Maren Foster was a little worried about Walter Welser’s fitness in his first attempt at a CCI* track, but her 7-year-old Hanoverian-Thoroughbred gelding ate up the meters and posted a double-clear cross-country round on Saturday, Nov. 14, to remain in the lead with 40.0 penalties.

“He made the time, which I was really excited about,” said Foster, Geneva, Fla. “The course was a lot longer than anything he’s done, but he was great, and he actually got better as the course went on.”