Tamie Smith and Mai Baum. Photo by Tilly Berendt.
Competitors and fans at The Event at Rebecca Farm will celebrate the remarkable career of Mai Baum, as the 2023 Defender Kentucky 5* Champion and veteran Team USA star runs his last competition.
Now in its 24th year, The Event at Rebecca Farm takes place July 16-20, 2025 in Kalispell, MT.
Mai Baum’s partner Tamie Smith will pilot the 19-year-old German Sport Horse through the CCI4*-S, then retire him in a fitting ceremony at Rebecca Farm. The venue, the Broussard family who owns it, and the Northwest region in general are core to the pair’s success around the world over 10 years.
“Mai Baum started his career with Alex (Ahearn) at Michelle Pestl’s place in Washington state and we felt it very fitting that he have his last hurrah in the very place he began,” explains Tamie. “The venue shaped both of our careers.”
“It was a catapult” Tamie told Practical Horseman Magazine of her 2013 receipt of the Rebecca Broussard Developing Rider Grant. Often referred to as the “Little Becky Grant,” the award is one of many grants issued by the Broussard Family Charitable Trust to support event riders on a promising international track. “It was a bunch of people saying ‘We think you have what it takes.’”
A year later, Tamie received the “Big Becky” Grant. “Winning the Big and Little Becky Grants made it possible to further my career when I was just starting out.”
Northwest Roots
Everyone loves a funny face! Alex Ahearn and Mai Baum. Photo by Jenni Autry.
Michelle Pestl and Ellen Ahearn found Mai Baum at the Munich Auction in Germany and imported him to the States. From the age of 4 to 9, Mai Baum and his young rider owner Alex Ahearn worked with Michelle in Washington state. Alex then moved to Tamie’s base in Temecula, California, to continue their training and become a working student for Tamie’s Next Level Eventing.
Alex Ahearn campaigned Mai Baum, aka “Lexus,” up to the CCI3*-L in 2014, then urged Tamie to take over when she went off to college. Alex and her parents, Ellen Ahearn and Eric Martell, continued as Lexus’ owners, supporting the pair through every step of their odyssey.
Tamie and Mai Baum began their competitive partnership in 2015, which included the CCI3* win at Rebecca Farm. Mai Baum was awarded the overall Horse Of The Year Award at the USEA’s Annual Meeting that year.
Highlights in their long resume include Team USA gold at the Pan Am Games in 2019, being alternates for the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and team silver at the World Equestrian Games in 2022, which qualified Team USA for the 2024 Olympics. Top 10 finishes at Aachen and Badminton and silver medal team finishes at Aachen, twice, and Boekelo, are additional resume stand-outs.
Their historic win of the Defender Kentucky 5* in 2023 broke a 15-year absence of Americans from the top of that prestigious podium.
A Massive Party
Tamie Smith and Mai Baum. Photo by Sally Spickard.
Mai Baum’s retirement ceremony is planned to take place after the awards ceremony following show jumping on Sunday, July 20. It will include opportunities for fans to share a moment with the special “black stallion.” He’s a gelding whose stunning presence, bold attitude and glistening black coat earned him that nickname.
“He will absolutely love every bit of this, so we are planning to have a line up for photos and other things,” Tamie shares.
On return to California, Mai Baum will stay in work because “he loves to bounce around,” she continues, but The Event will be his last competitive outing – at any level. “He has nothing to prove and deserves to retire as healthy as he is. Lexus isn’t a commodity to us, he is our family, and he deserves to finish his competition career with a massive party.”
An Emotional Moment
Tamie Smith and Mai Baum. Photo by Tilly Berendt.
“It’s been an amazing 10 years we’ve had together and although he will still be very much part of my daily life, knowing this is our last event makes it all the more special and emotional,” Tamie says.
“Mai Baum has been my magic carpet and I feel so privileged for all he and I learned together. He is the horse that put me on the map, helped me earn that pinque coat, and win medals at many team championships and Nations Cups.
“I am very grateful to have had the journey we’ve had together along with (his owners) Eric, Ellen and Alex,” Tamie continues. “It’s been one hell of a ride, from the highest of highs to the lowest of lows and a lot in between.
“But what has been the best of this amazing journey has been the many places we’ve traveled to and the many people we have met throughout the years. Lexus and I broke through many glass ceilings to achieve what we did. I think it’s a testament to his heart and my perseverance, as well as his amazing team who helped all along the way.
“I owe so much to Mai Baum and his family. I owe so much to everyone who has believed in me throughout the years and I can’t wait for the next chapter.
A Special Horse
Photo by Tilly Berendt.
Mr. Medicott is the only other famous horse to retire at The Event. A Team USA horse for Karen O’Connor and Phillip Dutton, Mr. Medicott closed his career with Phillip’s then-16-year-old daughter, Olivia. He helped the USEA Area II team earn gold at the FEI North American Youth Championships at Rebecca Farm in 2018, then retired in a special ceremony at the Farm.
Kathi Michel’s Kazar also retired at the Farm.
Organizer Sarah Broussard explains that it must be a pretty special horse to get this treatment. “It makes sense,” she said of the relatively easy decision to host Mai Baum’s farewell. “The Event is where he got noticed and he’s originally from the Northwest. Everybody knows him here.”
“Mai Baum is a unicorn,” confirms Jerome Broussard, Chairman of the Broussard Family Charitable Trust. “And the Markell family and Tamie and her team are wonderful folks. We are really thrilled that they have chosen our event for his retirement party.”
