The American Eventing Championships’ penultimate day has come and gone, and we have more division winners to announce.
Merial Open Intermediate: Marilyn Little and RF Scandalous (22.7)
Master Novice Amateur: Cynthia Deporter and Ana D (29.5)
Novice Amateur: Sarah Fischetto and Sin Fallo (24.3)
Novice Horse: Ashley Phillips and Bayani Slade (25.3)
Broadstone Beg. Novice Amateur: Kelly Young and Shaqir (29.3)
Broadstone Beg. Novice Horse: Doug Payne and Mr Mitchel (28.3)
Broadstone Master Beg. Novice Amateur: William Barclay and Stormn Hudson KD (28.3)
One of my favorite moments of the day came during the Broadstone Master Beginner Novice Amateur awards ceremony. Letha Calvin finished 9th and 10th on her two horses, Look Cody Look and Quigley O’Higgins, and when it came time for the victory gallop it wouldn’t have been fair to leave one horse hanging.
Throughout the proceedings Quigley, the 10th place roan, looked considerably crestfallen, perhaps bummed that he’d been barely bested by his barn mate by less than a point. She leaned over and whispered something to him — I like to imagine it was along the lines of, “Don’t be sad — you’re just as special as Cody! I love you both the same!”
Photo by Leslie Wylie.
Photo by Leslie Wylie.
Photo by Leslie Wylie.
Photo by Leslie Wylie.
Chin up, Quigley. You’ll get ’em next time buddy!
I’ve called the AEC the “feel good event of the year” and good feels were in the air today. A big crowd turned out to watch the Advanced cross country …
The grandstand overlooking the derby field. Photo by Leslie Wylie.
… and the spectator-friendly setup made everyone feel like they had a front seat to the action. (And thanks to the live stream, fans from home did as well!)
Photo by Leslie Wylie.
From the bustling competitor’s party and “Sounds of Nashville” concert at sunset to kid-friendly areas and activities, the 2016 has been the sort of event you could bring anyone to — friends, family, non-horsey significant others — and not have to worry about keeping them entertained.
Future course designers of America. Photo by Leslie Wylie.
In the spirit of the AEC being an event for the people, I’m once again going to turn the mic over to you — the attendees of #AEC16.
“Buck, smile for the cameras!” -Halimey #aec2016 #aec16
A photo posted by Brit. (@photogbrit) on
A photo posted by Sandstone Equestrian Center (@sandstoneeventing) on
@tryonresort is the best place to be a unicorn.
A photo posted by Audrie Stanka (@audriestanka) on
And one more bonus pic, just to keep it ridiculous:
Mark photo bombed Elvis in the beer wagon line at Tryon international equine park.
A photo posted by Melissa Graham Hausman (@mhausm01) on
Join us tomorrow for our final day of #AEC16 coverage. Go Eventing!
#AEC16: Website, Schedule,Rides Times & Live Scores, Live Stream, EN’s Coverage, Twitter,Instagram
