Connor & Bruno on XC at NAJYRC
Name: Connor Husain
Horse: Piece of Hope, aka “Bruno”
Basic Info: Connor is a 19 year old from The Plains, Virginia. He has trained with Skyeler Voss for Eventing and Sallie Spenard for Dressage for the past four years. Recently his family was able to purchase and rejuvenate Morningside Training Farm, and bring it back to it’s former glory as a fully functional eventing facility including all the amenities as well as a swimming pond, a gallop track, and a full XC course! Morningside now hosts Angelica Run Eventing, and Connor is deeply involved in the creation of new schooling shows and clinics at his farm.
Connor & Bruno at jogs
About Bruno: Last year, Connor was fully qualified and selected for the Area II CCI* team with his horse, Folk Lore (Story), when two weeks before shipping out his horse sustained a minor suspensory injury. This was a major disappointment for Connor, however he had already been planning to get a new horse, as Story was most suited for Preliminary and below. He searched high and low on the east coast, finding nothing suitable. He and Skye decided to travel to Germany, where they stumbled upon Bruno. Bruno was not technically for sale at the time, but the owners saw Connor ride, and thought he was a wonderful match for their horse, and knew he would give him a good home. Connor says that Bruno is a wonderful athlete, and quite straightforward to ride, but as he only arrived in the US in the end of September 2011, he had to work really hard all winter to get accustomed to Bruno’s style.
Nerves at his first NAJYRC: Not only was this Connor’s first Young Rider’s experience, but it was also his first CCI! He says that he is naturally quite nervous about competitions, and especially since he only moved up to Intermediate this spring, he was feeling the pressure going into the ring. After arriving at the horse park, he says he realized that “I can only ride as well as I can ride, and [Bruno] can only do as well as he can do, so I may as well not let my nerves get the best of me”. Sports psychology, folks!
Weekend Recap: Despite being the first horse in both Dressage and Cross Country, Connor managed to perform his best test to date on the first day, placing him in 4th after Dressage, a mere 3 points behind leader Lizzie Snow. Although some riders would have balked at being first on course on Saturday, Connor said he relished the opportunity because he likes to be able to follow his original plans without distractions from other rides. He was a bit worried about how his horse would feel on a longer course (~8:40 was the optimum), but his coach Skyeler helped him design a really superb fitness program leading up to the event, and Bruno felt great all around. He says now he prefers the feel of a long course!
Connor & his Inspirational Mom
Another new experience for Connor was Show Jumping after the more strenuous XC course the previous day. Bruno is usually an excellent show jumper, but as he began the course, Connor could feel he was a little tired, and he had to adjust his riding style mid-way through to help Bruno a little more than usual. He says he found that specific arena to be quite difficult for the tired horse simply because of it’s size. The course required a lot of galloping around, and in between fences there was a lot of space to cover. Especially in Eventing, we are more likely to encounter the small arenas than the large ones, and the experience of the gigantic Rolex stadium was definitely a new one.
“Big or Small, Save Them All”: This year, Connor spearheaded the movement for Area II to ride for Breast Cancer Awareness, largely due to his personal experience. Connor’s mother is a breast cancer survivor, and he says she has always been one of his biggest idols in life. Her support of his dream and her bravery through adversity inspire him every day. “It’s amazing to be able to use an international platform such as Young Riders to promote breast cancer awareness“, says Connor. Their t-shirts for the opening ceremonies read, “BIG OR SMALL, SAVE THEM ALL!”
Future Plans: Bruno will get a well-deserved month of vacation in a spacious field, and then will return to work and hopefully compete at Fair Hill in the CCI**. Connor wants to get more experience at the level before he moves up to Advanced, but he says that Young Rider’s gave him a huge boost of confidence in his and Bruno’s capabilities, and he can’t wait to see what the future holds for the both of them.
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Tori & Bean enjoying their medals
Name: Victoria (Tori) New
Horse: Fleeceworks Mystere du Val, aka “Bean”
Basic Info: Tori is 17 years old, from a small town in West Texas called San Angelo. She trains with Mike Huber regularly at home, although she lives 4 hours away from him, so travel only permits the occasional lesson on weekends and as school allows. She did spend 6 weeks this year in Florida in regular training with Mike, which she credits as a large part of her success this weekend.
About Bean: We all remember Bean from his Leslie Law days, but he’s been missing from the international scene for quite a while now. Tori came upon him by happenstance, and completely fell in love. His phenomenal movement, powerful jump and puppy dog personality had her hooked from the beginning. Tori and Bean have been partnered for about 10 months now, and she says she bought him in the hope that he would take her to NAJYRC, but she took it slow and didn’t push things too much. She and Bean got along famously from the start, and they qualified at the Ocala CCI* in April of this year to finish in 5th place on her dressage score of 52.8.
Weekend Recap: Tori says that the ring familiarization was a big part of her success on Dressage day, as Bean is quite a spooky horse, and tends to have difficulty focusing on the job at hand instead of the flower pots, tents, and spectators! Even though he was spooking in the warm-up arena, she was able to pull him together to lay down their best test to date, which was a 48.5 and good enough for 2nd place!
She was thrilled with that result, and excited to get out on XC on Saturday. The course walked well, and was quite challenging for the level. Tori said her teammates came back to the barn with advice on how things were riding, and cautioning her on the slippery footing and the crowds at the first water. Bean had some focus issues at the first water, but Tori rode strongly through it, and he was fabulous elsewhere.
Going into Show Jumping, the top 6 riders were all within a rail, and the course proved to be very influential. It rode very forward and attacking, and punished those who were hesitant or sluggish. Tori had a lot of pressure on her for both individual and team placings, but she says she didn’t even pay attention to how other riders were doing as she warmed up, and didn’t even know she had a rail in hand as she jumped the course. After kicking Bean in front of her leg as her one rail fell, she felt that he stepped up and jumped the rest of the course wonderfully.
Bean & Tori in Show Jumping
Redemption Story: Last year Tori was a competitor in the CCI* with her horse Bally Whatnot, and entered Show Jumping in bronze medal position, only to fall at the very last fence. She said the ironic glory of this year’s win is that the final combination on course (a triple that was very difficult) was almost identical to the fence that she fell at last year.
Team Spirit: Although most riders get to feel the team experience for the first time at YR’s, Tori says that she and her teammates have known each other since grade school, and grown up competing through the levels together as an unofficial team. They all go to competitions together and give each other feedback about how the courses are riding, and support each other even though they compete against one another. Area V also rode in dedication of a team member’s father, Doug Phillips (also known as the “Silver Fox”), who sadly passed away this year after a battle with cancer. Tori says that all the girls and their parents are like a giant expanded family, and she wouldn’t have it any other way.
