Dan Krietl and Carmango. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

We generally focus on the big names, big winners, and the big stories that come out of a weekend like the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event, but every rider that walk, trots, or canters down the hallowed ramp of the Rolex Arena has a story to tell; no matter which division they rode in and where they placed at the end of the weekend.

My main role for the Eventing Nation team over Kentucky weekend was to collect audio from riders in the mixed zone — that’s the little roped off area that they’re shepherded to after their ride to talk to the media. If you saw a lady with a stuffed chinchilla sticking out of the pocket of a sky blue Equestly jacket who was shoving her phone in riders faces — that was me. Hi!

I didn’t even speak to every single rider over the course of the weekend, but I still collected 56 audio clips averaging about 2 minutes 30 seconds each via the voice memo app on my phone. That’s approximately 140 minutes of rider audio. Much of that audio is reaction to the ride they just had; some describes their relationship with their horse and how they came to have a ride; many sing the praises of people who helped to get them where they are. Altogether, it’s the most condensed conveyance of the years-long paths it’s taken to get to the moment they stand in front of a media person.

These are just a sliver of the interesting background stories and bits and bobs behind the many competitors in the Cosequin Lexington CCI4*-S last weekend.

Arielle Aharoni and Dutch Times. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

Arielle Aharoni and Dutch Times’ Partnership is a Pony Kid’s Dream

In a way, Arielle’s relationship with Dutch Times began before the gelding was even born. Over fifteen years ago while Arielle’s mom, Christina, was horse shopping, she fell in love with a stallion at Goldhope Farm in Pennsylvania. The stallion wasn’t for sale, but Christina was told that a full brother to him would be hitting the ground in June. She bought him.

At that point, 10-year-old Arielle got a little jealous that her mother bought herself a pony but not her.

“Any ten-year-old would,” Arielle laughed. “So she bought me a really naughty, unbroken pony and said, ‘If you want to learn how to ride, you’re going to learn how to ride this thing. And then if you’re serious, you can come back and talk to me about a different horse.'”

It’s safe to say Arielle got serious. In the intervening years she rode through Training level aboard another (less naughty) pony and Christina had Tik Maynard continue Dutch Times’ education, competing him through the CCI3*-S level. Arielle took the reins in 2016 and together, they have continued on through the CCI4*-L level and have begun to dabble in the jumper ring as well — cross training that no doubt helped contribute to their double clear jumping round on the final day of competition.

“He kind of surpassed our expectations,” Ariel said. “He was only ever supposed to do two-star, maybe three-star. So we’ve made it way farther at this point.”

Dan Kreitl and Carmango. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

Redemption for Dan Kreitl and Carmango

If you followed the 4* here last year, you’re likely familiar with fan-favorite amateur rider Dan Kreitl. After delivering the sole round clear and inside the time across the country in this divisions last year, Dan held the lead coming into the final day of competition.

The show jumping had been Dan and Carmango’s weakest phase by far and a fairytale ending for the Indiana native wasn’t to be that year. They garnered 12 jumping faults that day, losing the win and dropping to fourth.

As a technically amateur rider, Dan’s relatability, struggles, and genuine humbleness and hard work have made him a fan favorite and earned respect from the professionals he competes against.  Even the podium finishers of the division last year acknowledged that they wished he were sitting amongst them during the final press conference. In short, it’s hard not to root for Dan.

But his 2023 season with Carmango got off to an inauspicious start. At the Grand-Prix Eventing Festival at Bruce’s Field in early March, they knocked five rails — which resulted in compulsory retirement.

“[Show jumping] has been definitely the toughest phase for me and my horse, and we’ve been working hard, but hard work doesn’t always pay off,” Dan said. “At Bruce’s Field I was totally disappointed but actually learned a lot — there’s a lot of value in failure.”

The difference between Dan and and Carmango’s show jumping rounds in just a month is mind-blowing. After the disappointment of Bruce’s Field, they went on to record their very first double clear show jumping round of any FEI level at The Event at TerraNova later that month. On Sunday at Kentucky they duplicated that effort, leaving all the poles up in the Rolex Arena. They ultimately finished in fourth place overall for this second year in a row, but that clear round in Kentucky in front of Carmango’s owners and his family was the real win for Dan this weekend.

When asked if there was any one thing he worked on between the first week of March at Bruce’s Field and last last week of March at The Event at TerraNova where the pair recorded their very first double clear FEI show jumping round at any level, Dan said: “Honestly, my own brain. Somebody said, ‘he who thinks the slowest wins,’ and for me, I just gotta slow it all down. And a lot of times the harder I try — I want to get in there and get aggressive like, ‘Let’s go boy!’ —  [I] just run him past all of his distances. So really just trying to be relaxed about it and keep my position, but funny enough with the horse it’s literally just me chilling out and let him do his thing.”

And as for how jumping clear in the Rolex Arena felt?

“Freaking awesome.”

Hayley Frielick and Dunedin Black Watch. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

Hayley Frielick and Dunedin Black Watch’s World Tour Continues

We were a bit surprised to see Hayley Frielick and “Nelson”, who have completed 5*s in Maryland and Adelaide, on the entry list for the 4* last weekend. It turns out the reason why is a bit of a qualification conundrum.

“We kind of actually just snuck in to do Maryland. We could either go do another four-long, and then I’d be qualified as a C category rider, or I could wait until the new year and my rider category went up to B, and then I was qualified for five-star. So that’s what we did with Maryland, because we were so short on events in Australia with it being flooded all last year,” Haley explained.

As a result Haley has dropped back to a C category rider, but there’s a significant bright side for the New Zealander: “It’s kind of cool, because it’s giving me an excuse to go and do more events and see more of the states. Nelson’s tour of the US continues! We’ve gotten to go to Kentucky and now we can go look at [a four-star long] at Tryon and Bromont and see more of it, so that’s really fun.”

While there’s a bit of disappointment in not being able to do the 5* this weekend, Hayley energy and enthusiasm after her 4* cross country round was absolutely infectious.

“I’m bummed I wasn’t doing the five-star, but it is just incredible to be here,” she said with a huge grin. “I mean, I tell everyone back home in Australia, and you just actually can’t describe it until you’re here. You see everything on TV and you watch it, and then you finally get here and you’re just like, ‘Wow, this is insane!’ There’s Rolex signs everywhere and everything’s so fancy. And the going is just — I mean, I joke about it all the time here, because we just we just don’t get [ground] like this in Australia, so my guy thinks he’s running on clouds. It’s amazing.”

Anna Loschiavo and Fernhill That Guy Jack. Photo by Abby Powell.

Anna Loschiavo Spreads the Love for Area I

Riding Fernhill That Guy Jack, this was the Anna Loschiavo’s first time competing at the Kentucky Horse Park since the North American Junior and Young Riders Championship in 2009. Anna, a Vermont native, is a fixture of the eventing communities in both Areas I and III. Every year she splits her time across the country, with summers spent in her hometown of Bradford and winters at her southern base in Ocala, Florida.

“I love both of [the areas]. The good thing about our farm in Florida is we actually have terrain. We have a hill with about an 8% grade, so that really helps to keep our training more consistent as we come to Florida where it’s flatter,” Anna said. “Otherwise, it’s like a traveling circus. We just pick up and move twice a year. And I have a really, really great team. Emma Armstrong is my head groom and assistant trainer and she is wonderful about keeping all of our operations together.”

The number of events in Area I has dwindled significantly over the past decade or so, making it difficult for professionals to maintain their own level of competition alongside their teaching and training businesses. But Anna and other Area I professionals have high hopes for a keeping eventing alive in the area in which it all started in the U.S.

“I’ll never leave Area I in the summer; I love it,” she said. “We’re trying to do some really exciting things, actually, to keep revamping the upper level eventing in Area I, so we’re really trying to spread the word about that. We’ve got a lot of events and organizers that are really trying to make it so that Area I can be a prep for big events like this.”

Missy Miller and Quinn. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

Hay is Not for Horses if You’re Missy Miller’s Quinn

Missy Miller has made a lot of changes recently. For one, she’s brought her top mount, Quinn, out to California to ride and train with Tamie Smith. They’ve done all the nearly all their prep runs for this event out on the West Coast.

“Tamie has been a game changer for our program. I’ve had a lot of great coaches, great mentors, and she’s really kind of taken me under her wing. It’s super,” Missy said. “Here she is, she’s first in the five-star and she’s second [in the four-star], and she’s here with me through my entire warm-up. She’s there with me and she comes and helps me with him after and she’s just 110% — she is just a great person. I can go to her with any questions. She has changed all my riding and my entire program with my other horses at home. I’m really lucky to have her in my life.”

Another huge change? Quinn’s diet. The 13-year-old gelding had always been on the lean side, looking “like he was ready to run the Kentucky Derby.” Many had chalked it up to ulcers, which Missy treated for, but with the help of her long-time veterinarian Dr. Chad Davis, they decided to try a diet low in long-stem forage — normally the opposite of what might be the ideal equine diet. It worked — it turns out that Quinn can’t digest hay very well, so instead Missy meets his forage requirement by feeding him chaff and alfalfa pellets. Finally figuring out Quinn’s ideal nutrition program has made a world of difference in his way of going.

“Now I’m a little bit like, ‘Oh, he’s quite cheeky!'” Missy said. “I’m so lucky; this is our third year here with him. That alone, just that he’s here and he’s still willing to do it — he loves his job — it’s great.”

Jessica Phoenix and Fluorescent Adolescent. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

Eventing Comes Full Circle for Jess Phoenix with Fluorescent Adolescent

Seeing Canadian Olympian Jessica Phoenix on a flashy piebald is a new sight — that’s because her partnership with Fluorescent Adolescent is a relatively new one. Owned and previously ridden by through the CCI3*-S level by Jess’ long-time student, Makayla Rydzik, this event was just “Lacey’s” second 4*. Jess took over the ride last fall and was thrilled with how the 15-year-old Canadian Sport Horse (Gaudi — Amelia II, by Ali Baba) handled the exciting atmosphere this weekend.

Not only does Jess have a neat connection to the mare via her student; she knows the mare’s breeders, Kelly Plitz and Ian Roberts — both Canadian Olympians — of Dreamcreast Farm in Port Perry, Ontario, very well.

“So it’s a pretty fun story,” Jess said. “Kelly was actually my very first eventing coach, and then her husband, Ian, was my coach, all the way through to the three-star level.”

Think about it: a Canadian Olympian riding a horse that was trained by her student and was bred by the Olympic-level coaches who taught said Canadian Olympian (did you follow all that?): That’s the insular eventing community at its coolest.

LRK3DE: [Website] [5* Scores] [4* Scores] [Live Stream] [EN’s Form Guide] [EN’s Coverage] [EN’s Ultimate Guide]

[Click here to catch up on all of EN’s coverage of the 2023 Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event]

Karl Slezak and Hot Bobo. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

It’s probably pretty unprofessional as a journalist to admit, but Karl Slezak and the 10-year-old Hot Bobo had flown completely under my radar prior to this weekend. Heck, even prior to cross country day. But to give myself a little credit – and anyone else who didn’t see this somewhat surprise victory in the Cosequin Lexington CCI4*-S coming — the mare had only just stepped up to the Advanced level this February. After today she now has four total Advanced runs under her girth; this was just her second CCI4*, finishing on their dressage score of 29.3.

While Karl and Hot Bobo have had some big success at previous levels — including wins in the CCI2*-L at Hagyard Midsouth in 2020 and in the CCI3*-L at the Tryon International 3-Day Event last fall — Hot Bobo likely wasn’t anyone’s pick to win this division this weekend given her inexperience at the level. It seems, however, as though her modus operandi may be to prove us all wrong. The first person she proved wrong was Karl himself who, after impulsively buying the mare at 2017 Monart Sale in Ireland, admits he initially had some second thoughts.

“We were sitting in the auction and I wasn’t really paying attention, and my wife gives me a nudge,” Karl recalled. “She was like, ‘You liked that one, she’s going cheap!’ and I just threw my hand up and we got her on the first [bid]. That never happens. Then I was like, ‘Crap, what did I buy? Is that the one that kept spinning every time a horse came at her?’ and sure enough, it was.”

Karl Slezak and Hot Bobo. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

An Irish Sport Horse bred by Dublin’s Emma Phelan, Hot Bobo (VDL Arkansas — Taneys Leader, by Supreme Leader xx) is a half sister to Will Coleman’s Off The Record. Hot Bobo, however, is 70% blood out of a full Thoroughbred dam. Between the sale and the start of the next eventing season, Karl hadn’t sat on the mare for several weeks and was getting a little worried. But the anxiety disappeared once he sat on her.

“I was fretting about what I bought, and then from day one she was spot on,” he said. “The first day I sat on her, she was on it, she was just beautiful. She was always spooky on cross country, but to ride on the flat and to jump was awesome and [the worries were] all gone, I was like, ‘thank God.’ I was terrified though, for eight weeks, I was like, ‘that’s a lot of money.'”

To her character, Karl says: “She just wants to work all the time. She just loves to please and comes out the same pretty much every day. You know, for a mare, you never know what you’re gonna get. But when mares work for you they’re amazing. And she definitely wants to please and works for me really well.”

Purchased initially with the intent of being a sale horse, that spookiness on cross country turned out to be why the mare stayed with the Slezaks, who still own her in full, as potential buyers passed her over for that reason. No longer an issue, it didn’t keep her from delivering a clear and inside the time run across country yesterday even though Karl was unsure of how the mare would handle the Kentucky crowds.

Despite the pressure of entering the arena last, Karl took a pragmatic to show jumping day.

“I definitely was nervous,” Karl admits. “But I tried to put as little pressure on myself as possible. It’s just what will be will be and usually works out better that way. And she just felt great, so I was definitely more confident going in the ring.”

And just an extra fun fact for all you sports fans out there, since it’s been a great weekend for our friends to the north: Just a day after the Toronto Maple Leafs advance to the second round of the NHL playoffs for the first time in 19 years, Karl becomes the first Canadian rider to win a division during a Kentucky weekend since Stewart Young-Black won the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event in 1992.

Big Plans for Podium Finishers

Karl plans to tackle the CCI4*-L at Tryon in just a few weeks time, while our second and third place finishers Tamie Smith with Solaguayre California and Sydney Elliot with QC Diamantaire have some plans overseas this spring.

“We’re just here to test what we have and see where we’re at, so we can go back home and practice more,” Tamie said of her 12-year-old Silla Argentina mare (Casparo — Solaguayre Calandira, by Casall) who finished just seven-tenths of a point behind. “I really wanted to make sure that she handled all of this well. And we have basically the month of May to kind of decompress and kind of get our wits about us and then go to Luhmühlen. So I’m excited about that.”

As for Sydney and “Q,” who also jumped double clear this morning to finish on a score of 34.9, they may very well be on the same plane to Germany: they’re headed over to Luhmühlen as well for a crack at the 13-year-old Oldenburg gelding’s (Diarado — Lantana, by Sandro Hit) third CCI5*.

“We are like an old married couple at this point. He has just been such a wonderful horse since we got him. Everyone would want a horse like this,” said Sydney. “I thought it was a great last run for him before we head to Europe.”

Breaking it Down

Out of 35 competitors this morning, just over half the field (51.4%) left all the poles in the cups. In addition to our top three, nine other pairs (Colleen Loach and FE Golden Eye, Bec Braitling and Caravaggio II, Hanna Bundy and Lovely Assistant, Arielle Aharoni and Dutch Times, Liz Halliday-Sharp and Cooley Nutcracker, and James Alliston and Karma) jumped double clear over Steve Stephens show jumping course.

We have SO MUCH MORE still to come at you from the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event, presented by MARS Equestrian including an 5* repot we’ve been waiting years to write. What a weekend. Go Eventing.

LRK3DE: [Website] [5* Times] [5* Scores] [4* Times] [4* Scores] [Schedule] [Live Stream] [Tickets] [EN’s Form Guide] [EN’s Coverage] [EN’s Ultimate Guide]

[Click here to catch up on all of EN’s coverage of the 2023 Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event]

Want more LRK3DE info each day during competition? Sign up for the free LRK3DE Daily Digest email, which will be sent each day through Monday, May 1. Find all of EN’s latest coverage, sponsor promotions and discounts, chances to win daily giveaways, and much more! Click here to sign up.

Liz Halliday-Sharp and Cooley Be Cool. Photo by Abby Powell.

Dressage for the third annual running of the Cosequin Lexington CCI4*-S at the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event presented by MARS Equestrian concluded this morning with a couple of changes to the leaderboard, but familiar names remain.

The top test of the day came from Liz Halliday-Sharp and 10-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding (Heritage Fortunus — HHHS Carlota) Cooley Be Cool, earning a mark of 25.5, an achingly close score to stablemate Cooley Nutcracker who retains the lead in this division on a 26.5.

“He changed behind first in his first change, which he never does, but I think he was just a bit excited. Had he not done that I think he would have been on the same score as [Cooley Nutcracker], which is super cool, because this is still his personal best at the level. I’m totally thrilled with him,” Liz said of her test.

Owned by Ocala Horse Properties and The Monster Partnership, “Dave” was sourced through Richard Sheane of Cooley Farm, as many of Liz’s horses are.

“Richard, when we found him, said this one will be a slow burner. He said he might not be a winner at the low levels, but he’s going to be a really top five-star horse,” Liz recalls, “And yeah, I actually totally agree.”

After two wins in the early season last year — one in the CCI3-S at Carolina International and the other in the CCI4-S at The Event at TerraNova — some time off over the rest of the 2022 competition season did “Dave” some good, helping him to mature.

Liz Halliday-Sharp and Cooley Be Cool. Photo by Shannon Brinkman.

“I think it was the making of him. He came out this year like a different horse, just more professional, lighter on his feet, and just really wanting to do the job,” Liz said. “He’s incredibly scopey, but he is very cheeky and very arrogant. So that’s kind of been the biggest training. He’s a lot like Cooley Quicksilver in that way — they’re quite similar horses like that, so it’s been a matter of sort of getting him on side and also just managing that.”

Speaking of Cooley Quicksilver, last year’s winner of this division: Liz opted not to bring him for a return trip to Kentucky to defend his title. Impressed enough by his winning performance in the Stable View 4*-S this spring and with a cap at four entries per rider over this weekend, Liz determined the gelding didn’t need the extra run here prior to taking another crack at the Luhmühlen 5* this year. This decision allowed her to bring Dave instead, who, at 10-years-old would benefit more from the extra prep and big atmosphere that Kentucky brings prior to making his 5* debut as he’ll travel alongside “Monster” to Luhmühlen this year.

Tamie Smith and Elliot V slip into equal fourth place at the culmination of the first phase. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

Solaguayre California, Tamie’s mount in this division yesterday, now sits in third place with their score of 27.6. Not far behind them, however, is … Tamie Smith, this time with Elliot V, and also Sara Kozumplik aboard Rock Phantom. Elliot V and Rock Phantom both scored a 28.4 to share equal fourth place.

Elliot V came to Tamie through her student Louisa Southworth, who rode the gelding through the CCI2*-L level and then handed the reins to Tamie when it was time to go off to college. Lousia and her parents remain involved in the gelding’s future as members of the Elliot V Partnership which now owns the 14-year-old Dutch Warmblood (Zavall VDL –Vera R).

“He’s super talented and he has all the ingredients, so we syndicated him and they stay part of it. It’s only been two years to solidify a partnership, so we’ve had our ups and downs with everything, trying to figure it all out. But he’s a super jumper and galloper and just trying to teach him the game,” said Tamie.

“It’s been a work in progress with him and getting him stronger. That big atmosphere is quite a anxious type of force, but he was so good. I’m really, really pleased.”

Sara Kozumplik and Rock Phantom. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

The third to last ride of the day was an emotional one. For one, Sara Kozumplik and Rock Phantom knocked nearly two marks off the gelding’s previous personal best at the level, dipping into the twenties for the first time.

Sara took over the ride on “Rocky,” a 12-year-old Irish Sport Horse (Spirit House — Ballycroy Rose) roughly a year and a half ago from Nilson Moreira da Silva, who previously brought him to the four-star level. Sara and her long-time friend snap supported Edith Rameika were looking for a horse for Sara to fill the gaps between her young up-and-comers and her experienced campaigner Rubens D’Ysieux who, at 18 years old, Sara has retired from long-format events.

But the tears in Sara’s eye at the conclusion of her test weren’t really for her score; they were for longtime mentor and friend Jimmy Wofford, for whom she wore a green ribbon over heart. A patron saint of U.S. eventing, Jimmy lost his battle with pancreatic cancer earlier this year.

An emotional Sara leaves the ring after her test with Rock Phantom. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

“It sounds awful, but I’m kind of glad we lost him before this event because he was very proud of never missing this,” Sara told us. “He actually would have struggled to come in the COVID year because he was having quite a lot of chemo during that time. And so the year it didn’t run, he probably couldn’t have come that year. But he actually never missed it. He was here last year, and he was here the year before that. The impact he’s had on my life, I can’t describe.

Jimmy’s presence is synonymous with the Kentucky Three-Day Event thanks to his involvement over the years as a competitor, coach to so many, and commentator.

“He’s like a father figure to me, and to so many. It is a special place and he’s definitely here,” Sara said. “I think I’m only one little piece of it. You can talk to a thousand people here this weekend that would say the same thing.”

Tomorrow is cross country day and the four-star entrants will leave the start box first, beginning at 9:15 AM. As always, EN will be here to bring you along for the ride.

LRK3DE: [Website] [5* Times] [5* Scores] [4* Times] [4* Scores] [Schedule] [Live Stream] [Tickets] [EN’s Form Guide] [EN’s Coverage] [EN’s Ultimate Guide]

[Click here to catch up on all of EN’s coverage of the 2023 Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event]

Want more LRK3DE info each day during competition? Sign up for the free LRK3DE Daily Digest email, which will be sent each day through Monday, May 1. Find all of EN’s latest coverage, sponsor promotions and discounts, chances to win daily giveaways, and much more! Click here to sign up.