October 31, 2020 
The first of just two CCI4*-L of 2020 saw ten riders to completion, with U.S. Olympian Boyd Martin leading from the start to the very end, to finish on a final score of 31.00 with Luke 140.
Martin also claimed third with Long Island T, to finish on 36.40.
Martin, currently eighth in the FEI World Rankings, traveled to California from the East coast with Phillip Dutton and Fernhill Singapore and Liz Halliday-Sharp and Cooley Quicksilver. Martin and Dutton received a share of this year’s Land Rover/USEF National Competition Grants, which helped pay for their travel, while Halliday-Sharp received the USET Jacqueline B. Mars National Competition & Training Grant, which also helped her come west.
Tamie Smith (Murrieta, CA) who finished in second with Passepartout, and 10th with No App For That, will use her travel grant to fly east, to compete at the only other CCI4*-L of 2020, the Tryon International Three-Day Event (Mill Spring, NC) November 12–15.
Saturday’s third and final phase, stadium jumping, was a fitting finale for a four-star. As with Friday’s cross-country, time proved a deciding factor, with just Liz Halliday-Sharp and the majestic gray (think linebacker majestic, not Baryshnikov majestic, but in the nicest way) Cooley Quicksilver, able to deliver the only double clear of the day.
Sadly it was not enough to move them up the leaderboard following an unfortunate ‘missed flag’ penalty of 15 penalties from cross-country. They finished in eighth overall on a final score of 57.50.
Each of the top five finishers delivered clean jumping rounds, but added anywhere from 0.4 to nearly 3 additional penalties for exceeding the time allowed.
“I’m thrilled with both my horses this weekend,” said Martin. “Obviously it’s been a rocky year for everyone and I’m just over the moon and pleased that everyone was able to pull this off.
“Marc (Donovan, SJ course designer) built a very big course, with a tight time allowed. It was pretty technical with lots of questions.
“Both are fiery horses, so it was hard to have smooth cross country and show jumping rounds with them this weekend. Luke was a little bit on cross-country mode today and was a little bit tricky to ride. He got a bit aggressive on some of the lines, in particular the last line coming toward the end, and I had to go back to my pony club days of holding him off the fences. He’s a little green and this was a big step up for him. I’m very, very pleased for him.
“It’s a wonderful opportunity and privilege to compete on the other side of America during this COVID crisis. Everybody involved in this competition has bent over backwards to make sure these contests continue. I’m sure it would have been easy to cancel the event, but there are some great supporters who have worked hard to make sure our big competitions have continued.”
The only other CCI4*-L of 2020 will take place at the Tryon International Equestrian Center (Mill Spring, NC), November 12–15.
