TALLAHASSEE, FLA. –Marilyn Little on RF Scandalous (22.4) has won CCI4*-S level at the 2021 Red Hills International Horse Trials with a time of 6:42. Colleen Loach riding Qorry Blue D’Argouges earned second place and Leslie Law on Voltaire De Tre came in third place.

Little and RF Scandalous (“Kitty”) began the three-day competition with a strong performance in dressage (22.4), continued with a clean ride in show jumping (22.4), and then secured the blue ribbon with an outstanding cross-country run. RF Scandalous is a 16-year-old Oldenburg mare (Carry Gold x Rchardia) owned by Jacqueline Mars and Phoebe and Michael Manders.

“Kitty had a great run,” said Marilyn Little who was extremely pleased with RF Scandalous’ performance today. “She was able to take the water jump in four strides, I thought she might when I walked it but wasn’t sure, and she did it.”

Little executed her strategy well, taking advantage of the long galloping tracks to make up some time from the combinations in the water jumps. Little has enjoyed previus success at Red Hills, winning the four-star in 2018 and the three-star in 2015. Little now looks ahead with the goal of the Kentucky 3-Day Event.

Colleen Loach on Peter Barry’s Qorry Blue D’Argouges, a 17-year-old Selle Francais gelding (Mr. Blue x Hardie Du Bourg) had a great cross country run that moved her to second place from the third-place position.

“Qorry was great,” Loach said. “I thought it was a good course for him because he is not a very fast horse, and it’s quite twisty in the woods. He is so ridable that I could make up a bit of time on the turns.”

Loach was especially pleased with how Qorry jumped overall. “I thought he did the coffin quite well because that was a bit tough and also the first water. He just jumped everything well.”

It has been more than five years since Loach has ridden at Red Hills and she said, “I had a good experience. It’s a greatly-run event.”

Leslie Law riding on Voltaire De Tre, Tre’ Book’s 11-year-old Selle Francais gelding (Gentleman IV x Jasmina Du Fresne) moved up to third place from fifteenth after dressage.

“He is a horse that is always going to move up,” Leslie Law said. “Although he was fifteenth he was in a very competitive place, and that’s the main thing, after dressage to have him in a competitive position, because then, if he’s only fractions of points behind the other horses, he’s going to get them in the next two phases.”

Law attributes Voltaire De Tre’s success to becoming a “real seasoned cross-country horse.”

“He’s an absolute joy to ride cross country,” said Law. “Over the years I’ve ridden a lot of horses, in Olympic games, in world championships, in European championships, and I think he has to be one of the best cross-country horses I’ve ever ridden.”

For the first time in its 23 years, Red Hills International Horse Trials ran Cross Country on Sunday rather than Saturday. According to many riders, the course was beautiful, well dressed and offered long galloping tracks. “The change to running the cross country last for all classes will hopefully prove popular, there is no question that competitors prefer this for short format classes,” said Michael Etherington-Smith. Michael Etherington-Smith designed the CCI4-S and Advanced courses and David O’Connor designed the CCI3-S, CCI2*-S, Intermediate, and Preliminary courses. Etherington-Smith said of this year’s courses, “A few changes have been made but the course still runs right-handed as last year. This way round has a good feel to it and seems to flow better than going left-handed.” Red Hills International Horse Trials built 18 frangible jumps for its six levels of cross-country courses, taking advantage of emerging technology to reduce risk for horse and rider. Cross Country course builders were Tyson Rementer and Levi Ryckewaert.

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Red Hills International Horse Trials is a United States Eventing Association annual event held at Elinor Klapp-Phipps Park in Tallahassee, Florida. Red Hills Horse Trials, Inc. is a 501c3 organization.

TALLAHASSEE, FLA. – Stadium Jumping on day two of Red Hills International Horse Trials changed the leaderboard, but not the leader, Marilyn Little.

Marilyn Little on Scandalous (22.4) boasted a perfect ride at the CCI4-S level, securing the top position after day two.

She attributed today’s success to Scandalous being a reliable competitor and a careful jumper. “She jumped very well, she was very brave,” Little said. “Time was definitely a factor, [the course] really kept you on the ball and didn’t give you a second to breathe.”

Little is looking forward to tomorrow’s cross country. Little hopes to capitalize on the long galloping tracks to make up time because the combinations of the three water jumps will slow the ride down. “The course is exactly what I expected, it’s big, it’s beautifully presented, the footing is lovely,” says Little. “It’s a great track and the lines are better than they have ever been.”

Alexandra Knowles riding Ms. Poppins (31.3) moved up to second place from seventh. Colleen Loach on Qorry Blue D’Argouges (32) moved to third place tenth.

Knowles was “super happy with the round” saying that “Ms. Poppins is a very good show jumper. I wasn’t expecting her to jump clean, but I was hoping she would.”

Knowles said the stadium jumping was a smooth course and that she liked the track. She was surprised, however, that she was riding the course’s outside lines, but it wasn’t a reflection on the course. She said Ms. Poppins is covering more ground because as she’s gotten older she’s opened up her stride.

Red Hills is Knowles first FEI event since 2019 because she had a baby in 2020. She is a bit nervous but excited and thinks this will help her as she heads into tomorrow’s cross country phase.

In response to moving up to third place, Loach said, “Qorry was jumping really, really well. I like Chris Barnard’s courses; he always sets a really good course. I find they are always fair courses, inviting you to have a nice flow and the horses tend to jump well.”

It’s been about six years since Loach has been to Red Hills. Looking ahead to tomorrow’s cross country, Loach said, “Qorry is an amazing cross-country horse and we have a super good partnership so I feel good about it. I don’t know how fast I will run him; I’ll see how good he feels on the ground.”

Tamra Smith’s comment rang true for her ride with En Vogue (38.6) today. Following a strong dressage day, when asked what she thought about the rest of the weekend, she replied, [En Vogue] is really good on the Dressage and awesome in the cross country, and I think her weak link is the show jumping.” En Vogue dropped three rails, falling to the 17th spot.

Lauren Nicholson on Landmark’s Monte Carlo (34.0) dropped from third place to sixth. “Monte Carlo has always hated show jumping since the first one he ever did,” Nicholson said. “He was actually pretty good today so I was pretty happy.” Nicholson is optimistic for tomorrow as she said Monte Carlo “is a great cross country horse.”

Leslie Law riding on Voltaire De Tre (33.8) moved up from 15 to fourth place. Law said, “[Voltaire De Tre] rode great today and jumped really well, and we look forward to tomorrow.”

Chris Barnard Red Hills Stadium Jumping Course Designer

When asked about today’s run for the CCI4-S level Design, Stadium Jumping Course Designer Chris Barnard said, “I thought the horses jumped great, I think I had a few more clears than I thought I would.”

Barnard’s approach to designing his courses is simple: “The trick for me is building a course that caters to the whole group. You are going to have people doing their first 4 star and people that have done 500 of them so the key for me is building for the time of year and at the appropriate level but also not losing confidence for the greener horses or greener riders and not having it too easy for upper-level horses or more experienced riders. I like 30 percent clean, ideally. That’s a nice number in eventing.”

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Red Hills International Horse Trials is a United States Eventing Association annual event held at Elinor Klapp-Phipps Park in Tallahassee, Florida. Red Hills Horse Trials, Inc. is a 501c3 organization.

TALLAHASSEE, FLA. – Red Hills International Horse Trials is off to a good start with an exciting day of Dressage. The first discipline of the three-day competition began at 8 am with the CCI4-S level running Test B.

Leading the CCI4-S level is Red Hills veteran Marilyn Little on Scandalous (22.4), followed by Red Hills first-timer Tamra Smith on En Vogue (26.6) and former Red Hills winner Lauren Nicholson on Landmark’s Monte Carlo (30.0).

The top three Dressage competitors sat down with David O’Connor and shared their thoughts on today’s event and the rest of the weekend.

When asked about Scandalous, Little said: “I think at 16 it’s hard to believe that she could win every time we step into the ring, but she does. She’s a great competitor. We had a bit of disappointing finish to our season at the end of last year at Tryon, but it’s great to see her come back out so well. She’s had two preparatory events for this but this is our first FEI, so it’s our first big one, and she absolutely knows it. She’s been here a couple of times before. She’s a consummate professional and a real pleasure to work with and a wonderful partner to go down centerline with.”

O’Connor asked Little how Red Hills fits into the preparation for her season.

Little responded: “This is a great gauge because it is always the first FEI competition of my year, and it is a big one. The course is always hard, it’s imposing, it not only rides technical but looks big for the horses so you get a really gauge of where they are in their confidence and fitness. There’s a certain type of horse that usually wins here, usually excels in cross country, I won’t say that she is that horse but she has been lucky enough to find her way two times before.”

A first timer to Red Hills, Smith came to the east coast this past winter to provide her horses more exposure and get to new venues. Smith has multiple horses competing at Red Hills in CCI4-S, CCI3-S and CCI2-S levels.

Smith described En Vogue as “she is really good on the Dressage and awesome in the cross country, and I think her weak link is the show jumping.”

Smith also has a daughter riding at the CCI4-S level and when O’Connor asked her how that made her feel, she replied, “It’s nerve wracking.”

Her daughter, Kaylawna, had a baby 3 months ago and Red Hills is the first event she is competing in on the east coast.

Landmark’s Monte Carlo has been to Red Hills Horse Trials nine times and Nicholson summed up his efforts saying, “He is super accurate and tries really hard. He’s not the flashiest, but he always goes in and does a workman like test and somedays that’s all you need to be in the hunt.”

Unlike years past, Stadium Jumping will run on Saturday with Cross-Country is running Sunday. The second day will begin with Open Preliminary and Preliminary. CCI4-S level riders will start at 12:15 pm and judges will be Peter Gray and Jane Hamlin.

Red Hills is running six divisions: Preliminary, Intermediate and Advanced in national competitions and CCI2-S, CCI3-S and CCI4-S in the international.

For more information, visit rhht.org.

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Red Hills International Horse Trials is a United States Eventing Association annual event held at Elinor Klapp-

Phipps Park in Tallahassee, Florida. Red Hills Horse Trials, Inc. is a 501c3 organization.

TALLAHASSEE, FLA. – Red Hills International Horse Trials is set to host 200 horses and their riders this weekend, March 11-14, 2021, for the annual Eventing competition that transforms Elinor Klapp-Phipps Park into an equestrian showground. New this year are numerous safety protocols to protect humans and horses.

“While we are disappointed not to host our usual 20,000 plus spectators this year, we are thrilled to be running,” said Jane Barron, Red Hills organizer. “Between the pandemic and the horse virus EHV-1 , we weren’t sure we could move forward. We’ve implemented numerous biosecurity protocols to protect both humans and horses.”

Once Red Hills received approval from the City and County Commissioners, volunteers went into hyperdrive to implement the safety protocols outlined by the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) and City of Tallahassee and Leon County governments to protect volunteers, riders and all involved with the event.

Some of the safety protocols include that all volunteers and riders must have their temperatures taken daily when entering the park and masks must be worn at all times, unless mounted on a horse. USEF COVID-19 Guidelines prohibit spectators from all recognized equestrian so there are no spectators, no Avenue of Shops and no Food Court. Everyone on grounds will be required to wear masks and adhere to CDC guidelines on social distancing.

Two horses during a competition in Ocala tested positive for the EHV-1 virus last week causing the Red Hills team to implement new biosecurity measure to ensure horses coming to Red Hills are protected.

“Red Hills working with our vets and technical delegates quickly implemented safety procedures to protect the horses, Barron continued. “We’ve modified the arrival process for our riders and horses to take their temperatures.”

Three-Day Health Certificate is required for each horse, in addition to Coggins and requisite passports. The veterinary staff and the Welcome Volunteers are going to each rig and taking the temperatures of all horses and passengers. All of the tents and stalls have been disinfected and pressure-washed, then sprayed with Symbiont Agricultural Spray. Twice-daily temperatures must be taken for each horse and recorded on stall cards. Additionally, a quarantine tent has been set up in case any horses that are suspected to be ill.

Red Hills will run six divisions in 2021: Preliminary, Intermediate and Advanced in national competitions and CCI2-S, CCI3-S and CCI4-S in the international.

For more information, visit rhht.org.

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Red Hills International Horse Trials is a United States Eventing Association annual event held at Elinor Klapp-Phipps Park in Tallahassee, Florida. Red Hills Horse Trials, Inc. is a 501c3 organization.

TALLAHASSEE, FLA., March 1, 2020 — Red Hills Horse Trials will host a Community Day on Thursday, March 5, 2020, for local students. Maclay School fifth graders and home-school students will attend the equestrian field trip at Elinor Klapp-Phipps Park from 9:30 am to noon.

Through hands-on demonstrations students will learn about a horse’s digestive system, how to shoe a horse, and about the sport of eventing, equipment and safety measures to protect the riders and horses.

Gold Medal Olympian David O’Connor will share his experiences in the Olympics and designing cross-country courses, including Red Hills. He will provide a tour of the cross-country course.

Scientists from Tall Timbers Stoddard Bird Lab will bring animals, including an Eastern Screech Owl, Red Rat snake, juvenile Gopher tortoise and a Florida Pine snake. The scientists will explain the importance of fire in our ecosystem and how native animals benefit from regular prescribed burns.
Members of the FSU Eventing team dressed in equestrian eventing attire will discuss the attire, tack and equipment necessary to participate in the competition.

About Red Hills

The Red Hills International Horse Trials gallops into its 22nd year March 6-8 at the Elinor Klapp-Phipps Park in Tallahassee, Fla. During the three-day competition, each horse and rider must complete three tests: dressage, cross-country and show jumping from Friday through Sunday.

In addition to the competition, spectators can enjoy shopping, a food court, exhibits, and many local and regional vendors of jewelry and art – all beneath the beautiful overhang of southern live oaks. There is a kids’ play area with bounce houses, hay bales and a sand pit.
Tickets cost $40 for a three-day pass, $15 for a single day. Kids ages 12 and under get in free.

For more information visit: www.rhht.org.

(TALLAHASSEE, Fla.- March 1, 2020) — The Red Hills International Horse Trials gallops into its 22^nd year March 6-8 at the Elinor Klapp-Phipps Park in Tallahassee, Fla. During the three-day competition, each horse and rider must complete three tests: dressage, cross-country and show jumping from Friday through Sunday.

The Trials challenge riders over a three-day period and offer a high-level equestrian competition experience to thousands of spectators. Riders from around the globe, including from Australia, Norway, Canada and other countries are attending as they prepare for the Olympic Games this summer in Tokyo, Japan.

“This is a community event,” says Jane Barron, co-organizer of Red Hills Horse Trials. “You don’t need to know anything about horses to come out and have fun. We have nearly 20,000 visitors who come from all over the globe as well as locals. We are so grateful for the more than 600 volunteers who help make this world-class competition happen.”

In addition to the competition, spectators can enjoy shopping, a food court, exhibits, and many local and regional vendors of jewelry and art – all beneath the beautiful overhang of southern live oaks. There is a kids’ play area with bounce houses, hay bales and a sand pit.

New this year is a beer garden featuring local Tallahassee craft beers and award winning Farmer’s Daughter Vineyard wines. The Beer Garden will be open Friday through Sunday from 11 am to 3 pm.

The Friday Dressage is hosted in a wide-open field where onlookers can observe by sitting on bleachers or standing.

Saturday’s Cross-Country brings out tailgaters, sponsors and families looking for an exciting weekend outdoors. Spectators are encouraged to bring a picnic, blankets and folding chairs and set up by a favorite jump, or near the two water obstacles on course.

Gold Medal Olympic rider David O’Connor and world-famous course designer Michael Etherington-Smith partnered to create the different levels of the event’s cross-country challenge.

It’s a “great spectator course,” O’Connor said of the Saturday event where, on the sidelines, non-riders can get close to the jumps and the horses. O’Connor explained that he and Etherington-Smith map out the run each year with the audience in mind to make it spectator friendly.

Sunday wraps up the weekend with the final Stadium Jumping round hosted in the sunny center of the venue.

“It’s one of the more special places,” O’Connor said of the equestrian weekend in Tallahassee.

Dogs are welcomed but must be leashed.

Ride times and live scoring are posted online at RHHT.org and updated throughout the weekend. Visit www.rhht.org for more information.

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What: 22^nd annual Red Hills Horse Trials three-day equestrian competition

When: March 6-8, 2020

Where: Elinor Klapp-Phipps Park, 1775 Miller Landing Rd., Tallahassee, FL, 32312

Cost: $40 for a three-day pass; $15 for a single-day pass; kids 12 and younger free

Parking: Spectator parking is available at the park’s first entrance on Miller Landing Road. The event will provide a complimentary shuttle service. There is a special shuttle for those individuals with dogs. Handicap parking is available. If a person with a disability requires a reasonable accommodation, please contact Volunteer Chair for Handicapped Services Kristy Carter at [email protected].

Horses, sunshine, food and fun – these are a few of the delights awaiting the attendees of the 22^rd annual Red Hills International Horse Trials held in the beautiful Elinor Klapp-Phipps Park in Tallahassee, Florida.

For the last two decades, Tallahassee has hosted the world-renowned equestrian eventing competition, attracting competitors for levels ranging from Preliminary to the four-star division.

This year, the competition begins Friday, March 6 with dressage, continuing with cross-country on Saturday, March 7, and completing the competition on Sunday, March 8 with stadium jumping.

What competitors love about the Tallahassee challenge is the spectator turnout, which creates a “sporting event” feeling, says David O’Connor, course designer and Olympic gold medalist. The Olympian (individual gold in the 2000 Games held in Sydney, Australia), is a former Red Hills competitor himself.

The international competition draws roughly 20,000 spectators throughout the weekend, and is accessible and accommodating for people with disabilities.

Spectators can wander the shady acres of the park and enjoy watching riders compete in the first the Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) competition in preparation for the Olympic Games this summer in Tokyo, Japan.

Attendees can stroll through an avenue of shops with local and regional vendors touting shopping delicacies such as jewelry, luggage, clothing, hats, art, top-of-the-line tack shops as well as a variety of food trucks. The weekend offers families a picnic space with a kids’ play area, bounce houses and sand pits. New this year is a beer garden featuring local craft brews and award-winning Farmer’s Daughter Vineyard wines. 

There will be a number of interesting exhibits set up in the center of the park, and will include dog rescues, a gopher tortoise conservation program, pony clubs, Hands & Hearts for Horses and more.

Well-behaved dogs are welcome while on leashes.

The first phase of the competition on Friday challenges horses and riders in dressage. The tests are hosted in a wide-open field where onlookers can observe by standing or sitting on bleachers. Dressage is the equestrian equivalent of gymnastics or ballet. 

Saturday’s cross-country brings out tailgaters, sponsors and families looking for a weekend event. This phase requires the horse to jump a series of roughly 20 to 40 solid, stationary objects spread throughout the park that the horse has not previously seen.  Riders are allowed to walk the course ahead of time.

The fences are built of natural materials and are meant to look like obstacles such as ponds and streams, ditches, hills, and banks.

Sunday wraps up the weekend with the final stadium jumping round hosted in the sunny center of the venue. The purpose of this last phase is for the horse and rider to demonstrate their endurance after the cross-country day. Unlike the previous day’s jumps, stadium jumps are lighter and built with rails, which are easily knocked down.

At the end of the three tests, each competitors’ penalty scores are totaled and the horse and rider team with the lowest number of penalties, the lowest score, wins.

Sanctioned by the sport’s international and national governing bodies, the Fédération Equestre Internationale, the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) and the United States Eventing Association (USEA), Red Hills hosts competitors from across the United States and the globe, including Norway, Australia and Canada.

Riders often bring multiple horses to compete during the weekend, and Red Hills is usually the first major eventing competition on a rider’s competition schedule.

“The road to Tokyo, or the World Equestrian Games over the years, comes through Tallahassee,” O’Connor said.

The 2020 Summer Olympic Games will take place in Tokyo.

Gold medal Olympic rider David O’Connor and world-famous British course designer Michael Etherington-Smith partnered to create the different designs of the six levels of the cross-country challenge. It’s the fifth year they’ve worked together on the course.

The duo drew out the course with an audience in mind, and O’Connor said it’s a “great spectator course.” From the sidelines, non-riders can get close to the jumps and horses, laying out picnic blankets or bringing folding chairs.

O’Connor has represented the United States in two Olympic Games, where he won team silver at the 1996 Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta, GA, and won both an individual gold medal and team bronze at the 2000 Summer Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia.  He was president of the United States Equestrian Federation from 2004 – 2012.  He was inducted into the United States Eventing Association’s Hall of Fame in 2009 and two of his horses have been granted the same honor.  

O’Connor has himself competed at Red Hills and he feels that Red Hills has always been a fantastic place to come and compete your horse. 

“From the mossy southern live oak trees to the ambiance of the crowd, Red Hills creates one of the best atmospheres for challenging horse and rider teams,” O’Connor said. 

Etherington-Smith, who designs the higher divisions at the Trials, is a former professional eventer and show-jumping rider. He lives in the U.K. and has been designing courses at all levels around the world for many years, including two Olympic Games (Sydney 2000 and Beijing 2008), the World Equestrian Games in 2010, Rolex (now Land Rover) in Kentucky, Adelaide in Australia, and Luhmuhlen in Germany, which also is a qualifying event for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Eventers spend the winter months preparing for competition and Etherington-Smith believes that Red Hills is a great way to start the season and is designed very much with the aim of getting horses going for the rest of the year with a positive experience. 

The City of Tallahassee maintains the grounds, called the “footing,” at the park year-round, and both course designers say it makes the competition favorable to horses.

As a course designer, Etherington-Smith says it is important that the course has a good balance to it, challenges the teams, and sets horses and riders up in a positive and enthusiastic frame of mind at the beginning of the season for what lies ahead. 

Each year, the design duo also consider how close spectators can get to jumps, and where to put certain obstacles so that non-riders can get a sense of participating.

As a philosophy in designing a course, O’Connor expresses that it is important that riders and horses go away from Red Hills believing that they have improved their skills and gained a positive experience for use later in their careers.  With that in mind, he describes the course as starting off in a way that hopefully gets horses and riders going forward and jumping with a positive attitude.

“It’s one of the more special places,” O’Connor said of Red Hills. “This is a true international event.”

Each year, the two designers consider how close spectators can get to jumps, and where to put certain obstacles so that non-riders can get a sense of participating, he said.

Cross-country always is the second phase in eventing. The day is considered a cornerstone of the competition and tests a horse and rider team’s speed, endurance, courage and agility.

Obstacles on course range from large, solid fences and intricately-painted jumps, to water ponds that horses must gallop through, leaping up banks or fences on the other side. The course is timed and the goal is that competitors get as close to the set course time as possible.

There will be two water jumps on the miles-long course. Riders in the highest divisions will ride through the second water challenge twice.

Course builder Tyson Rementer recommends spectators set up near any jump they prefer, but at the highest level of the combination, the second water challenge will offer the “biggest bang for your buck.”

Rementer has worked to build the Red Hills cross-country course every year since 2007. His personal touch is to add an artistic flair to his jumps, with carvings and designs laid into the wood.

He said his goal is to create a jumping course “that a horse should be able to see and understand,” but also one that is entertaining to the spectators. He said people will enjoy the thrill of watching their favorite riders gallop past at 20 mph.

The community event is supported by nearly 600 volunteers, many of whom return year after year to help make the weekend a memorable experience for everyone.

Volunteer Kristy Carter has worked with the Trials for a decade, and helps coordinate services for people with disabilities.

She says the weekend always offers a “warm, welcoming environment” to everyone who participates.

“We greet them with our Southern hospitality and charm,” she said. 

The outdoor event is wheelchair-accessible, and organizers will coordinate with attendees who would like to be driven by golf cart to preferred locations on course.

“I enjoy ensuring that individuals of all abilities feel welcome at the event,” Carter said, adding that the weekend is a great opportunity for people to learn about the sport.

Organizers also set out each year to increase awareness and educate the public about eventing. In addition to the competition, Red Hills educates and promotes the idea of resource protection, land preservation and management, and raises funds to benefit educational and environmental purposes.

A 501(c)(3) organization, the Red Hills Horse Trials partners with Tall Timbers Research Station and Land Conservancy, a leading land trust with the mission to foster exemplary land stewardship.

Tickets for the event may be purchased online or at the gate before entering. Tickets are $40 for a three-day pass, $15 for a single day. Chilren 12 and under are free. For more information, visit http://rhht.org/.