With a score of 43.0 to beat, defending champions Michael Jung and the 11-year-old mare FischerRocana FST calmly strolled into Rolex Stadium as if going out for a practice hack. A couple of minutes later the pair sauntered back out, each wearing nearly the same expressions as before. As he approached his team, Jung finally allowed a smile. He knew what he’d done, the affectionate crowd as well, and sure enough the dynamite duo rocketed atop the leaderboard with a sizzling score of 34.3.

“I’m very happy with my dressage test,” Jung added. “She was very concentrated. She traveled very well to Kentucky and was very nice to ride on the last few days, so I expected her to perform well.”

Michael Jung and FischerRocana FST

Michael Jung and FischerRocana FST

 

Quite the understatement from the reserved and collected world’s #1, who will almost certainly take a comfortable lead into Saturday’s Cross Country.

A strong early morning test (43.0) from Elisabeth Halliday-Sharp and Fernhill By Night was good enough to hold for 2nd place, with Team USA’s Phillip Dutton and Fernhill Fugitive (43.1) and Boyd Martin and Shamwari 4 (44.6) rounding out the top four respectively.

Halliday-Sharp said she was pleased with the relaxation and obedience that Fernhill By Night, 13, showed.

“‘Blacky’ is like a big, black Labrador,” said Halliday-Sharp, of Ocala, Fla. “I got the warm-up right today, and he really worked with me. He really, really tried.”

Elisabeth Halliday-Sharp rode Fernhill By Night to second place in the first day's dressage at the Rolex Kentucky. (Ben Radvanyi photo)

Elisabeth Halliday-Sharp rode Fernhill By Night to second place in the first day’s dressage at the Rolex Kentucky. (Ben Radvanyi photo)

 

Jung and FischerRocana’s 34.3 is 5 points better than their opening round test a year ago. A staggering figure to contemplate and most certainly a discouraging sign for the rest of the field.

Day 2 of dressage begins tomorrow at 8:30am (ET). Can anyone put a scare into the mighty German?