 |
|
|
|||
|
|
Thursday and Friday had been drippy and drizzly. Friday night the heavens opened dousing Fair Hill's vaunted old turf with between 3/4 and 1 1/2 inches of rain, and the going became what race pundits would call "holding." Custom Made was the 14th horse to enter the start box. As he progressed around the course the paean rose to a crescendo. One could tell where Custom Made was from the sounds of applause from the crowd, all of whom knew that America's grand old man of eventing was making his last run over a cross country course. O'Connor said, "As we started, I leaned down and patted him and said, 'One more time old man'. He went down and tried to run through the first fence. I said, 'Well, life is normal.' "[All the way around] the crowd went crazy. That was a great feeling," he finished with a smile. Custom Made crossed the finish line with no jumping faults and 7.6 time faults for a score of 44.61, good enough for first place after cross-country. Young phenom, 21-year-old Will Faudree, a working pupil of Phillip Dutton's, who is originally from West Texas, stood second with a double clear on the cross-country, riding Antigua. Their score of 46.80 was 2.19 faults adrift of the leader. Heidi White, who also works for and with Dutton, placed 3rd with Northern Spy. That pair turned in the only other double clear of the competition for a score of 48.41. Dutton, himself, riding his wife Evie's Dusky Moon for Australia, was 4th on 49.60. Darren Chiacchia and Windfall, the dressage leaders, dropped to 5th, having picked up 14.8 time faults. A rail separated the top four going into show jumping. Sally Ike's course was a technical one and the time was tight. The only double-clear round of the day belonged to Canada's Hawley Bennet and Livingstone, who finished 14th. Dutton and Dusky Moon jumped one of only three clear show jumping rounds, though he did pick up two time faults. That performance was good enough to move him in to second. Faudree had two rails with Antigua to drop to 4th. White and Northern Spy had one rail down to hold on to third. With each round, the pressure rose for Custom Made and O'Connor-he could afford one rail to stay ahead of Dutton, but not two. The largest crowd ever to view show jumping at Fair Hill was hushed as the horse they had all come to see entered the arena for the final time. Custom Made had one rail and two seconds in hand. It seemed endlessly slow as the old horse negotiated fence after fence. The crowd groaned as one, when a rail hit the ground. Now he had to go clean the rest of the way. Custom Made's pass over the last line went in slow motion. Clear ..., clear ..., clear!! No time faults! The crowd erupted! Custom Made and David O'Connor had climbed their last mountain together. The impossible dream had come true. One of the greatest eventing horses of all time - the Kentucky winner, the Badminton winner, the reigning Olympic Individual Champion - had won his final event! "If he is listening, he usually jumps clean," O'Connor stated afterwards. "I did the inside turn to three. You almost feel like it is a little bit out of your control. You don't know how the day is going to go. It's a fairy tale!" Now that the full measure of the weekend has come to bear, O'Connor is reflective about his time with Tailor. 'With a horse like Custom Made, you become a part of his career, rather than his being a part of your career," he said. Thanks, Custom Made. David says that you don't owe anyone anything. That may well be; but we owe you thanks for having made our lives richer with you fabulous performances. Long may your record stand! Long may each of us, who have followed your career and enjoyed your success, remember your greatness!
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
