phase with a score of 32 on Passepartout.
In addition to the CCI4*-L competition, Galway Downs is also playing host to CCI2*-L and CCI3*-L formats, as well as national levels from Beginner Novice through Preliminary over the course of the weekend.
CCI4*-L cross-country kicks off at 11:20 am PST on Friday, with show jumping concluding the 4*-L division on Saturday at 2:15 pm EST. Live streaming of the event is available through Ride On Video all weekend long.