October 28, 2023 
“I feel like it’s the moment I’ve waited for a long time,” said American eventer Liz Halliday on Friday in Quillota, Chile.
“My [team] coat has been sitting in a box for two years since Tokyo fell apart, so it needed some wrinkle free to get that figured out. But no, it’s an absolute pleasure to be here.”
Halliday was named to the Tokyo 2020 team but withdrew her mount Deniro Z at the final inspection before the horses boarded the plane due to minor bone bruising. It was a devastating decision for a rider on the cusp of making her championship debut.
Two years later, the 44-year old is finally getting her championship shot with the Pan American Games—and she wasted no time making her presence known. On Miks Master C, Halliday-Sharp posted the lowest score on the day, 24.8 penalties, in the CCI4* dressage test.
“If I’m totally honest, I’d hoped for a better score than what we had. But you have to ride the horse here on the day. And he was pretty spicy [on Friday],” said Halliday. “But still, you know, he’s such a wonderful horse and he always offers me so much. It’s about just managing his power.”
Halliday is the overwhelming EquiRatings favorite at the Santiago 2023 Games, with a 44% win chance and 65% likelihood to podium. Her closest rivals are teammates Caroline Pamukcu and HSH Blake with an 18% win chance and Sydney Elliot on QC Diamantaire on 10%.
With the dressage phase complete, the defending champions have lock on the top of team and individual leaderboards. Newly crowned CCI3*-L National Champion Pamucku posted a 26.8 aboard her Irish-bred 8-year-old gelding to move into second, while Sharon White (USA) and her 11-year-old Holsteiner gelding Claus 3 sit in third on a score of 28.2.
“I’m really, really happy with the test. I feel like there’s another ten more points that I can go after. But the thing is, when you’re in a team atmosphere and team environment, you’ve got to put them first, not yourself. So I thought to go in and have a 28 rather than try to go for the 22 and then have a blow up. He’s only eight years old,” said Pamukcu.
Elliott and QC Diamantaire close out the top 10 on 33.3.
USA team score of 79.8 puts them over 13 points ahead of Canada, in second on a team score of 93.5. Brazil holds down third on 99.9 and Mexico is in fourth place on 109.2.
Eight teams will contest Saturday’s winding cross-country course. Halliday predicts that “the time will be influential” and that “a few sort of quirky Irish questions out there that will that will take some riding.”
For teammate White, the plan is simple: “try not to get weird.”
“My plan is to ride him like I always do. I’m just going to try not to get weird. I’m going to keep him straight and rhythmical I’m going to make sure he knows where the jumps are. I’m gonna keep my position to the best of my ability. That’s my job. I’m gonna do my job. I love doing my job. It’s very satisfying when you can get your job done. I know I can do the job. Can I do it when it counts? Yes, for sure.
“And that is my plan.”
