Madison Temkin competed Sportsfield Guarantee in Ireland, pictured here with his owner, Paul Donovan.
While everyone’s eyes were glued to the Paris Olympics this summer, international connections were being made in a rural town in Maryland where an exchange program two years in the making was quietly taking place. Minus the NBC cameras and bellowing crowds, the goal of this program was largely the same as those for the Paris Olympics: to build international camaraderie and educate youth through sport.
The Maryland – Millstreet Exchange Program was conceived in 2022, when the former governor of Maryland, Larry Hogan, visited Ireland on an equestrian trade mission. Ireland native Fran Horgan was inspired by the connections she made through the trade mission and saw a unique opportunity to prolong the legacy of the trip.
“When Governor Larry Hogan visited Ireland in 2022, he visited on an equine trade mission, and it was to promote a lot of the equine activities in Maryland, which includes the Maryland Five Star, right? It was from there that Ross Peddicord invited me over to experience the CCI5*. During that visit, I was introduced to Carolyn Mackintosh, and was able to visit her at her farm, at Loch Moy Farm.”
Ireland is a country of horseman, through and through. Maryland is a hot spot for equestrian activities in the United States. But while both communities were passionate about eventing, Fran noticed a significant difference. “My initial thoughts on the five star was that there weren’t a lot of young people there compared to events that we would have in Ireland, where there’s nothing but kids and youngsters,” Fran said. “So the two aims that I was coming from was one to promote Loch Moy Farm and Millstreet International themselves, because without Carolyn Mackintosh and the Duggan family of Millstreet, we would lose two crucial venues. So how can we promote the venues and support them, and how can we then bring up the next generation and get them started in eventing?”
Never one to sit back and wait for someone else to take action, Fran jumped at the opportunity to create a brand new program from scratch.
“Let’s get the kids over. Let’s get them making connections, you know, friendships and seeing how each other does things differently,” Fran said. “I recognize a lot of things like, your grass is different from Irish grass. How would that affect an Irish horse? The gut microbiome would be totally different. Loch Moy’s on a granite hill, it’s very hard, and Maryland is very dry. Over here, we’re in a bog, and there’s a lot of rain. So how does the going change and differ? And the course builders? How are they building courses differently, etc. So it’s a real education for the young riders to get a flavor of how things are done, even if you just walk the course. And as it turned out, we were able to find horses for them to ride.”
Fran’s idea slowly took shape and became more and more fleshed out with the support of key players such as the Maryland Horse Industry Board; the Cork County Council; Ireland’s Kelley Hutchinson of Hutchinson Sport Horses; Olympian Caroline Pamukcu; sports commentator Chris Ryan; Executive Director of the Maryland Horse Industry Board, Ross Peddicord; Loch Moy Farm owner Carolyn Mackintosh; and owners of the Millstreet International venue, the Duggan family.
“I was able to work out that Carolyn and the Duggan family provided all the accommodation, the feed, the transport from the airports, etc,” Fran said. “The flights, which were the main costs, were sponsored by Cork County Council and the Maryland Horse Industry Board.”
It was decided that the young rider with the top score at Millstreet International and the Maryland International would swap places the following year. In 2023, Madison “Maddy” Temkin was awarded the scholarship to go to Millstreet after earning fifth place in the CCI4*-S with her own MVP Madbum.
Madison Temkin and MVP Madbum. Photo by Shannon Brinkman.
“I got to compete at the Burghley Young Event Horse qualifier at Millstreet, which was a lot of fun,” Maddy said. “It was definitely a bit of an eye opening experience on a lot of different levels. But I think one of the biggest things, honestly, was how they run their young event horse classes over there is quite a bit different than how we do it here. You warm up, you jump a couple of jumps, and you go do your dressage test, and then you go straight in the ring to do your jumping phase. Just get it all done in one go.”
Millstreet International gets much more rain than they do here in Maryland. The week of the Burghley Young Event Horse competition, it had been particularly rainy, making the ground softer than usual. While this didn’t phase the Irish riders, it made a big difference to Maddy.
“Watching horses leave the barn with studs in had me wondering what people are using around the world in different terrain and different venues. That was interesting,” Maddy said.
Maddy rode Sportsfield Guarantee, a young gelding that she very quickly fell in love with. “He was probably about 15.1 hands. He’s a little guy, but it was kind of funny, because he was definitely my type of horse, which I think it was unintentional that it was my type of horse, but he was super cute,” Maddy said. “He hadn’t had a ton of experience, and to me, it was big, you know, for a four year old. He definitely got better as he jumped around. He was a really, really nice horse, and I was joking around that I wanted to bring him home, but I couldn’t find anyone who wanted to help me buy him to bring him home. He was really cool.”
While there, Maddy also met her partner, of sorts, Godfrey Gibbons, who, as the top-placed young rider at Millstreet International, would travel to the Maryland International. Godfrey was slightly taken by surprise at the opportunity to travel to Maryland.
“I think it was only halfway through the week when I met Kelley and they told me about the exchange. I had no idea prior to that,” Godfrey said. “That obviously had me go and make sure I was on the ball for the end of the week to make sure all the results came in. And then we won it on the last day. It was a nice surprise to get.”
While Maddy had traveled to the United Kingdom a few times before, having sourced her two horses, Fernhill Bertus and Fernhill Fairytale, from Ireland. Godfrey, while having traveled extensively around the United Kingdom and Europe, had never been to the United States.
“I was just really looking forward to getting out somewhere new and just seeing how everything worked over there,” Godfrey said. “I’ve always seen stuff online about competing in America, and I was always fascinated by it, and I always wanted to get the opportunity to go out and just to see new things and experience new things and see what was done out there, and get a bit more knowledge for myself.”
The heat in Maryland in July is a beast that’s difficult for locals to deal with, let alone someone used to the cool temperatures of Ireland. Unfortunately for Godfrey, this past July reached record high temperatures.
“The heat out in Maryland is very different to ride in. Then again, it was just something that [the horses here] wouldn’t experience at all,” Godfrey said. “I was so surprised how I was riding two young, five-year-old horses, and I was just surprised how out there they’re used to the heat and able to keep going. Whereas if I brought one of my horses out [to Maryland] at that age, they wouldn’t be up for it at all.”
Godfrey Gibbons competes Redfield Oban at Maryland. Photo by Erin Gilmore Photography.
Despite the extreme temperatures, Godfrey said the hard work that Loch Moy Farm put into the ground paid off. “I was amazed at the amount of work put into the venue, especially across the country for the terrain and everything. It was lovely going through the forest. It was just such a nice venue for cross country.”
Godfrey competed Redfield Oban HR, owned by Redfield Farm. He had very little time to get to know the five-year-old, but luckily is used to catch riding and competing horses.
“So, I flew over on Wednesday. I rode on Wednesday evening, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, and then competed on Sunday,” Godfrey said. “I’m kind of used to that type of thing. I was definitely a fair bit nervous for us when I was riding someone else’s horse, and especially someone like Caroline [Pamukcu]. So I made sure I did the job right. But no, I think it was okay. I got the hang of him really quickly, and he’s a lovely horse. It was great to work with Carolyn and her team.”
Godfrey was thrown right into the deep end at the Maryland International, in terms of American culture, as it was held the same weekend as the USEF Young Event Riders Championships. The celebrations included races on bouncy horses, a mechanical bull, water balloons, and water guns. “I thought it was great,” Godfrey said. “It got people to interact and meet each other. In Ireland, we wouldn’t really have all that. So we (in Ireland) can be fairly quiet sometimes at the events. People just go and do their own thing, and then they all go back to their own trucks or hotels and go away for the night. Over [in America], you have time to meet and talk to each other, as well as just get to know more people. It was all fun and laughs.”
For both Maddy and Godfrey, the connections they made through the exchange program was a huge benefit to their learning experience. “I definitely, you know, saw some connections that I’d already made in Ireland, and probably made those connections a little bit stronger, as well as meet new people, for sure,” Maddy said. “I think it opened my eyes a little bit and gave me a little bit more knowledge. Honestly, I took a lot away from competing in and watching the young horse classes, as I produce a lot of young horses. I think it definitely gave me some valuable knowledge that I can use in producing my own young horses.”
As for Godfrey, his first trip to America taught him a lot about what the country, or at least rural Maryland, is like as compared to what he’s seen on TV. “I’ve only ever seen parts of America in movies, and maybe some videos of events. But I was actually surprised at how quiet it was. I was expecting a really busy town. There were lots and lots of people, but it was actually nice and laid back, like the venue. It was just comfortable being there. There was no big panic on the part of the competitors. Everyone was very friendly. And especially Carolyn, the venue owner, gave us, and all the volunteers, food and everything you could want, and drinks, and told us to help ourselves.”
If you’re an aspiring young professional who’s fortunate and talented enough to win a spot in a program like this one, Godfrey and Maddy have some advice for you.
“Just look forward to it and go out and enjoy it and be social to meet everybody and get as much out of it as you can,” Godfrey said.
“Our sport is so different in so many places,” Maddy said. “And I think having experiences and gaining knowledge from as many different people in as many locations as you can is really important to the development of yourself as a rider.”
Fran hopes to see this program grow into something bigger than an exchange program between just the USA and Ireland in the future and hinted at a possible Nations Cup-style event for young riders that would include any nation who could scramble together a team.
“If you don’t involve the youth, it will die out as a sport, right? As a young rider community, could we not grow this now?” Fran said. “And it’s all about supporting the venues, too. When you lose a venue, you lose an opportunity. No matter what pony you buy for your kid, one day there might be no place to take it.”
