Poplar Place Horse Trials

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By Meredith Tipton

The fourth weekend in January (23-24), River Run Eventing sent a group to the Poplar Place Horse Trials in Hamilton, GA. With the mid-south facing a winter storm, we decided to leave on Thursday after school and drive through the night to avoid the bad weather. We arrived at Poplar Place Farm around 3:00 a.m. on Friday morning. It was a long night, but we were glad we had chosen to get out while we still could. 
 
We didn't have snow, but we endured some frigid temperatures throughout the weekend. On Saturday the temps barely made it above 35°F. We had sustained winds at 20 mph with gusts up to 40 mph. It was COLD! Despite the less than ideal conditions, the River Run Team did fantastic! 
 
At the end of day one, sisters Sydney Doss on Road Less Traveled and Cassidy Doss on Piano Blues were tied for second place in Jr. Novice on their dressage scores of a 34.4 each. Julia Jennings and One Under Par also competed in the Jr. Novice division. 

Caroline Weathers and My Alibi were placed sixth after dressage and show jumping in their first experience in Beginner Novice. 

On Sunday the temps started off below freezing, so tractors were brought in to break up the water jumps. Despite the frozen ground, the cross country course rode very well. Caroline Weathers and her Thoroughbred mare My Alibi jumped clean to finish fifth in Jr. Beginner Novice, earning one qualifier for the AECs. 

The Jr. Novice division saw a bit of a shakeup on the leaderboard. At the end of the day, Cassidy Doss and her 6-year-old OTTB, Piano Blues, were in 11th place. Thirteen-year-old Sydney Doss and her Connemara cross Road Less Traveled jumped a double clear cross country round, moving up to win the Jr. Novice division. They finished on just their dressage score of a 34.4 and, in doing so, qualified for the 2016 American Eventing Championships. They will be joining team member Julia Jennings and One Under Par who have already qualified at the Jr. Beginner Novice level. 
I just wanted to pass along our exciting news!

Poplar Place Farm has a full eventing schedule for 2016, with the next Horse Trials coming up February 6-7. Find more information at: http://www.poplarplacefarm.com/ Follow the River Run Eventing team on facebook at: River-Run-Eventing.

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