October 20, 2023 
Lauren Nicholson (USA) and her homebred mount took the lead on home soil Thursday in the USEF CCI3*-L Eventing National Championship at the MARS Maryland 5 Star at Fair Hill.
Twenty-three horses took to the CCI3*-L dressage arena, where 2016 Rio Olympian Nicholson (USA) and Landmark Jungle Gold took the early lead on a score of 30.3. Lynn Symansky (USA) and Idefix van de Crumelhaeve currently sit in second on 30.7; Woods Baughman (USA) and Kamara CFF are third on 30.9.
Nicholson and Landmark Jungle Gold previously won the CCIYH3*-S at Morven Park in Leesburg, Virginia in 2022. This week’s performance is part of a carefully curated training trajectory for the 8-year-old Holsteiner-Irish Sport Horse gelding, owned and bred by Jaqueline Mars.
Especially when you consider that Nicholson has known “Richie” since he was a foal.
“We’ve had him his entire life and career,” the rider said of the “very settled” gelding. “He’s a homebred and really can handle an atmosphere quite well.
“This is a strong three-star track, and it’s usually close to 10 minutes out there on cross-country, so it’s a great track for their education, but also for their base fitness thinking about the future, and that’s why we decided to aim him here. He’s got the maturity now to be competitive and thinking about the future, being here will only help him continue to grow.”
Four days of eventing competition will feature dressage (Thu-Fri), Ian Stark-designed cross-country courses on Saturday, and show jumping on Sunday. The event will be streamed via the USEF Network for domestic viewers. You can view the schedule & results here.
