PASO ROBLES — Lady Calido’s first time was a charm as she and rider Robyn Fisher took home the big win in the mare’s inaugural CIC3* level competition at the Twin Rivers Fall International Horse Trials held Sept. 25-27 at Twin Rivers Ranch. The CIC3* also served as the final event in the 2009 $10,000 U.S. Eventing Association Gold Cup Series, in which top eventing horses and riders across the country competed for cash, prizes, and leaderboard points.

Fisher, 29, of Topanga, Calif., was thrilled with the three-day performance of Lady Calido, also known as Callie. “She was phenomenal.” Fisher said. “I’m just relieved the weekend is over and I can just enjoy it and take care of her now.”

Also, Fisher brought multiple horses to the event, but suffered an accidental kick to her forehead on the second day’s evening while she was wrapping Callie’s legs. “She went to kick at a fly, and got me right in the forehead!” Fisher said. Though she was more than a bit sore and had quite a bruise, she was able to finish out her weekend to earn a championship.

She and the 13-year-old Holsteiner mare (sired by Calido) began their weekend in second place after the dressage phase, following a stunning test that scored a 42. A quick and tidy trip around Derek di Grazia’s challenging cross-country course added only 5.6 time penalties to their score, giving them a one-rail cushion over second-placed pair Tiana Coudray and Ringwood Magister.

“She jumped phenomenally,” Fisher said after her show jumping round, in which they dropped only a single rail. “I made a mistake thinking I could go out in six (strides) when it was supposed to be a seven, but it sharpened her up a bit for the rest of the course. Thank goodness for our lead!”

After a brief stint in the jumper ring last year, Fisher was eager to get Callie back into the eventing world. “She’s stellar in everything! She put in a phenomenal dressage test so I could not ask her to be any better,” Fisher said. “She picked her pace on cross country and ran around and didn’t miss a thing. Even today in show jumping, she just jumped her guts out for me. I just love her–she’s a great mare.”

Considering this CIC3* win was only the mare’s fourth Advanced-level competition, Fisher was exceptionally pleased with both of their performances. “I didn’t have any expectations as far as where we’d finish,” she said. “It’s been three and a half years since I’ve even competed at this level, with Le Samurai in 2006, so it’s been awhile.”

After such a fantastic weekend, Fisher made the decision to take Callie and some youngsters out east to compete at the Fair Hill CCI3* and USEA Young Event Horse East Coast Championships. “I think she’s going to be competitive back there, and I think she’ll be a contender.” Fisher said. “I’ve got to coordinate with some of my owners and work on getting her out there, as well as some of my youngsters.”

Tiana Coudray, 21, of Ojai, Calif., must have been very pleased with the performance of her rising star, Ringwood Magister, after taking home the second-place ribbon. The talented duo led the field of 13 after the dressage phase with an impressive 38.8, then added 15.6 time penalties on cross-country day. They jumped cleanly on the third day, but picked up two time penalties.

Julie Anne Boyer took home third place with Rumor Hazit in the athletic mare’s first CIC3* level competition, after picking up only a handful of time penalties on cross country and a single time fault in the show jumping phase.

Winners of the designated Gold Cup divisions receive an USEA Gold Cup Trophy, $500 in prize money, 7-dose box of Adequan, a three-month supply of SUCCEED, an E.A. Mattes Couture Pad, and a pair of Nunn Finer American Style open front boots. Second place finishers took home a Nutrena feed gift certificate and a pair of Nunn Finer American Style open front boots, and third place received a pair of the Nunn Finer boots as well.

For complete show results, visit the Web site: www.twinriversranch.us

Leslie Law and Fleeceworks Mystere Du Val win 2009 USEA Gold Cup Series Finale

With the conclusion of the Twin Rivers Horse Trials, the 2009 Adequan USEA Gold Cup Series has officially ended with a champion declared after riders competed for points throughout the year. The Gold Cup Leaderboard shuffled around quite a bit, but in the end Leslie Law riding Fleeceworks Mystere Du Val finished at the top, almost 200 points above second place winner, Jennie Brannigan and Cooper.

“It is so great to have won the Gold Cup,” said Law, a resident of both Bluemont, Va., and Ocala, Fla. “I didn’t set out this season to run in the Gold Cup Series, but after my win at Richland, I started thinking about it,” Law said. “I had the choice to run at the Bit of Britain/USEA American Eventing Championships or the Plantation Field Horse Trials. Since I had quite a few points, I decided to head to the AEC and give the Gold Cup a chance.”

Law’s gamble paid off and with a victory in the Advanced division at the AEC, he secured the win of the 2009 Gold Cup Series. As the overall USEA Gold Cup winner, Law will receive a check for $10,000 and a huge trophy at the USEA Annual Meeting and Convention to be held in Reston, Va., this December.

“The $10,000 is going to be split with Fleeceworks Mystere Du Val’s owners, Beatrice and Guy Rey-Herme, but my portion will still be a huge help. With a baby on the way, I am sure the check will be swallowed up very quickly!” Law said referring to his family plans.

Last year’s Intermediate Gold Cup champions, Jennie Brannigan and Cooper, were neck and neck with Law throughout the year, but had to settle for Reserve Champion. Brannigan was based in California and has since had the opportunity to work for Olympic team member Phillip Dutton at True Prospect Farm in West Grove, Penn.

For complete USEA Gold Cup Series results, visit: www.useventing.com