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A Confidence-Boosting Event at the Twin Rivers Spring International

By Jonathan Horowitz on Apr 14, 2025 2:39 pm -

James Alliston and Karma in the CCI4*-S at the 2025 Twin Rivers Spring International. Photo: Ataya Boytner Photography

The Twin Rivers Spring International showed that there isn’t just one right answer when preparing your horse.

The CCI4*-S served as a qualifier in the US Equestrian Open of Eventing, but before the $200,000 finals at Morven in Virginia on October 9-12, seven of the 11 horses were competing in their final prep before the approximately 2,300-mile haul to Lexington for the Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event in two weeks.

James Alliston swept four of the top-five placings, led by his Kentucky 5* hopeful Karma (Escudo II x Travita), as he went for speed on cross-country.

On the other hand, Bec Braitling chose to complete just part of the final phase of cross-country on Caravaggio II (Vangelis-S x Courtesan) before retiring—“just ran the top field to give him a little sprint and pulled up, so he’s ready to go,” she described.
Both riders were pleased with their plans as they look ahead to a return to Kentucky after both horses made their five-star debuts there last year.

Other highlights in the FEI levels included:
• Marc Grandia and the young 8-year-old Levino (Lint x R-Cora II) had a successful move-up to CCI3*-L and were the only pair at the level to finish on their dressage score.
• Erin Kellerhouse and Bon Vivant GWF (Banderas x Power Point) won the CCI3*-S, returning to glory at the level they won at the 2023 Twin Rivers Fall International.
• LS Crown Royal (Comte x Estefania) made his FEI debut with Jordan Linstedt a winning one in the CCI2*-L.
• Coco Chanel (Cascadello I x U-lotti), who competed up to two-star in Europe, won the CCI2*-S for her third win in three starts since partnering with Kaylawna Smith-Cook in the United States this year. They previously won at Training and in the CCI1*-S at events at Galway in Temecula, California.
• High Five DF (Herald 3 x Columbia BF), who has shown at Twin Rivers since Future Event Horse competitions as a yearling in 2018, won an FEI event for the first time with Jennifer McFall in the CCI1*-L.
• The 70 entries across the CCI4*-S, CCI3*-L, CCI3*-S, CCI2*-L, CCI2*-S, and CCI1*-L levels was a record for an FEI event held at Twin Rivers Ranch in Paso Robles, California.

Karma was champion in a CCI4*-S at Twin Rivers for the second time, having previously been victorious at the 2023 Twin Rivers Fall International. The 11-year-old bay Oldenburg mare that has represented the United States at Boekelo in the Netherlands and Aachen in Germany was the only horse to finish inside the optimum time on the four-star cross-country track designed by Morgan Rowsell. She added just 0.8 time penalties on William Robertson’s show jumping course to her dressage score of 36.4 for a finishing score of 37.2.

“It felt good,” Alliston said. “I was maybe a little rusty with her. I need to ride her a little better in two weeks, but she’s an awesome horse.”

James Alliston and Cora in the CCI4*-S at the 2025 Twin Rivers Spring International.
Photo: Liz Corkett for Atalya Boytner Photography

Alliston was also second with Cora (Commissario x La-Montana), the winner of the CCI4*-S at the 2024 Twin Rivers Fall International. Plus, he was third Irish Pop (Inliner x Norma Jean) in the horse’s four-star debut and fifth with his previous Kentucky five-star mount Paper Jam (Paparazzo x Reely Jamin).

“It was good to get them in the heat of battle and see what they look like,” Alliston said. “The faster you go, the harder it is, so just making sure I’m sharp and going at a competitive speed and the horses are used to that as well. It’s sort of a toss-up. Obviously, you don’t want to hurt them and take risks, but what I’ve done over the years is don’t go mad but go quick enough so that it’s a fitness run and equivalent to what you’re going to do in two weeks.”

The Twin Rivers Spring International was also the first event in almost two years for Nemesis (Novalis x Sara’s Muse) since the chestnut Canadian Warmblood gelding was the youngest horse in the Kentucky 5* field in 2023 at nine years old. He made his comeback at Intermediate after dealing with foot troubles from a digital flexor tendon.

“I’m excited,” Alliston said. “I wasn’t sure he’d ever return to the level, but now I’m a little bit more optimistic that he can have a future.”

After the weekend, Alliston has chosen Nemesis and Cora as his mounts for the Cosequin Lexington CCI4*-S.

“It was good to do that to narrow it down,” Alliston said. “For sure, Cora was looking good. Irish Pop is talented but green. Nemesis has had so long off, just making sure he’s sound enough to do it.”

The Twin Rivers Spring International was the first 4* of the season for Alliston’s growing stable of 4* and 5* horses, whereas Braitling had a full run and won the CCI4*-S with “Ernie” at Galway at the end of March.

“I ran Galway pretty quick, so for me, I thought two weeks, two weeks for back-to-back four-stars was probably too much,” Braitling said. “A little gallop before we left [for Kentucky on Tuesday] was needed, so that was my thought process.”

The Australian international rider who’s based at Twin Rivers Ranch was able to fine-tune Ernie’s dressage while balancing the perhaps-ironic challenge of showing him at home, saying, “He’s always going around looking at everything, like, ‘Why is that there?’”

Erin Kellerhouse and Bon Vivant GWF in the CCI3*-S at the 2025 Twin Rivers Spring International. Photo: Atalya Boytner Photography

“Overall his dressage is a lot better; it was definitely his best he’s done here,” Braitling said. “It’s always hard for him to show here, tension-wise. He’s always a little more excitable here. He always overreacts to everything at home, but other than that, he was really good.”

Tamie Smith used a similar strategy with Kynan (Envoy x Danieta) to prepare for the 4* in Kentucky and did an abbreviated cross-country after posting the top dressage score of 32.6 at the level and having a double-clear show jumping round.

“My plan was always to stop midway through, which is hard when you’re winning,” Smith said. “It’s always hard to stop, but producing that horse for the long game is super important. I’m really excited. It’s been a lot of work getting him to not be a big brute, but I think we got it all dialed in.”

Smith said she calls Kynan “Travis Kelce,” comparing the 10-year-old bay Dutch Warmblood gelding owned by the Kynan Syndicate to the Kansas City Chiefs’ all-pro tight end. “He felt like a million bucks, so I’m really excited,” Smith said. “I feel like he has a real solid chance of getting a top result [in Kentucky]. I feel like all three phases are really solid and coming together.”

In the CCI3*-S, Kellerhouse and Bon Vivant GWF finished on their dressage score of 29.0 and followed up on their win at Intermediate at the Twin Rivers Winter H.T. She and “Pierre” started competing together at Beginner Novice when the bay Oldenburg gelding was four years old in 2019.

“Last year was a bummer; it was just one of those seasons,” Kellerhouse said. “I never really had one like that, so I guess I was due. It actually does make everything a little sweeter when you rise up from the ashes a little bit.”

After what she described as “really consistent” dressage and how “he’s an easy horse to go fast on because he doesn’t pull at all” on Adri Doyal’s three-star cross-country course, Kellerhouse said her goals are the CCI3*-L at The Event at Rebecca Farm in Montana in July and the CCI3*-L at the Maryland 5 Star at Fair Hill in October.

Marc Grandia and Levino in the CCI3*-L at the 2025 Twin Rivers Spring International.
Photo: Atalya Boytner Photography

In the CCI3*-L, Marc Grandia and Levino took the next step in their journey that began when Levino made his USEA-recognized debut at Novice in 2022. Grandia credits Amber Birtcil for bringing the dark bay Holsteiner gelding to the United States and the Full Gallop Syndicate for their support over the past decade.

“He might be our fourth horse we’ve gone through,” Grandia said. “Each time we buy one and we find out what the horse is made of and what it wants to do. We’ve been able to upgrade as we go along.”

Grandia says Levino has been “quite a blast” as “he keeps checking off the boxes.” Levino has been particularly suited to the long FEI levels. He has made time on cross-country in each of his two longs, while not making time in any of his six shorts. He won Twin Rivers’ CCI3*-L on a dressage score of 31.7.

“It’s so nice to have this event for his development and be able to run around past eight minutes on cross country and develop their fitness and training,” Grandia said, noting that Twin Rivers hosts the only CCI3*-L in the spring west of the Mississippi. “The highlight is obviously coming through the end finishing on your dressage score. I’m really happy to have this event to produce our horses on the West Coast.”

Jennifer McFall and High Five DF winning the CCI1*-L. Photo: Elizabeth Ruiz for Atalya Boytner Photography

Jordan Linstedt and LS Crown Royal winning the CCI2*-L. Photo: Sally Spickard for Atalya Boytner Photography

The full list of winners from the 2025 Twin Rivers Spring International:

CCI4*-S: James Alliston and Karma (37.2)
CCI3*-L: Marc Grandia and Levino (31.7)
CCI3*-S: Erin Kellerhouse and Bon Vivant GWF (29.0)
CCI2*-L: Jordan Linstedt and LS Crown Royal (30.2)
CCI2*-S: Kaylawna Smith-Cook and Coco Chanel (30.9)
CCI1*-L: Jennifer McFall and High Five DF (31.3)
Open Intermediate: Tommy Greengard and That’s Me Z (28.6)
Open Preliminary: Tommy Greengard and MBF Google (26.8)
Preliminary Rider: Caterina Ritson and This Lad Is Gold (30.3)
Open Modified: Anna Weston Smith and Kinda B Dazzle (35.0)
Modified Rider: Sophie Stocks and Rosco (33.0)
Open Training: Tommy Greengard and EWSZ Java (28.9)
Sr. Training Rider: Teresa Harcourt and Csongor (26.1)
Jr. Training Rider: Salma Kuhlmann and Rayito de Sol SE (30.8)
Training Amateur: Lorilee Hanson and Mosaïque (28.6)
Training Horse: Amber Birtcil and Newton WW (25.0)
Open Novice: MaryBeth Young and Juliette (27.9)
Sr. Novice Rider: Lindsay Connors and Never Alone (24.8)
Jr. Novice Rider: Olivia Harris and Checker Can (30.6)
Novice Amateur: Valerie Ferraro and Whats That Sportsfield (30.6)
Novice Horse: Greylin Booth and Remonta Fiador (26.5)
Open Beginner Novice A: Chloe Smyth and King Kamehameha (26.8)
Open Beginner Novice B: Leah Yacoub Halperin and Come To Me (25.4)
Sr. Beginner Novice Rider: Annie Desmond and Little Elf (27.7)
Jr. Beginner Novice Rider: Lacey LoPiccolo and Paint Me a Picture (35.8)

Twin Rivers Spring International (CA): [Website] [Scores]

West Coast’s Best Come Together for Twin Rivers Spring International

By Jonathan Horowitz on Apr 9, 2025 9:30 am -

Bec Braitling and Caravaggio II winning the CCI4*-S at the 2022 Twin Rivers Fall International. Ride On Photo.

Twin Rivers Ranch in Paso Robles, CA, is gearing up for its largest FEI event ever with the 2025 Twin Rivers Spring International taking place April 10-13. There are 73 entries across the CCI4*-S, CCI3*-L, CCI3*-S, CCI2*-L, CCI2*-S, and CCI1*-L levels. National levels will go from Beginner Novice up to Intermediate.

Twin Rivers Ranch has offered the FEI levels of eventing since 2005. The Twin Rivers Spring International has taken on national significance as many of the West Coast’s top riders use it as their final tune-up before traveling to top competitions on the East Coast.

The CCI4*-S at Twin Rivers represents a qualifier in the US Equestrian Open of Eventing leading up to the $200,000 finals at Morven in Virginia on October 9-12. Seven of the 11 horses are entered at the Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event on April 24-27. Caravaggio II and Bec Braitling and Karma and James Alliston are aiming for the CCI5*-L after both horses made their 5* debuts in Kentucky in 2024.

Braitling, who represents Australia internationally and is based at Twin Rivers, is coming off a victory with Arnell Sporthorses’ 14-year-old black British Sport Horse gelding (Vangelis-S x Courtesan) in the CCI4*-S at the 2025 Galway Downs International H.T. in Temecula, California. She and “Ernie” won the level at the 2022 Twin Rivers Fall International.

“It’s nice to know you’ve done one [five-star] on him, so you know the horse can go jump the fences and go the distance,” Braitling said, looking ahead to a return to Kentucky, where they finished in the top-20 in 2024. “My goal this time would be to go a little quicker. Ultimately, it’s building on every year you hope you do a little better test.”

The popular pair have clicked in the jumping phases ever since their first competition at Training in 2019. They’ve never incurred jumping faults on cross-country in the United States. Their dressage score of 30.4 at Galway was their best in an FEI event in more than five years.

“He’s on the whole a lot better,” Braitling said. “He got a change at Galway, and it’s the best he’s ever felt on the flat for me. So, that’s kinda cool.”

James Alliston and Karma winning the CCI4*-S at the 2023 Twin Rivers Fall International. Ride On Photo.

Alliston and Karma, an 11-year-old bay Oldenburg mare (Escudo II x Travita), have become fixtures at top events and have represented the United States around the world. After 4* wins at The Event at Rebecca Farm in Montana and at the Twin Rivers Fall International in 2023, they were 14th in the CCIO4*-NC-L at Boekelo in the Netherlands at the end of 2023. Then in 2024, they were 12th in their CCI5*-L debut in Kentucky and ninth in the CCIO4*-S at Aachen in Germany. They had zero jumping penalties in cross-country and show jumping in each of these competitions.

“Last year, she tied up at the start of the week in Kentucky, so she really wasn’t feeling fantastic,” Alliston said. “If I get her into cross-country day a little bit healthier, I think she’ll gallop better because she’s such a fast horse and good galloper. She definitely wasn’t feeling great, so I had to go a little slower with her last year, but she still did it very well. I’m hoping if she’s feeling well, we can fly, I hope.”

Alliston has won the last four 4* competitions held at Twin Rivers. In addition to Karma, he has three other mounts at the level—Cora, Irish Pop, and Paper Jam. Among that trio, as well as Nemesis, who is entered at Intermediate at Twin Rivers, Alliston will choose which two horses he will take to the Cosequin Lexington CCI4*-S.

“It’s always a balance,” Alliston said. “I have a lot of Advanced horses right now, which is amazing, and you want to use them.”

James Alliston and Paper Jam winning the CCI4*-S at the 2024 Twin Rivers Spring International. Ride On Photo.

Paper Jam won the 4* at this event last year, and this will be his first event since. With his age and experience, including competing in the Kentucky 5* in 2022, Alliston said he’s been picking his spots with the 16-year-old chestnut Hanoverian gelding (Paparazzo x Reely Jamin).

Cora, a big 10-year-old bay Oldenburg mare (Commissario x La-Montana), won the CCI4*-S at the 2024 Twin Rivers Fall International. Kentucky would be her first event outside California, and that would also be the case for Irish Pop, a 13-year-old bay Hanoverian gelding (Inliner x Norma Jean), who is making his 4* debut at Twin Rivers.

This will be the first event for Nemesis since the chestnut Canadian Warmblood gelding (Novalis x Sara’s Muse) competed as the youngest horse in the Kentucky 5* field in 2023 at 9 years old. He won the CCI4*-S at the 2023 Twin Rivers Spring International.

As far as how he’ll choose his duo for the Kentucky 4*, Alliston said, “You do what suits the horse. I know sort of which horses are the fastest. For the four-short in Kentucky, the time is very influential, so you need some speed there. I know the ranking of speed of those four horses. Nemesis has a ton of experience and he’s done Kentucky well. If he’s healthy, he’s probably my number one.”

Molly Duda and Disco Traveler. Photo: Ride On Photo

Also aiming for Kentucky in the CCI4*-S are:

• Molly Duda and her 15-year-old bay Oldenburg gelding Disco Traveler (Donatelli x Cadence), winners of two 4* competitions in California in 2024 who also represented the United States overseas as part of the U.S. Eventing European Development Tour
• Tamie Smith, the 2023 Kentucky 5* heroine, and the Kynan Sydicate’s 10-year-old bay Dutch Warmblood gelding Kynan (Envoy x Danieta), two-time 3* winners in 2024 that are now back competing at 4*

The CCI3*-S at the 2025 Twin Rivers Spring International is a who’s who of West Coast eventing prospects.

Tommy Greengard and his 11-year-old bay Dutch Warmblood gelding Joshuay MBF (Foreign Affair x Fernacchy MBF) are using the CCI3*-S at Twin Rivers to prep for the CCI4*-S at Kentucky. They won the CCI4*-S at the 2023 Woodside Fall International in Woodside, California, and are in the midst of a comeback after missing the 2024 competition season.

Greengard also has That’s Me Z, whom he co-owns Andrea Pfeiffer, at Intermediate ahead of the Kentucky 4*. He and the chestnut Zangersheide gelding (Take a Chance On Me Z x Veneita) represented the United States in the 7-year-old world breeding championships at Le Lion in France.

Tommy Greengard and That’s Me Z. Photo by Sherry Stewart.

Also in the three-short at Twin Rivers, Gabriella Ringer and Get Wild are back at the venue where they made their debut in 2018 when the rider was 14 and the dark bay Dutch Warmblood gelding (Plot-Blue x Cantana) was 6. They won the CCI2*-L at this event last year and then two more 2*s in 2024.

Andrea Baxter, whose first FEI event at her homebase of Twin Rivers came in 2006, has a pair of 7-year-olds, Camelot PJ and The Big Easy. They both made big impressions at the Dutta Corp. USEA Young Event Horse West Coast Championships held at Twin Rivers in 2023. Camelot PJ (Colman x Hauptstutbuch Evita) won the 5-year-old championship. The Big Easy (Mr Lincoln B x PLS Hippo Q) won the Safe Harbor Award given to the 5-year-old with the most graceful and rider friendly performance throughout the competition.

“I love the personality of all of them so much that I can’t imagine replacing their desire to work and learn and please and their personal interest in the sport,” Baxter said. “Right now, they’re young and still developing, and much as I want them to come home with better ribbons, their performance is so going in the right direction that they’ll be hard to beat in the future. But right now, I’ve got to take my time and not rush them and let them develop in their own time.”

The 2024 5-year-old YEH West Coast champion, Only-Else (Idrigill x Kapry-Else), is entered in the CCI1*-L in the bay Irish Sport Horse mare’s FEI debut.

The 2025 Twin Rivers Spring International will shine a wide spotlight—from young prospects to seasoned veterans.

“That’s just exciting for California to be developing so many nice horses,” Baxter said.

Twin Rivers Spring International (CA): [Website] [Entries/Ride Times] [Scoring] [Volunteer]

Exciting Finishes at First Horse Trials of the Year at Twin Rivers

By Jonathan Horowitz on Mar 3, 2025 12:30 pm -

Taren Hoffos and Regalla. Photo: Ride On Photo

Entering the 25th year that the Baxter family has owned Twin Rivers Ranch, the 2025 eventing season in California’s wine country kicked off with the Twin Rivers Winter Horse Trials from February 28 to March 2 — the first of five USEA-recognized events to be held in Paso Robles, CA this year.

The highest level offered, Advanced, came down to the wire between Regalla, ridden by Taren Hoffos, and Disco Traveler, ridden by Molly Duda. Hoffos and the 2011 bay Oldenburg mare (Sir Donnerhall x Rubiera) came into the final phase of show jumping on Sunday with a lead of just 0.3 — less than a second to spare — after recording the fastest cross country round on Saturday on the course designed by Morgan Rowsell.

Hoffos and “Luna” had zero jumping penalties on the show jumping course designed by William Robertson. They added 1.2 time penalties for victory with a final score of 43.2 after Duda and “Disco” picked up penalties at two fences.

“She is just a beast,” Hoffos said about how cross country propelled Luna and her to victory. “We know each other so well, and if I get her maybe a little too deep, she’s like, ‘No problem.’ She just hunkers down, and she’s so gritty. She’s just so honest and wants to go through the flags for me.”

Duda, the USEA Young Rider of the Year in 2023 and 2024, and her 2010 bay Oldenburg gelding (Donatelli x Cadence) had made their debut at the Advanced level and won at this event last year. They then went east for the Cosequin Lexington CCI4*-S at the Kentucky Three-Day Event and competed overseas in England and Ireland as part of the U.S. Eventing European Development Tour.

They finished the year winning the CCI4*-S at the Woodside Fall International in Woodside, CA, and the CCI4*-L at The Eventing Championships at Galway Downs in Temecula, CA. For 2025, Duda said she hopes to return to the Lexington 4*-S and U.S. Eventing European Development Tour.

Molly Duda and Disco Traveler. Photo: Ride On Photo

“Disco was excellent this weekend,” Duda said. “He came out for his first event of the season feeling better than ever. I was especially proud of him in the first phase, earning a sub-30 score, which was a personal best for both of us at the Advanced level. We had a steady run on the cross country just to get him back in the groove, and he handled all the technical combinations with ease.”

This was the first Advanced horse trials for Regalla. She made her 4* debut with Hoffos at the 2024 Twin Rivers Fall International, having won twice at 3* at Galway in 2023 and 2024. Hoffos has brought Luna up the levels from Beginner Novice starting in 2018.

“The best thing that I ever did for her was do so much at three-star and Intermediate,” she said about their 17 events before moving up. “She saw everything and all different courses and types of questions. By the time I stepped her up last September, it really didn’t feel like that big of a jump.”

Hoffos said she will point Luna to 4*-S competitions at Galway at the end of March and at Kentucky’s Lexington 4*-S in April. She also credits enrolling in a program called “How to Heal” with mindset coach and sport psychologist Natalie Hummel and 5* rider Hannah Sue Hollberg “about controlling your nervous system and rewriting your patterns, figuring out where your show anxiety and competition hangups and blocks are,” Hoffos said.

“I was feeling, especially after my big fall at Maryland a few years ago, that I needed some help, and it’s been a game changer for me,” Hoffos said. “I’ve been feeling so prepared and really trusting my program and instincts, and it’s really paying off with Luna. I’m seeing such good results and feeling so much better about the riding and the showing.”

Erin Grandia and Hyacinth. Photo: Ride On Photo

Erin Grandia and Hyacinth (Contendro I x Vesper), who won the CCI3*-L at the 2024 Twin Rivers Spring International, finished third in their move-up to the Advanced level. The 10 entries at Advanced represented the most at this event since 2021.

Bon Vivant GWF and Erin Kellerhouse won the Intermediate level. They turned in one of just two double-clear cross country rounds out of 22 at the level on the course designed by Adri Doyal. Then, they were double-clear in show jumping to win with a score of 28.8.

“I loved the courses at Twin because they are so open and gallopy,” Kellerhouse said. “Time wasn’t on my radar and I just looked at my watch coming across the finish. He was super happy and confident — maybe a little too confident at the end of the course — but show jumped like a dream today.”

Kellerhouse and the 2015 Oldenburg gelding (Banderas x Power Point) have quite the partnership. They first competed together at the Beginner Novice level when “Pierre” was four years old in 2019. They won the 3*-S at the 2023 Twin Rivers Fall International.

Erin Kellerhouse and Bon Vivant GWF. Photo: Ride On Photo

“Bon Vivant had a bit of a rough last season and we never quite got our mojo back, but I really felt like it came together this weekend,” she said. “My goal was to just go give him a positive ride and not pick at the gallop fences, which I have a tendency to do on him.”

Megan McIver and Kapitan Sparrow XII (Cador x Stutbuch) were second, and Kellerhouse also rode the third-place finisher, Ringwood Adios Amigo (Ringwood Adieu Z x Ringwood Operetta).

“It’s such a treat to have two great horses at this level that I’m so fond of,” Kellerhouse said. “The two horses couldn’t be more different. Bon Vivant is a true gentleman and will go whatever speed I want him to, and Amigo has his own ideas on things.”

The two divisions at Preliminary — Open Preliminary and Preliminary Rider -— were each decided by less than a point, as were a total of six of the 13 divisions at the 2025 Twin Rivers Winter H.T.

In Open Preliminary, Amber Birtcil and Kingston 60 (Kingsroad x Anka VIII) topped Tamie Smith and Kareena K (Cash and Carry x Namur III) by 0.7—27.4 to 28.1. Birtcil also rode the third- and fourth-place finishers—Clearsky (Clearway x O-Corrado II) and Mississipi (Falaise De Muze x Coniek). Birtcil was competing Kingston 60 and Clearsky in place of Lauren Shady, who is expecting her first child this spring.

In Preliminary Rider, Elsie Patterson and Finnigan R-E (Cardento x Clivia R-E) were one second over the time allowed in show jumping and eked out the win by 0.1 over Olivia Keye and Chromatic Flyer—21.2 to 21.3.
At Modified, Fary Prince (The After Party x Farytale Cooley) and Helen Alliston—the Reserve Champions at the 2024 Dutta Corp. USEA Young Event Horse 5-Year-Old West Coast Championships held at Twin Rivers — won with a score of 28.0. They led after each phase.

Twin Rivers Ranch is scheduled to host the Twin Rivers Spring International from April 10-13, the Twin Rivers Summer H.T. from June 26-29, the Twin Rivers Fall International from Sept. 18-21, and the USEA YEH West Coast Championships & Last Chance Qualifier from Oct. 23-25.

The full list of winners from the 2025 Twin Rivers Winter H.T.:

Advanced: Taren Hoffos and Regalla (43.2)
Open Intermediate: Erin Kellerhouse and Bon Vivant GWF (28.8)
Open Preliminary: Amber Birtcil and Kingston 60 (27.4)
Preliminary Rider: Elsie Patterson and Finnigan R-E (21.2)
Open Modified: Helen Alliston and Fary Prince (28.0)
Open Training: Tommy Greengard and Shannondale Fionn (21.7)
Training Rider: Fiona Lempres and Hathaway Royale (25.6)
Open Novice: Katherine Robinson and Magheraboy (17.5)
Novice Rider: Kris Greenway and Ash B’dash (28.8)
Open Beginner Novice: Gina Miles and Gadget de Baimont (17.1)
Beginner Novice Rider: Elisa Karnavy and Buzz Ryder (34.1)
Open Starter: Elisa Karnavy and Foxens Little Treat (24.0)
Starter Rider: Lotte Merrill and Sunshine Valley’s Maevie (16.5)

Twin Rivers Winter H.T. (CA): [Website] [Scores]

High Hopes Become Reality at 2024 Dutta Corp. USEA Young Event Horse West Coast Championships

By Jonathan Horowitz on Oct 28, 2024 12:00 pm -

Only-Else and Kaylawna Smith-Cook win the 2024 USEA YEH West Coast 5-Year-Old Championship. Photo credit: Tina Fitch Photography.

Both Kaylawna Smith-Cook with her 5-year-old Only-Else and Andrea Baxter with her 4-year-old MBF Dig Deep said that their first impression of their young horses less than a year ago was that they would become champions. Those high hopes became reality at the Dutta Corp. USEA Young Event Horse (YEH) West Coast Championships at Twin Rivers Ranch in Paso Robles, California, on October 25-26.

For Smith-Cook and the bay Dutch Warmblood mare (Idrigill x Kapry-Else) owned by Bonner Carpenter, that initial moment of championship aspirations came when she first saw “Elsa” at the farm of five-star Australian eventer Sammi Birch in England in December 2023.

“My first impression of her was that she picked up the trot and then she cantered, and I was like, ‘OK, I don’t need to see any more.’ I didn’t even need to see her jump,” Smith-Cook recalled. “She’s just a beautiful mare and she’s a worker, and I love that about her. The more you ask of her, the harder she tries. She’s got a little bit of sass in there, so she’s not just a ‘Yes, ma’am.’ I just appreciate all of her little quirky traits.”

Only-Else and Kaylawna Smith-Cook. Tina Fitch Photography.

The first year of their partnership culminated with earning the highest score out of both the YEH West Coast and East Coast championships. The 90.15 from YEH championship judges Sally Ike of the United States and Christian Schacht of Germany was punctuated by having the best score of 64.60 (out of 70) for their jump test, gallop, and general impression on the course designed by Adri Doyal on Saturday. That followed having the best conformation score of 8.45 (out of 10) and being tied for the best dressage score of 17.10 (out of 20) on Friday.

“As soon as I went into the warmup, it’s like she was excited and knew there was something exciting and worth her while,” Smith-Cook said. “It was very nice to be rewarded and for the judges to really see her potential.”

They are now first in line to be awarded the prestigious Holekamp/Turner YEH Lion d’Angers Grant to represent the United States should they qualify for the FEI WBFSH Eventing World Breeding Championships in Le Lion D’Angers, France, in 2026 when the mare is 7 years old. In 2024, the Holekamp/Turner Grant went to That’s Me Z (Take A Chance On Me Z x Venetia) and Tommy Greengard, the 2022 winner of the 5-year-old West Coast championship.

“I’m so thrilled, and I’m so excited for the next few years to develop her and hopefully be able to take advantage of the grant,” Smith-Cook said. “What’s most important to me is that the horse in confident, and if she’s ready, it’s great that we’re in a great place to take her over there. I think she is a very brave horse, and she has all the pieces in a horse that I would think about that in the future.”

The top 5-year-old YEH championship score has now come out of the West Coast for two of the past three years. However, more than just the winner, the quality at the West Coast championships was evident across the board, as 10 of the 13 5-year-old entries had scores of 80.00 or higher, compared to 14 out of the 39 5-year-old entries in the East Coast championships.

The 5-year-old West Coast reserve champion was Fary Prince, a bay British Sport Horse gelding (The After Party x Farytale Cooley) bred and owned by Hulme Equestrian and ridden Helen Alliston, with a score of 87.85. That is the fourth-best out of both 5-year-old championships in 2024.

“The main thing with him is that he’s very competitive because of his vibe—so relaxed and just a cool customer,” said Alliston, who was competing in her first YEH West Coast Championships. “The cross country was awesome. It was a great course—challenging but fun and educational. It was fun to feel him gallop a little bit at the end because you don’t get to go that speed at Training level, which he does now.”

The Safe Harbor Award for the most rider-friendly mount went to the gray Zangersheide gelding Cupido Van de Hoge Dijken Z (Campino Gold x Cendrillon de L’herse) ridden by Allyson Hartenburg.

MBF Dig Deep and Andrea Baxter win the 2024 USEA YEH West Coast 4-Year-Old Championship. Photo credit: Tina Fitch Photography

Following her win in the 2023 5-year-old West Coast championship with Camelot PJ (Colman x Hauptstutbuch Evita), Baxter won the 2024 4-year-old West Coast championship with MBF Dig Deep (Golddigger x Amber). She acquired MBF Dig Deep from the Goresbridge Go For Gold auction in Ireland in November 2023, and he came to the United States in February 2024.

“I felt like he was a clear winner from the minute he landed here,” Baxter said. “I didn’t really know he was that nice when I bought him. I bought him as a resale project, but the minute he landed here, I was immediately impressed with him, and he instantly got taken off the roster of for sale.”

However, Baxter said that she didn’t fully start training and competing the bay Dutch Warmblood gelding until August after her five-star mare Indy 500 (Cromwell x Tensofthousands) passed away.

“After ‘Indy’ died, I needed a distraction,” she said. “So, I dragged the feral 4-year-old out of the field to sort of scare some new adrenaline out of me.”
Referred to in the barn as “Dig Deep”—with Baxter explaining that “he’s doesn’t really have a nickname because he’s kind of a serious guy”—he showed how serious he is about eventing.

“He takes on challenges with a positive, forward aggression and doesn’t have a backward bone in his body,” Baxter said.

Their final score of 86.30, third-best out of both 4-year-old championships, included the top jump test and potential score of 61.65 and dressage score of 16.90.
“He is beautiful,” Baxter said. “His conformation is beautiful. He’s a beautiful mover. He’s super, super careful in the show jumping and absolutely brave cross-country. As we all know, that’s what we’re looking for in an event horse, so I’m just really excited.”

MBF Dig Deep and Andrea Baxter. Tina Fitch Photography.

It’s been a banner year for Bryan Flynn’s MBF Sporthorses, who also sourced the winner of the USEF/USEA Developing Horse National Championship in the CCI2*YH-S division for 6-year-olds at Morven in Virginia in Starburst (Sligo Candy Boy x Monalease) ridden by Alexandra Knowles.

The 4-year-old West Coast reserve champion was Markonix, a bay Irish Sport Horse gelding (Echonix x High Offley Miss Arko) ridden by Michlynn Sterling and sourced from Gemma Phelan of Beechfield Stables Sport Horses in Ireland.

Three out of the five in the 4-year-old West Coast championship had scores better than 80.00 compared to six out of the 30 in the 4-year-old East Coast championship.
“The quality this year was amazing; it was crazy,” Sterling said. “They’re such better horses for this. I could just feel them growing—the atmosphere and getting in the big arena with the flags and banners and everything, to Adri built a serious test to show their scope and what they can do.”

Sterling rode the most entries in the YEH West Coast Championships with four. She has now competed in four of the five YEH West Coast Championships since they became a standalone event at Twin Rivers starting in 2020 but said this year was particularly meaningful because she has come back from a broken neck sustained in January.
“I ended up with a T1 compression fracture and a brachial plexus injury, so I couldn’t move my left arm,” she said. “To be able to come back, I had to take a deep breath and decided to focus on the young horses this year, as you can see from my record. My goal was to learn how to show them off better and just be better. Andrea Baxter has been a saint in helping me learn how to do that. One thing is having quality horses, but the other is being able to show them off. I really feel like this year I learned how to do that, and they all benefited.”

Sterling echoed the sentiments of those that left Twin Rivers excited about the future eventing prospects of their young horses. “I love this program, and it’s amazing,” she said. “It just teaches the horses and as a rider to go forward and be positive.”

YEH West Coast Championships at Twin Rivers (CA): [Website] [Scores]

2024 Dutta Corp. USEA Young Event Horse West Coast Championships To Bring Together Fascinating Eventing Prospects

By Jonathan Horowitz on Oct 22, 2024 10:00 am -

Andrea Baxter and Camelot PJ. Photo by Tina Fitch Photography

From a warmblood bred by an animal science program at a junior college that usually breeds Quarter Horses to a sibling of a top-three finisher at Badminton in England to the oldest son out of a mare that died in a trailer accident that made international news, it will be a unique, talented, and special group of horses at the 2024 Dutta Corp. USEA Young Event Horse (YEH) West Coast Championships.

One week after That’s Me Z and Tommy Greengard, the 2022 winner of the 5-year-old championship, represented the United States in the FEI WBFSH Eventing World Breeding Championships at Le Lion D’Angers in France, Twin Rivers Ranch in Paso Robles, California, will once again host the West Coast’s championship classes for 4- and 5-year-olds that culminate the year’s YEH Program on October 25-26, along with a Last Chance Qualifier on October 24.

The YEH championships have become a significant step on the ladder that some of the top American eventing prospects are climbing on their way to the highest levels of the sport. With their victory in 2022, “Z” (Take A Chance On Me Z x Venetia) and Greengard secured the prestigious Holekamp/Turner YEH Lion d’Angers Grant as the highest-scoring 5-year-old out of both the East Coast and West Coast championships.

“Both personally as a rider and as a member of the YEH committee, I’ve seen the incredible value that being part of the YEH championships means for their development, and I’m talking about all horses in the standings, not just the ones that place high,” said Andrea Baxter, who has competed in YEH competitions since 2007. “Getting the young horses on a stage that they don’t otherwise get to do and putting the limelight on them, they get such a good experience out of it. It gives everybody a focused goal. It’s teaching the horses to stay in a nice, forward rhythm and pick off the jumps in a confident, rhythmical style that will set them up for future success.”

The Baxter family that has owned and operated Twin Rivers since 2001 has made a significant commitment to growing eventing programs for young horses on the West Coast, including hosting the West Coast championships as a standalone event starting in 2020.

Andrea won the 5-year-old West Coast championship in 2023 with Camelot PJ (Colman x Hauptstutbuch Evita), and she is currently campaigning him, as well as another of her 2023 YEH horses in The Big Easy (Mr Lincoln B x PLS Hippo Q), to top-10 finishes at the two-star level.

Andrea Baxter and MBF Dig Deep. Ride On Photo.

Others from the 2023 5-year-old West Coast championship are also making their mark as 6-year-olds in 2024. Third-place finisher LS Crown Royal (by Comte) was a recent winner at the Preliminary level at Spokane in Washington with Jordan Linstedt. Fourth-place finisher Monbeg Salt Fever (Womanizer x Eden Breeze) won at Preliminary at Archer in Wyoming and competed in the USEF/USEA Developing Horse National Championship in the CCI2*YH-S division for 6-year-olds at Morven in Virginia. Seventh-place finisher HSH Cellesto (Cellestial x Lotte) won the CCI1*-S at Spokane.

Baxter will seek to repeat in the 2024 5-year-old West Coast championship with MBF Insta and will have MBF Dig Deep in the 4-year-old championship.

MBF Dig Deep (Golddigger x Amber) posted the best 4-year-old qualifying score in the country with 88.15 in winning the qualifier at the Twin Rivers Fall International, according to the USEA’s list of horses qualified for the Dutta Corp. USEA YEH Championships.

“I’ve never been so excited about a horse as I am for Dig Deep,” Baxter said afterward. “He’s a super athlete with all the qualities to be a top horse. I bought him as another ‘easy button’ accident, but this horse is the real deal. I’m so excited.”

MBF Insta (Upsilon x Adora Silvi Mia) is one of four 2024 5-year-old West Coast championship entrants that competed in the 2023 4-year-old championship, along with Cobain PJ (Carridam PJ x Evian) ridden by Sigourney Jellins, Cupido Van de Hoge Dijken Z (Campino Gold x Cendrillon de L’herse) ridden by Allyson Hartenburg, and Crockanboy Dancer (Echonix x Ardragh Dancing Queen) ridden by Michlynn Sterling.

In addition to MBF Dig Deep coming into the USEA YEH West Coast Championships with the highest 4-year-old qualifying score, FE Kyoto (Karajan x Zara XXVI) achieved the highest 5-year-old qualifying score of 89.75 in 2024 ridden by Elsa Warble at Shepherd Ranch in California.

Helen Alliston and Fary Prince. Photo by Tina Fitch Photography.

Helen and James Alliston will be competing in the West Coast championships at Twin Rivers for the first time.

“We haven’t had a lot of time to show these 5-year-olds, to be honest, and it’s a nice way to expose them to a big show environment, but it’s in a friendly place that they’ve all schooled at and been to,” Helen said.

Helen will ride Fary Prince (The After Party x Farytale Cooley), who is coming off a win at the Training level at Woodside in California.

“He’s the easiest, most lovely young horse that James or I have ever worked with,” Helen said. “Everything you ask him to do he says yes with a smile on his face. He’s good at everything. We’re all kind of waiting to see a dark side because he’s too perfect right now. We’re really, really excited about him.”

For Fary Prince to be competing in California with Helen is both sentimental and full-circle because he is the oldest son of the his Farytale Cooley (Ustinov Van Elsenham x Bulana) that was ridden in England by Sophie Hulme. Hulme is originally from California and trained with the Allistons before moving to England. Hulme lost “Feyre” and two of her other horses in a tragic trailer accident on the way to their first FEI event together in Scotland in 2021.

“I am so thankful we took embryos off her and I hope that her babies and myself can make her proud and show the world what they missed,” Hulme wrote in a blog post for Glaze & Gordon.
Hulme started Fary Prince before the bay British Sport Horse gelding came from England to the United States as a 4-year-old.

“This is her oldest son, so it’s really cool that this horse is so amazing because it can carry on what could have been his mom’s legacy,” Helen Alliston said.
James’ three entries, the most in the 5-year-old championship, are Balief MBF, Berry, and Konditori. All three have different backgrounds.

Balief MBF (HHS Cornet x Lazio) was the fifth-highest-priced of 64 3-year-olds at the 2023 Goresbridge Go For Gold auction in Ireland, and James acquired the bay Irish Sport Horse mare from her previous owner after she came to the United States.

Sigourney Jellins and Cobain PJ. Ride On Photo.

James acquired Berry (Crelido x Quazimodo VD) via an Internet post by Modesto Junior College, located about an hour’s drive from the Allistons. Modesto Junior College’s animal science program has a breeding program for students. James said that Berry’s dam was a Grand Prix show jumper that was donated to the college as a broodmare after an injury ended her competitive career.

“They breed a few foals for the students to learn about reproduction in horses and looking after the foals, and then they sell the foals on,” James said. “So, that’s how I came about him, and it’s kind of a cool story. They normally breed Quarter Horses and just do one a year, I think, or something like that, but they got donated this really amazing broodmare. They got donated some semen to a 1.60-meter stallion as well, so it’s really nicely bred for show jumping.”

Berry’s name was bestowed on him by the college because his dam was called “Kiwi.”

Konditori (Womanizer x Ruby Roller) shares the same dam as the 2024 third-place finisher at Badminton, Quindiva (by Quintender) ridden by Alexander Bragg. Konditori’s sire is the sire of five-star eventers Cooley Quicksilver ridden by Liz Halliday and CHF Cooliser ridden by Tom McEwen.

Returning to judge the YEH West Coast Championships as he did in 2023 is Christian Schact from Germany, a world-renowned expert on conformation and pedigree. He will be joined in 2024 by Sally Ike from the United States, a member of the 1968 U.S. Olympic team and a licensed judge and course designer for more than 30 years.

On Thursday will be the Last Chance Qualifier judged by Wendy Wergeles. Dressage and conformation evaluations for the championships will take place on Friday, with the jumping tests on the course designed by Adri Doyal on Saturday. On Sunday, Twin Rivers will host the popular and spirited Halloween One Day H.T. and C.T. to culminate the year of eventing at Twin Rivers Ranch.

Full entries for the Dutta Corp. West Coast USEA YEH Championships can be found here.

Milestone Results for Top West Coast Horses and Riders at Woodside

By Jonathan Horowitz on Oct 7, 2024 12:00 pm -

The FEI competition at the 2024 Woodside Fall International on October 4-5 produced the first-ever win by Molly Duda and Disco Traveler at four-star, cemented the comeback by Tamie Smith and Kynan with their second victory in a month at three-star, and represented the third two-star win in a row by Gabriella Ringer and Get Wild as well as the fourth blue ribbon this season at either one-star or Modified by Amber Birtcil and Milagro.

Offering the final short-format FEI competition of the year in California in its final USEA-recognized event of the season with a 25 percent increase in FEI entries from 2023, The Horse Park at Woodside was the stage for moments that the eventing world may look back upon as having a significant impact on the future of some of the top West Coast horses and riders.

CCI4*-S: Duda and Disco Boogie to Four-Star Success

Molly Duda and Disco Traveler. Tina Fitch Photography

It’s been quite a journey for Duda and “Disco” to their first four-star victory. The 20-year-old rider and her 14-year-old bay Oldenburg gelding (Donatelli x Cadence) were in elite company when they made their CCI4*-S debut at Galway in Temecula, California, in March and finished second to Smith and Mai Baum (Loredano x Ramira), the previous year’s winner of the CCI5*-L in Kentucky. They then traveled to Kentucky to compete in the Cosequin Lexington CCI4*-S, followed by a stint overseas as part of the U.S. Eventing European Development Tour.

“Just getting the opportunity to be overseas and experience everything over there was invaluable,” Duda said. “Having the guidance from Tamie, too, over the past few months has been influential, and I just can’t wait to continue to grow and improve.”

The Horse Park at Woodside was the site of the first event Duda and Disco did together in May 2022 when they won at the Training level. On Saturday, they came into cross-country 0.1 points behind Sophia Click and Tarantino 54 (Quattro 7 x Los Argentina), and a quicker round with clear jumping gave them the four-star win with a finishing score of 57.6.

“It feels really good to see the results this weekend,” Duda said. “I think we’ve been working really hard this summer, and it’s always great to see the pieces come together. It also is incredible to think two years ago at Woodside we did our first ever event together at Training level, so it’s pretty unbelievable to be standing here today after winning the four-star.”

Their next target will be their first CCI4*-L at Galway starting on October 31.

CCI3*-S: Smith Keen on Kynan’s Future

Tamie Smith and Kynan. Tina Fitch Photography.

Smith and Kynan followed up their win in the CCI3*-S at the Twin Rivers Fall International in Paso Robles, California, last month with another victory at the level. The five-star-winning rider and the 9-year-old bay Dutch Warmblood gelding (Envoy x Danieta) led after each phase and produced one of just two double-clear cross-country rounds on the course designed by Derek di Grazia. They finished on their dressage score of 27.4.

“He’s been running at four-star level, but we took a step back and reevaluated everything, and sometimes you need to pump the breaks a little bit and figure out,” Smith said. “He’s come out this fall and feels like a different horse. He feels really confident, so I’m really excited to get moving. I did the three-star at Twin, thinking I was going to do the four-star here, and I said I don’t need to push him. I already know he can do it. I just want to see where I’m at. Derek designs both tracks [the CCI3*-S and CCI4*-S at Woodside], and they’re very challenging all the way through.”

Kynan has previously finished in the top-five in three four-stars—at Rebecca Farm in Montana, Twin Rivers, and Galway. Their win in the CCI3*-S at the Twin Rivers Fall International was their first competition in more than four months. Smith said Kynan will move back up to CCI4*-L at Galway where their competition will include Duda and Disco. Duda has been based with Smith in Temecula since returning from Europe.

“I’m coming in the latter of the development; Mickayla Howard really deserves the credit because she’s put all the foundation on Molly, but it’s been fun to be a part of the progression this last year,” Smith said. “It’s been awesome, and she rode fantastic, like it was a picture-perfect round. So, I was really proud of her.”
The other double-clear cross-country in Woodside’s CCI3*-S came from Smith’s other mount at the level, Lillet 3, the four-star-winning 8-year-old dark bay Holsteiner mare (S.I.E.C. Livello x Princess L) on whom Smith began competing this summer.

“It’s been really fun riding her and getting to know her,” Smith said. “She and I are still figuring each other out on the flat and in the show jumping, but on the cross-country, it’s just so right there. We’re both a hand in a glove on cross-country.”

Megan McIver, who rode three horses in the CCI3*-S at Woodside, finished second with the 12-year old grey Holsteiner mare Elle (Con Caletto). They won the CCI3*-L at Rebecca Farm in July.

CCI2*-S: Ringer Can ‘Get Wild’ about Get Wild’s Future

Gabriella Ringer and Get Wild. Tina Fitch Photography.

Ringer, who, like Duda, is 20 years old and a rising star in West Coast eventing, won her third two-star event in a row with Get Wild by leading after each phase and finishing on their dressage score of 23.4. That’s their best finishing score in their nine two-star competitions since March 2023. That was also the best across all of Woodside’s FEI levels.

“This was a great test for us with the terrain here at Woodside, and they provided a really nice big track,” Ringer said. “He went so well in all three phases producing one of the best scores we’ve had at the level and held it all the way to the end for the wire-to-wire win.”

The 12-year-old dark bay Dutch Warmblood gelding (Plot Blue x Cantana) and Ringer were the only pair out of 23 entries, the largest of Woodside’s FEI classes, to finish on their dressage score. There were just five double-clear rounds on William Robertson’s show jumping course and seven on Bert Wood’s two-star cross-country.
“Ace” and Ringer previously won the CCI2*-S at the Twin Rivers Fall International and the CCI2*-L at the Twin Rivers Spring International in 2024.

“He is the horse of a lifetime,” Ringer said. “Moving ahead to the rest of the season, I am looking forward to stepping him up to the Intermediate level at Ram Tap [in Fresno] and ending his season there, giving him some much-deserved time off.”

CCI1*-S: Milagro is Magnificent Again

Amber Birtcil and Milagro. Tina Fitch Photography.

Birtcil has developed a herd of promising young horses from the Netherlands through her Cellar Farm in Petaluma, California, and Milagro is proving to be a standout.
“He’s a little unassuming, like he’s a plain brown horse that doesn’t carry a lot of energy at home, but you take him to a show and he just has such a work ethic and way about him,” Birtcil said. “He really likes to go in and show. He knows the difference between ‘we’re showing’ and ‘we’re schooling.’ He just totally gets the sport, and it makes sense to him. He’s really fun to ride.”

Birtcil debuted the 7-year-old bay Dutch Warmblood gelding (Good Fellow VDL x Easter Uno M) at the Novice level in February. They’ve now collected five total blue ribbons in nine events. They won the Open Modified division at the Woodside Spring Horse Trials when The Horse Park hosted the Laughing Monk Modified Match to spotlight the level that has made a significant impact on the development of event horses and riders.

The Horse Park introduced one-star competition at last year’s Woodside Fall International. This year’s CCI1*-S represented Milagro’s first FEI win, as well as Birtcil’s first since the CCI4*-L at the 2021 Twin Rivers Spring International with Cinzano (Classe VDL x Walta). They were the only pair out of 11 entries to finish on their dressage score, winning with 26.5.

Notable National Results:

Stephanie Goodman and Elwenda DP (Westpoint x Wenderola), the winners of the CCI2*-S at the 2023 Woodside Fall International and victorious in the CCI2*-L at Rebecca Farm in 2024, won for the first time at the Intermediate level, the highest national level offered at the 2024 Woodside Fall International.

Jillian Mader finished first and second at the Preliminary level with Coolrock Wacko Jacko (Jacomar x Lux D) and Cooley Neptune (Beach Ball x Annaghmore Temptress).

The lowest finishing score of the weekend was 11.4 by MaryBeth Young and Juliette, an 11-year-old buckskin mare that is a Morgan and Dutch Harness Horse cross, to win the Senior Novice Rider division. Their dressage test included two 10.0 marks, as well as a 10.0 for their collective marks.

In 2025, The Horse Park at Woodside is scheduled to host the Woodside Spring Horse Trials from May 23-25, the Woodside Summer Horse Trials from August 9-10, and the Woodside Fall International from October 3-5.

Woodside Fall International (CA): [Website] [Results]

Bert Wood Novice Stakes Celebrates ‘Foundational Level of the Sport’

By Jonathan Horowitz on Aug 13, 2024 9:30 am -

Ashley McCaughan and Diassini. Tina Fitch Photography.

The Bert Wood Novice Stakes at the 2024 Woodside Summer Horse Trials brought out what the Novice level of eventing is all about—showcasing promising new horses in the sport, providing young riders with an opportunity to gain foundational experience, and celebrating the adult amateur riders that are an integral part of hosting successful events.

Organizers chose to make one of eventing’s lower levels the marquee of the middle USEA-recognized event of the year at The Horse Park at Woodside. A member of The Horse Park’s board donated $6,000 in prize money to be divided among the Junior Novice Rider, Senior Novice Rider, and Novice Amateur division top finishers, prize money usually associated with eventing’s upper levels. There was a breakfast of bagels, lox, and mimosas served during the show jumping finale in the Laughing Monk Grand Prix Arena on Sunday.

Bert Wood rides Helen Alliston’s four-star horse Ebay in the dressage test ride for the
Bert Wood Novice Stakes at the 2024 Woodside Summer H.T. Tina Fitch Photography.

The showcase level was named after Bert Wood because of the commitment the West Coast-based cross country builder and designer of more than 30 years has made to the lower levels that serve as the foundation of eventing. Plus, the event raised money and awareness for a charity founded by Bert and his wife, Kris—the Cowboy And Rousseau Animal Assistance Fund (CARAAF) that offers financial assistance for families with rescue dogs that have medical needs.

First, it was 16-year-old Ava Eschelman that clinched her first ever blue ribbon in a recognized event in the Junior Novice Rider division aboard Rochambeau after a clear show jumping round moved them into first place to finish on their dressage score of 30.0. The 16-year-old bay Thoroughbred gelding, whose first USEA-recognized event came at the Beginner Novice level at The Spring Event at Woodside in 2014, has previously competed up to the two-star level with Ashley Long. Eschelman started leasing “Bo” in April. This was her first recognized event at the Novice level with jumps up to a height 2 feet 11 inches after six previous events at the Beginner Novice level of 2 feet 7 inches dating back to 2021.

Ava Eschelman and Rochambeau. Tina Fitch Photography.

“He’s such a beautiful and amazing horse, and he’s taught me so much already,” Eschelman said. “I’m so excited for our partnership together. He’s good in every way. He’s such a fantastic jumper and competitor. He’s definitely quirky in his own ways. He’s just the best.”

Then, Ashley McCaughan won the Senior Novice Rider division in the first recognized event for the well bred Diassini after a clear show jumping round moved them up from third to first to win on their dressage score of 30.0. The 9-year-old bay Holsteiner gelding is by Diarado, the World Breeding Federation for Sport Horse’s leading eventing sire in the world for past two years. He was bred by Georg Schrankl, the same breeder as Helen Alliston’s three-star eventer Call Me Rudi, and the Allistons sourced Diassini for McCaughan from Germany, where he was a show jumper.

“He didn’t know what cross country was until [this weekend], so it was a lot of fun,” McCaughan said. “And, he’s the sweetest piece of sugar in the world—unbelievable. So, this will be really fun.”

Jeanne Carley and Shannondale Fionn. Tina Fitch Photography.

The Bert Wood Novice Stakes concluded with Jeanne Carley capturing the Novice Amateur division with her longtime partner Shannondale Fionn on their dressage score of 30.6.

Carley’s first recognized event came at the Woodside Summer Horse Trials in 2007. “Dale,” a 13-year old bay Irish Sport Horse gelding (Shannondale Sarco St Ghyvan x Shannondale Sacha), was originally produced by five-star eventer Daniel Clasing to a win at the Preliminary level in 2016.

“He took him Prelim in his 5-year-old year—four Prelims first through fourth in every one—he knew he had a brave horse,” Carley said. “I love Daniel. He’s very nice. Tell him if you see him how much I love this horse.”

Starting their partnership in 2017, Carley and Dale won the USEA Classic Series Novice Three-Day at The Event at Rebecca Farm in 2018. The Bert Wood Novice Stakes marked their first blue ribbon since, and Carley drew comparisons between it and the USEA Classic Series in terms of the experience lower-level riders get.

“I picked this sport up in my fifties,” Carley said. “So, just to get a feel of what it’s like to ride upper-level, which I would never do, to do a Three-Day was great. Everybody I meet, I encourage them to do a Three-Day. It gets the horse thinking forward. You get in-barn [exams], you get jogs, you get roads and tracks.”

She said that the Bert Wood Novice Stakes was about “celebrating the level where you’re at and being happy with that,” and added, “I just love the people in eventing, the whole crew. People congratulate you that are in your division but not even at your barn. The whole eventing world is wonderful, really supportive.”

There were 70 entries at the Novice level, making up the largest level and approximately 25 percent of the 271 entries at the 2024 Woodside Summer Horse Trials.

“Novice is really a foundational level of the sport,” Victoria Klein, a member of the Board of Governors of The Horse Park at Woodside, said at Saturday night’s competitor dinner. “We have so many entries, and it’s their participation that allows us to continue year in and year out. So, we wanted to do something to say thank you to the Novice riders.”

Tamie Smith and Lillet 3. Tina Fitch Photography.

Added Steve Roon, Executive Director of The Horse Park: “We’re just so lucky to have this community, and in our minds, it’s just so special. It takes an enormous amount of work to pull off a horse trial, and anyone who participates is generally appreciative. They know what it takes, and nobody assumes or takes it for granted. There’s this marvelous upswelling of appreciation from everybody in what they’ve experienced being able to compete here at The Horse Park.”

As part of the festivities, Wood rode a dressage test ride for the Novice level aboard Ebay, a winner at the four-star level and the Advanced champion at the 2022 American Eventing Championships with Helen Alliston.

“That’s the first time I’ve ever really had fun riding in a dressage test,” Wood joked. They scored 32.0, which would have put them in third in the Novice Amateur division.

“That’s my favorite level,” Wood said about Novice. “That’s where everyone starts out. That’s where everyone has the most fun.”

There was also a five-star connection with the Novice level at the 2024 Woodside Summer Horse Trials. As soon as she finished cross-country to win the Intermediate level with Lillet 3, Tamie Smith, the CCI5*-L champion at the 2023 Kentucky Three-Day Event, hopped on Kareena K to win the Open Novice division.

“Lillet” won the CCI4*-S at Kristianstad in Sweden with German Olympian Andreas Dibowski this spring before being purchased by Molly Duda, the 2023 USEA Young Rider of the Year, for Smith to ride. Smith and the 8-year-old dark bay Holsteiner mare (S.I.E.C. Livello x Princess L) have now won their first two events together, debuting with a victory at the Preliminary level at Rebecca.

“I feel very fortunate to have [the Dudas] part of the team and equally having found a horse like Lillet is even more exciting,” Smith said. “I will plan to spend the rest of the season at three-star level and aim for a long format this fall. This is my second show on her. We are still getting to know each other, but I will say she already feels like my partner.”

Smith said that “Kareena” (Cash and Carry x Namur III) reminds her of Solaguayre California (Casparo x Solaguayre Calandria), with whom Smith won the robust CCI4*-L at the 2022 Morven Park Fall International. Both mares are owned by Julianne Guariglia.

Tamie Smith and Kareena K. Tina Fitch Photography.

“She is a spitting image of her and has so many traits that ‘California’ had,” Smith said. “So, it’s a bittersweet feeling to be able to ride another special mare.”

Smith also praised Wood at the competitor dinner, saying, “I’ve been fortunate enough to be able to ride so many courses all throughout the world, and there’s nobody like Bert Wood who builds these tracks.”

At the same time, Wood makes sure to credit his dedicated team of cross-country builders, which included David Cathcart, Dwight Weinberg, and Glen Wood at Woodside.

“There’s no one person in this sport,” he said. “You’ve got to have opportunities and a team. They’re awesome. I can’t do it without them.” Following the Woodside Summer Horse Trials, the Woodside Fall International will take place from October 4-6 with short-format FEI levels offered up to four-star, along with national levels from Starter through Intermediate.

“One of the great things as I reflect back on these two days of competition at The Horse Park is all of the marvelous people that have worked so hard with their horses to be here and be able to compete, and it’s the joy you see in their faces as they finish their rounds,” Roon said. “It was the same for the people in Starter as it was for Intermediate. Eventing is very special in the equine disciplines, not only because of the versatility of the horse and rider to deal with the three different phases, but it puts a huge premium on the relationship between horse and rider as well.”

To view full results from Woodside’s Summer H.T., click here.

Bert Wood Novice Stakes To Be Featured at 2024 Woodside Summer Horse Trials

By Jonathan Horowitz on Jul 2, 2024 12:30 pm -

A Novice rider on the cross-country course at the 2023 Woodside Spring H.T.
The Bert Wood Novice Stakes will spotlight the level at the 2024 Woodside Summer H.T. Tina Fitch Photography.

The Bert Wood Novice Stakes will bring FEI-level prize money and a big-event atmosphere to eventing’s Novice level, as well as honor the extensive contributions that cross-country builder and designer Bert Wood has made on the sport, at the Woodside Summer Horse Trials from August 9-11.
Entries opened on June 25 and will close on July 23 for the second of three USEA-recognized events that will take place at The Horse Park at Woodside in California in 2024.

“The Horse Park has always been committed to the ongoing development of horse and rider in the sport of eventing,” said Steve Roon, Executive Director of The Horse Park at Woodside. “Each level has its own unique set of challenges that are a step-up from the previous level in terms of the height of jumps and complexity and precision of movements, and we want to honor how proud we at The Horse Park are of the dedication of riders and horses at each level of eventing. It doesn’t just magically happen, so we need to celebrate the work that got them there.”

The first event of the year at The Horse Park, the Woodside Spring Horse Trials from May 24-26, was highlighted by the inaugural Laughing Monk Modified Match. Modified Horse and Modified Rider divisions served as the event’s showcase classes, putting the spotlight on the Modified level that serves as a key stepping stone for horses and riders moving from eventing’s lower to upper levels.

Bert Wood. Victoria Klein photo.

The Horse Park’s final event of the year, the Woodside Fall International from October 4-6, will feature FEI competition up to the four-star level.

Organizers decided to make Novice the showcase level of the Woodside Summer Horse Trials to celebrate one of the lower levels of eventing that serves as a backbone for the sport. And, naming the Novice Stakes after Wood was a natural fit for the team at The Horse Park.

“What I appreciate is that he cares as much about the lower levels as the upper level,” said Victoria Klein, who serves on the Board of Governors of The Horse Park at Woodside. “He knows that the upper levels get taken care of, and he recognizes that it’s the lower levels that really support this whole sport. There are a multitude of entries that make it work, and he really wants to always give to them in the design and the interest of the jumps as best he can.”

The Bert Wood Novice Stakes will feature a total purse of $6,000 divided among the Amateur and Junior and Senior Novice Rider divisions. There will be a breakfast of bagels, lox, and mimosas served during show jumping in the Laughing Monk Grand Prix Arena on the Sunday of the competition. The event will also bring awareness to a charity founded by Bert and his wife, Kris—the Cowboy And Rousseau Animal Assistance Fund (CARAAF) that offers financial assistance for families with rescue dogs that have medical needs.

Victoria Klein (left) and Steve Roon of The Horse Park at Woodside honor the
contributions of Woodside’s cross-country building crew led by Bert Wood.
Tina Fitch Photography.

The knowledge Wood has brought to cross-country building and design over three decades in the sport is rooted in working with some of the giants of eventing: from Pete Costello, the first four-star (now five-star) builder at the Kentucky Three-Day Event; to apprenticing in England with Mike Etheringon-Smith, the cross-country designer for multiple five-stars and Olympics; to working alongside David Evans, Derek di Grazia, Captain Mark Phillips, Ian Stark, and more.

“We’re at 30 years of Bert building and designing on the West Coast,” Klein said. “I’m really happy to recognize this landmark and show him some well-deserved appreciation for what he’s done for eventing in the West. I’m not sure how many people know that he has built and designed at every venue in California and many beyond. He started many of the courses from dirt, such as Rebecca Farm, Twin Rivers, and Copper Meadows. When The Horse Park at Woodside reopened in 2005, he was starting the cross-country courses again from scratch for us. I’m also excited about celebrating and recognizing the true foundation of our competitions—the Novice level. I think the two recognitions are perfectly suited for each other. And who doesn’t like money purses, bagels, lox, and mimosas?”

The Woodside Summer Horse Trials will offer competition from Starter through Intermediate. There will also be team challenges for adult, intercollegiate, and interscholastic eventers.

Alliston’s Busy Weekend, Braitling’s Return with 5* Mount, and Kalkman’s Advanced Victory Highlight Twin Rivers Summer H.T.

By Jonathan Horowitz on Jul 1, 2024 9:30 am -

James Alliston and Addyson. Photo by Ride On Photo.

As he was finishing tacking up his horse in preparation to navigate the cross country course at the 2024 Twin Rivers Summer Horse Trials, James Alliston expressed concern about navigating the 101 Freeway. That’s because as soon as he crossed the finish line aboard Intermediate level winner Addyson (Ampere x Nickerbocker) at 10:38 a.m. on Saturday—his fifth cross-country round of the morning with three at Preliminary and two at Intermediate—the West Coast-based CCI5* rider had to drive 185 miles on the 101 Freeway from Twin Rivers Ranch in Paso Robles, CA, to San Francisco International Airport to catch a 4:35 p.m. flight to Frankfurt, Germany.

“One thing at a time,” Alliston said.

In Germany, Alliston is scheduled to reunite with Karma (Escudo II x Travita), with whom he won the U.S. Olympic Team’s mandatory outing at the Stable View Summer H.T. in South Carolina one week prior, to be part of the Defender U.S. Eventing Team at the CHIO Aachen CCIO4*-S to be held from July 1-7.

“It’s exciting, and I’m really looking forward to it,” Alliston said. “I’ve not done that show, but everyone says it’s an incredible show. Cross country is very hard, I think, but the mandatory outing was a nice preparation.”

It’s certainly a robust time for Alliston, and the team at Twin Rivers ensured that it could be a productive event for him to ride five of his up-and-comers during a quick return to his home state before going back on the road.

“We created this weekend’s schedule to allow James to compete his five horses before flying to Germany,” Twin Rivers secretary Christina Gray of Gray Area Events said. “As a rider that is always so supportive of this venue, it was important for us to support him in keeping his horses and business going while chasing his team goals. We wish him the best of luck in Aachen.”

James Alliston and Addyson. Photo by Ride On Photo.

The Intermediate level won by Alliston and Addyson, a 13-year-old bay Oldenburg mare, with the quickest cross country round at the level was a who’s who of the best West Coast eventers. In second place were Twin Rivers-based Australian international rider Bec Braitling aboard Caravaggio II (Vangelis-S x Courtesan) in their first event since completing their first 5* together and Braitling’s first five-star in more than two decades at the 2024 Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event.

“I thought that would be nice for him after Kentucky,” Braitling said about the first Intermediate that she and “Ernie” have done since 2022. “And at home, he’s always relaxed running here, so I thought that would be kind of fun. He felt just as fun as ever. After how nervous you get at the big ones, then this just felt so relaxed. I was like, ‘Don’t be too relaxed. You still got to ride around, you know.’ So, that was a good reminder. It was a great gallop. The ground was great. The course was really
educational. So, it was actually a really good run.”

Braitling said that she and Arnell Sporthorses’13-year-old black British Sport Horse gelding will next compete in the CCI4*-S at The Event at Rebecca Farm in Montana and aim for the Maryland 5 Star at Fair Hill in October.

Bec Braitling and Caravaggio II. Photo by Ride On Photo.

“So, this was a good ‘welcome back from Kentucky’ but also ‘get ready for Rebecca,’” Braitling said.

Finishing third at Intermediate was 2023 Kentucky 5* winner Tamie Smith aboard Sumas Tina Turner (Quantino x Sumas Fanny Brice). Smith took over the mount on “Tina” this year after Julianne Guariglia’s 8-year-old chestnut Irish Sport Horse mare was previously campaigned at the two- and three-star levels in Europe by Australian riders Isabel English and Kevin McNab.

“It takes a good solid 12 months to get a really good partnership with them,” said Smith, who also rode Pierre’s Farceur du Bochard (Con Air x Ariane du Bochard) at Intermediate as part of their first year competing together. “The horses I feel like gain confidence when they have a partnership with the rider, and it just takes time. Tina had done quite a bit in her early stage, Pierre not so much, and so I’ve just decided to keep them both at the level. I feel like I’ll be at that level for a bit until I have the partnership with them where they’re not asking questions so much.”

The highest level offered at the Twin Rivers Summer H.T. was Advanced, and Renee Kalkman, who came to Paso Robles from British Columbia, Canada, won with her 13-year-old chestnut Thoroughbred gelding Flame Eternal (Flammabull x Silmarillion).

Renee Kalkman and Flame Eternal. Photo by Ride On Photo.

Kalkman started eventing with “Charlie” after he finished a six-race career with one win in British Columbia, Canada, in 2015.

“Honestly, I kind of bought him sight unseen,” she said. “I had purchased his half-brother, and when I went to pick up his half-brother, I noticed Charlie taking a nap in the stall next to him. I just took a liking to him. I liked his personality and said, ‘If you ever decide to sell this horse, I’ll come back and I’d like to buy him.’ Then, I got notified that he was for sale because, honestly, none of the jockeys could ride him. They told me he wanted to buck and play more on the track than run.”
They quickly progressed to compete in their first FEI event in 2018 and moved up to three-star in 2019. They stepped away from competition when Covid hit until returning in 2023.

“He’s been amazing,” Kalkman said. “He’s never had a cross-country jump fault his whole career. That’s totally his game. He participates. He looks for the flags. It’s his game all day long. He loves it. He’s easy to go quick on because he keeps his balance all the way around the course.”

Renee Kalkman and Flame Eternal. Photo by Ride On Photo.

Twin Rivers’ first USEA Young Event Horse qualifier of the year took place with Brackenspa Valens (Renkum Valentino x Roxsette) and Braitling topping the 5-year-old division. The reigning 5-year-old West Coast champion, Camelot PJ (Colman x Hauptstutbuch Evita), and Andrea Baxter were fifth in the Open Preliminary division won by Get Wild (Plot-Blue x Cantana) and Gabriella Ringer, the winners of the CCI2*-L at this year’s Twin Rivers Spring International.

“This was a pretty serious Prelim course, and they handled it like they’ve done it a million times,” said Baxter, who also rode youngsters The Big Easy (Mr Lincoln B x PLS Hippo Q) and Adventure (Avos Jordan Z x Rockmount Lillie) to top-10 finishes out of 19 in the Open Preliminary division.

Twin Rivers Ranch will next host the Twin Rivers Fall International from September 19-22. Then, the Dutta Corp. USEA Young Event Horse West Coast Championships will take place on October 25-26.

Twin Rivers Summer H.T. (Paso Robles, CA): [Website] [Results]

Woodside Spring Horse Trials Spotlight Development of Eventing’s Future Stars

By Jonathan Horowitz on May 29, 2024 10:00 am -

Patrons take in the Modified Match competition put on by Laughing Monk Brewery. Photo credit: Tina Fitch Photography

The Horse Park at Woodside created a five-star atmosphere for the inaugural Laughing Monk Modified Match that took place at the 2024 Woodside Spring Horse Trials. The goal of the Modified Match was to spotlight the Modified level that was introduced to competition at The Horse Park in 2023 and has made a significant impact on the progression of eventing’s rising stars since the level was introduced to the sport in 2017.

Amber Birtcil and Milagro (Good Fellow VDL x Easter) won the Modified Match Horse Challenge (31.6 finishing score) for their fourth blue ribbon in a row in the horse’s first year of eventing, and Sophie Tice and Viva La Vida (Versache x Daydream) captured the Modified Match Rider Challenge (26.0) after finishing second in The Horse Park’s inaugural Modified level held at the 2023 Woodside Summer Horse Trials. Approximately 450 spectators enjoyed Saturday night’s competitor dinner that took place in conjunction with the show jumping rounds that decided the Modified Match.

In addition, Taren Hoffos and Master Class (Cree x Night Destiny) captured the challenging Advanced level (71.0) in a victory that Hoffos said she hopes will be a stepping stone to future success at the four and five-star levels. Elsa Warble and FE Unlimited (Uriko x Viona III) followed up their success in the CCI3*-S at the Twin Rivers Spring International with a win in Woodside’s Intermediate level (35.6).

Stephanie Goodman and Elwenda DP (Westpoint x Wenderola P), the CCI2*-S winners at the 2023 Woodside Fall International, won the Open Preliminary division (22.5), and Whitney Tucker Billeter and NC Sky High (Afellay Z x Fandawest Titans Sky), a new partnership in 2024, won the Preliminary Rider division (24.9).
There were a total of 347 competitors across 22 divisions from Starter to Advanced, and a waitlist was needed for the first time in many years, according to organizers.

FROM THE WINNERS

Laughing Monk Modified Match Horse winner Amber Birtcil and Milagro with, from right to left, Victoria Klein and
Steve Roon from The Horse Park at Woodside and Sam Ghadiri from Laughing Monk Brewing. Photo credit: Tina Fitch Photography

MODIFIED MATCH HORSE – Amber Birtcil about Milagro, a 7-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding:
“The Modified Match is such a fun showcase for bringing horses up the levels. As it is, the Modified has been such a fantastic addition to our sport. Being able to showcase young horses in a feature class like this really helps with their education.
“I imported Milagro from Holland last fall where he had done the 1.10-meter jumpers previously. I didn’t start eventing him until this spring where he has really thrived. This will be his fourth win in a row, as he is turning into quite the competitor. ‘Mike,’ as we call him, has really been a joy to work with. I truly love
getting to ride and develop him and am planning a move up to Prelim later this year with hopes of keeping him for a bit for myself to ride.
“Woodside does such a superb job of putting on a well-run and beautiful event. I look forward to returning this fall to hopefully add another ribbon to Mike’s winning record.”

Laughing Monk Modified Match Rider winner Sophie Tice and Viva La Vida.
Photo credit: Tina Fitch Photography

MODIFIED MATCH RIDER – Sophie Tice about Viva La Vida, a 7-year-old Oldenburg mare:
“The Modified Match at Woodside was an incredible experience for Viva La Vida and me. Having a competition that is willing to hold a division that creates this kind of atmosphere is so beneficial to both the riders and the horses competing. This division was a big test to see how my young horse would handle such a huge atmosphere and the fatigue of stadium jumping after cross country, but I felt that she rose to the occasion in every way possible. ‘Viva’ gave me a very rideable dressage test, brave cross country, and super careful stadium round. I couldn’t be happier with how she performed and the professionalism she displayed on a bigger stage.

“Helen and James Alliston helped me acquire Viva in June of 2020 from Garyn Heidemann in Washington. She was turning 3 and just broke, but Garyn described her as one of the best-minded young horses she had come across. I had never personally trained a young horse from scratch and was very anxious to see if I had the knowledge and ability to do so successfully. Prior to Viva, I had only ridden a very experienced horse at the upper levels [Mojo]. With the incredible guidance from the Allistons, Viva is now successfully competing at the Modified level. She is incredibly smart, trainable, and, as red-headed mares can be, passionate about her job. I’m so grateful to have found a young horse that has made this development process so fun and educational. When it comes to the future with Viva, I plan on taking our time, listening to her, and enjoying the journey of progressing a young horse up the levels of eventing. Maintaining her confidence and joy for the sport is the most important goal for me.”

Taren Hoffos and Master Class. Photo credit: Tina Fitch Photography

ADVANCED – Taren Hoffos about Master Class, a 15-year-old Canadian Warmblood gelding:
“‘Chester’ was a true champion. I’m so proud of him. We’ve been working hard on our dressage, which he finds hard, so I was pleased with a sub-40 score to start off the show. His canter work was better than his trot work for the first time ever, which gives me a lot of hope for the future. Credit for the gentle upswing in our scores goes to my dressage coach at home, Tiffany Silverman, who has given me lots of great insight into how to ride the big, sensitive guy.

“Cross-country was truly the best thing. I walked the course and was pretty intimidated with the size and questions out there. I’ve never ridden a tougher track. Luckily, he’s as brave as they come and very honest, so I know that if I do my job, he’ll do his. I felt like I rode decisively and bravely, and he answered all the questions just as he should have. I’m still riding the high of that round!

“Show jumping was fun, another super tough track, but I feel so confident riding him. He makes the jumps feel easy. He was quite rideable but definitely a little tired; I think one rail was mine and two were his. He doesn’t have the most conventional style, so a lot of the show jumping is keeping the rideability,
which was a little hard with him feeling the task from the day before.

“Overall, I’m thrilled. This is our fourth Advanced together and certainly the hardest challenge we’ve had. I feel so confident for my future plan of running the CCI4*-S at Rebecca Farm this July, and the CCI-4*L at Galway Downs in the fall. Plan A looks like a trip to Kentucky for the CCI4*-S next April, the CCI4*L- at Rebecca Farm 2025, and then the CCI5*-L at Maryland next October. Fingers, eyes, and toes all crossed for the big guy to stay happy and healthy!”

Elsa Warble and FE Unlimited. Tina Fitch Photography

INTERMEDIATE – Elsa Warble about FE Unlimited, a 10-year-old bay Holsteiner gelding:
“Thrilling to win at our home event, one exit down the highway. I’m so proud of ‘Axel’ and all the work we’ve put in to get here. I’m so glad he got the recognition he deserves; he’s my horse of a lifetime. Of course, there are things to improve on, especially in dressage, but it was exactly what we hoped for—a confidence-building weekend and the win was the cherry on top. A big thank you to everyone who supports us, especially my coach Mickayla Howard, and my parents who make all of this possible. And also The Horse Park for putting on such a great event. We are looking forward to Aspen indditio a couple weeks, and if everything goes to plan, perhaps a trip to the East Coast in the fall!”

FROM THE ORGANIZERS

Steve Roon, Executive Director of The Horse Park at Woodside:
“The inaugural Laughing Monk Modified Match represents the growing commitment The Horse Park at Woodside has to the level we introduced last year, along with the addition of a CCI1*-S we ran for the first time at the Woodside Fall International. It represents a stepping stone between the lower and upper levels of eventing that’s approachable for a lot more members of our sport. Plus, we place a huge emphasis on the experience horses and riders can take away from our events, so our goal was to highlight the level as our signature show jumping class with a five-star presentation for horses, riders, and spectators is a way we felt we could make a positive impact for the sport. We’re so pleased with the execution and response. This wouldn’t have been possible without the support of Laughing Monk Brewing and the dedication of all involved.

“In addition, we appreciate the turnout across all levels for a capacity show. It’s the first time in years that we’ve had a waitlist at one of our shows or seen a waitlist for a show in Area VI. We also appreciate that the USEA sent Margaret Marcus so that we could test their ShowConnect event management system at our event and provide feedback that will be helpful in enhancing the platform developed by the sport’s governing body. As a facility, The Horse Park at Woodside could not operate without Fernando Ramirez and his marvelous crew. They once again showed their dedication and commitment during this very busy weekend.”
Victoria Klein, Board of Governors of The Horse Park at Woodside:

“Eventing at The Horse Park at Woodside wouldn’t be possible without the local eventing community, and we pride ourselves on the fact that the events we host are truly community events. Because of the community support, we’ve been able to build new show jumps and cross-country fences. We’re committed to presenting them in the most effective way for the growth of our horses and riders thanks to expertise of cross-country designers Derek di Grazia and Bert Wood, along with their team of builders, and show jump designer William Robertson. Plus, Christina Gray and her team from Gray Area Events are essential to our success with all they do to run our horse trials that continue to get bigger and bigger. We’re grateful to play a significant role in how important the West Coast is to the sport of eventing as a whole in the United States.”

Amber Birtcil and Milagro. Tina Fitch Photography

THE MODIFIED LEVEL

After approval of what would become eventing’s seventh recognized level by the USEA Board of Governors in 2016, the first Modified competitions with jumps at the height of 3 feet, 5 inches were held in 2017, attracting a total of 28 starters. According to a study by the publication Eventing Nation, the number of Modified starters increased tenfold to 321 in 2018 and was 1,555 in 2022 when the level celebrated its five-year anniversary.

Four eventing venues in California now offer Modified, with The Horse Park at Woodside introducing the level at the 2023 Woodside Summer Horse Trials. Nadia Vogt and Castle Larchfield Purdy (Karistos x Hallo Purdy) won, a stepping stone for a new partnership at the time made up of a 17-year-old rider that had previously competed up to Training and a 21-year-old horse that had represented Puerto Rico at two Olympics with Lauren Billys Shady

LOOKING AHEAD

The Horse Park will next host the Woodside Summer Horse Trials from August 9-11. In addition to national levels offered from Starter through Advanced-Intermediate, there will be team challenges for adult, intercollegiate, and interscholastic eventers.

Then, the Woodside Fall International will take place from October 4-6 with short-format FEI levels offered from one-star through four-star, along with national levels from Starter through Intermediate. The CCI3*-S and CCI4*-S will be part of the 2024 USEF Futures Team Challenge, matching Team Bobby, led by U.S. Chef d’Equipe/Technical Advisor Bobby Costello, against Team Leslie, led by U.S. Emerging and Development Coach Leslie Law. The goal of the USEF Futures Team Challenge is to provide riders with an experience through education and competition that will prepare them to represent America on senior national teams.

Woodside Spring H.T. (Woodside, CA) [Website] [Results]

The full list of winners from the 2024 Woodside Spring Horse Trials:

Laughing Monk Modified Match Horse: Amber Birtcil and Milagro (31.6)
Laughing Monk Modified Match Rider: Sophie Tice and Viva La Vida (26.0)
Advanced: Taren Hoffos and Master Class (71.0)
Open Intermediate: Elsa Warble and FE Unlimited (35.6)
Open Preliminary: Stephanie Goodman and Elwenda DP (22.5)
Preliminary Rider: Whitney Tucker Billeter and NC Sky High (24.9)
Open Modified: Lauren Burnell and Freedom Hill (28.3)
Open Training: Megan McIver and Patito (27.8)
Training Rider: Paige Beauchamp Crandon and Fyfin Ramiro (28.6)
Training Amateur: Ruth Bley and Claas (23.6)
Open Novice: Elsa Warble and FE Kyoto (22.8)
Jr. Novice Rider: Sophie McCanna and Fernhill Vanguard (25.8)
Sr. Novice Rider: Karen Horn and My Mitch (26.9)
Novice Amateur: Nicci Guzzetta and Little Richard (29.4)
Open Beginner Novice: Tommy Greengard and Optimistic Sol (22.8)
Jr. Beginner Novice Rider A: Emma De Vos Benavente and Cat Ballou (25.6)
Jr. Beginner Novice Rider B: Lauren Kingel and When Starz Align (26.7)
Sr. Beginner Novice Rider A: Keri Simpson and Rocket Man (30.6)
Sr. Beginner Novice Rider B: Richene Havrilla and Razzmatazz (28.7)
Open Starter A: Sophia Kuzma and Valentine (20.3)
Open Starter B: Chloe Kischuk and Take That (21.7)
Open Starter C: Charlisse Weintraub and Tango Kitten (30.0)

Modified Match To Be Introduced at 2024 Woodside Spring Horse Trials

By Jonathan Horowitz on May 7, 2024 9:30 am -

Nadia Vogt and Castle Larchfield Purdy. Photo by Tina Fitch Photography.

After the first competition at Modified was held at The Horse Park at Woodside in California in 2023, the level will be under an even bigger spotlight with the Modified Match that will be offered at the 2024 Woodside Spring Horse Trials that will take place from May 24-26.

The Modified Match will bring additional prestige, as well as prize money, to the level that is making a positive difference on the development of event horses and riders.

“The Modified is a really important level because it allows horse-and-rider combinations to make a more gradual transition from the lower to the upper levels of the sport in a much more predictable and safer way,” said Steve Roon, Executive Director of The Horse Park at Woodside.

The Modified Match will offer Horse and Rider divisions. Dressage will take place on Friday, May 24, in a large dressage ring with two judges—something that would typically be seen at championships or FEI levels. Cross-country will be on Saturday morning, May 25, and then show jumping will conclude the level later that night in conjunction with the Modified Match Dinner next to the Laughing Monk Arena. In addition to FEI-style ribbons and prizes, there will be prize money that starts at $1,000 per division with an additional $100 per rider added to make up the total amount. (There will also be “regular” Modified competition offered at the Woodside Spring Horse Trials.)

“For The Horse Park, we feel that the level is important enough that it should be highlighted in a special way during our May horse trials and doing it late in the afternoon as our signature show jumping class as we’re also having an arena-side reception to really enhance the spectator experience for both spectators and riders as well,” Roon said.

After approval of what would become eventing’s seventh recognized level by the USEA Board of Governors in 2016, the first Modified competitions with jumps at the height of 3 feet 5 inches were held in 2017, attracting a total of 28 starters. The number of Modified starters increased tenfold to 321 in 2018 and was 1,555 in 2022 when the level celebrated its five-year anniversary.

“Historically, the gap between Training (3 feet 3 inches) and Prelim (3 feet 7 inches) was significant and caused issues for horse-and-rider combinations as they tried to leap that gap,” Roon said. “The other great thing about Modified is that it’s a level that’s approachable for a lot more members of the sport.”
Four eventing venues in California now offer Modified, with The Horse Park at Woodside introducing the level at the 2023 Woodside Summer Horse Trials. Nadia Vogt and Castle Larchfield Purdy (Karistos x Hallo Purdy) won, a stepping stone for a new partnership at the time made up of a 17-year-old rider that had previously competed up to Training and a 21-year-old horse that had represented Puerto Rico at two Olympics with Lauren Billys Shady.

“The cross-country was great,” Vogt said after the victory on her dressage score of 29.5. “I’ve never done Prelim, but I thought it was a very good step-up for Prelim. I like that it followed the Preliminary track, and the course rode really nicely. There were a lot of open spots to gallop. The jumps were really nice, big, and bold.”

Vogt’s observations were what the team at The Horse Park at Woodside had in mind when tasking Bert Wood to design and build a Modified cross-country course.
“It rode beautifully; people said it looked ominous, but then afterward they came off satisfied and had a great sense of accomplishment because it rode well and was so aligned with the Preliminary course that it was a good test to get them ready for that,” said Victoria Klein, who serves on the Board of Governors of The Horse Park at Woodside.

After winning Woodside’s inaugural Modified in what was their second event together, Vogt and “Purdy” did their first FEI competitions at the one-star level that complements Modified to conclude their first season together. They have moved up to Preliminary in 2024, a testament to the role the Modified level plays in the progression through eventing’s levels. With the eventing community’s support, the Modified and one-star levels have become a significant part of the vision for the sport at The Horse Park at Woodside.

“Building the Modified course was only possible through the donations of many of our riders,” Klein said. “I enjoy seeing the many jump plaques that acknowledge their commitment to our sport.”

Entries for the Woodside Spring Horse Trials close TODAY, May 7. In addition, The Horse Park will also host the Woodside Summer Horse Trials from August 9-11 and the Woodside Fall International with FEI levels offered from October 4-6. For more information, visit the Woodside website here.

First FEI Victories and Final Preps for 5* Hopefuls Highlight 2024 Twin Rivers Spring International

By Jonathan Horowitz on Apr 15, 2024 12:30 pm -

James Alliston and Paper Jam. Photo by Ride On Photo.

Veterans and young riders shined at the 2024 Twin Rivers Spring International in Paso Robles, California, during the event from April 11-14.

As they look ahead to five-star competition in the Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event in two weeks, James Alliston won the CCI4*-S with Paper Jam and the Advanced level with Karma, and Bec Braitling and Caravaggio II had their prep as the only competitors in a special five-star combined test that was offered during the first of the two international events to be held at Twin Rivers Ranch in 2024.

Young riders Elsa Warble, Gabriella Ringer, and Mackenzie Davison won their first FEI events. Warble, 16, captured the CCI3*-S with FE Unlimited. Ringer, 20, won the CCI2*-L with Get Wild. Davison, 21, captured the CCI1*-L in her FEI debut with Lockdown JPL.

In addition, the CCI3*-L victory by Erin Grandia and Hyacinth marked the first victory in an FEI level for Grandia, who made her international debut in 2007. Megan McIver and Igor B won their second CCI2*-S in a row following victory at the Galway Downs International Horse Trials in Temecula, California.

THE VETERANS

James Alliston and Paper Jam. Photo by Ride On Photo.

The victory by Paper Jam in the CCI4*-S represented the first win for the 15-year-old chestnut Hanoverian gelding out of a Thoroughbred dam (Paparazzo x Reely Jamin) since the CCI4*-L at Galway in November 2022. After not competing in 2023 because of an injury, Alliston is now eyeing a return to the five-star in Lexington following the four-star victory at Twin Rivers on a final score 43.7 that saw them add just one rail in show jumping and time penalties to their dressage score. Alliston will also point the 10-year-old bay Oldenburg mare Karma (Escudo II x Travita) to her first CCI5*-L in Kentucky following a win at Advanced at Twin Rivers that saw them jump clear and add just one second of time in show jumping for a finishing score 35.0.

“They were both really good,” Alliston said. “It was a great course for a final Kentucky prep, and I was happy with how they felt.”

Because of heavy rain on Saturday, organizers moved the FEI cross-country rounds up to Friday, and all FEI show jumping rounds took place on Saturday.

“Conditions were tough today in the show jumping with all the rain, but they performed real well and I was very happy,” Alliston said. “Many thanks to the Baxter family and Twin Rivers for changing the schedule around to give the horses the best conditions possible and avoid doing [cross-country] in the worst weather.”

Paper Jam and Karma will be joined in Lexington by Caravaggio II and Bec Braitling, who did the five star combined test at Twin Rivers with a dressage score of 45.4 and had one rail and three seconds of time penalties in show jumping. Braitling and Arnell Sporthorses’ 13-year-old black British Sport Horse gelding (Vangelis-S x Courtesan) also did the dressage test ride for the four-star competition. Braitling said she approached the weekend from a strategic standpoint.

Bec Braitling and Caravaggio. Photo by Ride On Photo.

“All systems go!” she said. “My score on the flat wasn’t amazing as I decided to school some canter walks in the test instead of the four changes. It was great to get in the ring and ride the test in a show setting. Also the XC was about to start, so he was for sure conflicted which phase he was REALLY supposed to be doing! He jumped SUPER in the very wet conditions. I’m excited!”

In the CCI3*-L, Hyacinth and Grandia relished the move-up in level for their first win as a pair and her first victory in her 19th FEI event dating back to 2007. (Hyacinth’s previous victory in a USEA recognized event came at the Preliminary level at Aspen in Washington in 2021 with Erin’s husband, Marc.)

“Winning at Twin Rivers was extra special because my husband, Marc, and I base our business here for two months every spring, so it really feels like a win on home turf,” Erin said.

Erin Grandia and Hyacinth. Photo by Ride On Photo.

Hyacinth was second after a dressage score of 31.3, jumped clear with eight seconds of time penalties to move into the lead after cross-country, and added one rail in show jumping to finish with a winning score of 38.5.

“Hyacinth is really a long format type horse,” she said. “She is a strong galloper, so having that extra time and space to let her go a bit more was a great feeling. She’s so brave on cross-country and she makes it feel like she’ll jump anything she’s pointed at. The show jumping has always been our hardest phase and we’ve worked really hard on strategies to keep the rails up, so I was really happy with how she jumped today, too.”

Grandia, who took over ownership of Hyacinth in 2024, said she will point the gray Dutch Warmblood mare (Contendro I x Vesper) to the CCI3*-S at Aspen in June.
“I want to give a special thank you to her breeder, Jessica Rosch, who was a great supporter and owner for me for several years before allowing me the opportunity to take over ownership of Hyacinth this year,” she said.

Two weeks after winning the CCI2*-S at Galway, McIver and Igor B won the same level at Twin, finishing on their dressage score of 30.6. The 11-year-old chestnut Dutch Warmblood gelding (Vittorio x Erica B) is now based in California after competing up to the four-star level with Kristina Hall Jackson in Great Britain.
“One of my amazing owners, Leo Wang, purchased him for me as a next step for my career goals,” McIver said. “It feels as if the sky is the limit with him, and he has made quite the impression so far Stateside with back-to-back two-star wins at Galway and now Twin.”

McIver said she will move up “Rupert” to Intermediate and then three-star at Rebecca Farm in Montana.

“He is quite an exciting horse for the future,” she said. “Our partnership is relatively new. I’ve only had him here in the U.S. for two months. But, we seem to just be cracking on as a team.”

THE YOUNG RIDERS

Elsa Warble and FE Unlimited. Photo by Ride On Photo.

In the CCI3*-S, Warble and FE Unlimited were second after a dressage score of 32.0 behind the 2022 USEA Young Event Horse 5-year-old West Coast champion That’s Me Z (Take A Chance On Me Z x Venetia).

“Coming out of the court after our dressage test was a really special moment because it was one of our best tests yet, and I know there is still a lot of room to grow,” Warble said.

Then, the 16-year-old rider and 10-year-old bay Holsteiner gelding (Uriko x Viona III) moved into the lead by jumping clear on cross-country with the second-fastest round, adding just two seconds of time penalties. They were double clear in show jumping to win with a score of 32.8. McIver and Elle (Con Caletto x Vamp’s Tude) were second after also finishing second in the CCI3*-S at Galway.

“It means the world to me to win on ‘Axel,’” Warble said. “He truly is my horse of a lifetime. It’s been a couple of years in the making and to have all the pieces come together at Twin with all the people who have been there supporting me along the way—Mickayla Howard, Bec Braitling, and Tamie Smith just to name a few—along with the whole West Coast eventing community was really special.”

Gabriella Ringer and Get Wild. Photo by Ride On Photo.

This same event in 2018—then known as the Twin Rivers CCI, CIC & H.T.—marked the first competition together for Ringer and Get Wild. They were 14 years old and 6 years old, respectively, at the time. The dark bay Dutch Warmblood gelding (Plot-Blue x Cantana) was coming off a third-place finish in the 2017 USEA Young Event Horse East Coast Championships with Matthew Flynn as part of a promising 5-year-old class that also included future five-star horses Chin Tonic HS (Chin Champ x Wildera), Ferrie’s Cello (Chello III VDL x Karelza), and Miks Master C (Mighty Magic x Qui Luma CBF).

Ringer and Get Wild won their first event together at the Novice level. Almost six years later to the day, the 20-year-old rider and 12-year-old horse celebrated their first FEI victory in the CCI2*-L. They led after each phase and finished with a score of 27.4, adding just one second of time penalties in show jumping to the only sub-30 dressage score at the level.

“I am beyond proud of Get Wild this weekend and feel grateful to be his partner,” Ringer said. “He is such a special horse, and this win makes me excited about what we’re going to accomplish together. I was particularly happy with how we performed on a challenging cross-country track. He had plenty of run and felt really good out there. We have been working so hard on our partnership, and I am thrilled to have it come together in all three phases this weekend.”

Mackenzie Davison and Lockdown JPL. Photo by Ride On Photo.

On the other hand, Davison’s first event with Lockdown JPL at the final USEA-recognized horse trials held at Copper Meadows in Ramona, California, in September 2021 was not as auspicious. They had two jump penalties on cross-country at the Beginner Novice level. But, less than three years later, the 21-year-old rider and 8-year-old bay Irish Sport Horse gelding (KEC Maximum Joe x KEC Kingston) made their FEI debut a winning one, finishing on their dressage score of 26.2 in Twin Rivers’ CCI1*-L.
They also won at the Modified level at the Galway two weeks earlier, and it’s been a quick rise up the levels for the young rider and horse.

“I really came into this event just hoping to have a positive experience and ride my best,” Davison said. “My horse is still green and can get a bit overwhelmed, so at every show my only goal is to give him confident rides. We’ve had struggles in all the phases at some point over our time together, but this weekend I could really feel all the work we’ve been doing come together.”

LOOKING AHEAD

Megan McIver and Igor B. Photo by Ride On Photo.

Following the Twin Rivers Spring International, Twin Rivers Ranch will next host the Twin Rivers Summer Horse Trials from June 27-30. The second FEI event in Paso Robles in 2024 will be the Twin Rivers Fall International from September 19-22. Then, USEA-recognized competition for the year will conclude with the Young Event Horse West Coast Championships on October 25-26.

The 2024 Twin Rivers Spring International marked the FEI debut for 2023 YEH 5-year-old West Coast champion Camelot PJ (Colman x Hauptstutbuch Evita), who finished third on his dressage score of 29.0 in the CCI1*-L with Andrea Baxter. Baxter was also 12th in the CCI2*-S with YEH alumnus The Big Easy (Mr Lincoln B x PLS Hippo Q) in the FEI debut for the horse she affectionately refers to as “Caesar” and “Yoda.”

“It’s been so fun to continue producing my two 5-year-olds,” Baxter said. “Caesar/Yoda/The Big Easy won the Safe Harbor Award at the championships. He woke up this spring so trained and cottoned onto the job. He has effortlessly stepped up to Prelim and stepped around the two-star with his eyes closed. He is so cool. PJ is a totally different type, more of a Ferrari and has become a little more careful as the jumps got bigger, so I opted to keep him at one-star for a little longer. I’ve never done a new style one-star, so that was a lot of fun and such a useful new level for developing future upper-level horses.”

The full list of winners from the 2024 Twin Rivers Spring International:

CCI4*-S: James Alliston and Paper Jam (43.7)
CCI3*-L: Erin Grandia and Hyacinth (38.5)
CCI3*-S: Elsa Warble and FE Unlimited (32.8)
CCI2*-L: Gabriella Ringer and Get Wild (27.4)
CCI2*-S: Megan McIver and Igor B (30.6)
CCI1*-L: Mackenzie Davison and Lockdown JPL (26.2)
5* CT: Bec Braitling and Caravaggio II (50.6)
Advanced: James Alliston and Karma (35.0)
Open Intermediate: Hanni Sreenan and Ebenholtz (42.6)
Open Preliminary: Rachel Brickman and Finally DG (24.9)
Preliminary Rider: Mickayla Howard and Miss Tique (32.1)
Open Modified: Tommy Greengard and I’m All In (26.5)
Modified Rider: Saulo Tristao and Kremer VD Falieberg (26.8)
Open Training: Amber Birtcil and Milagro (23.9)
Sr. Training Rider: Lauren Henry and Carel Cruiser (30.0)
Jr. Training Rider: Anya Ostrovsky and Coco Cassana (32.1)
Training Amateur: Reese Blinks and I’M Jaguar (22.9)
Open Novice: Tommy Greengard and Casa de Prestige (24.7)
Sr. Novice Rider: Christine Murphy and Made You Look (32.8)
Jr. Novice Rider: Josephine Clark and Cinzano (22.8)
Novice Amateur: Bari Boersma and Reverie GWF (26.4)
Novice Horse: Nicholas Cwick and O’Malley (29.7)
Open Beginner Novice A: Kaylawna Smith-Cook and Only-Else (29.4)
Open Beginner Novice B: Tommy Greengard and Optimistic Sol (22.9)
Sr. Beginner Novice Rider: Molly Johnson and Lexicon (27.1)
Jr. Beginner Novice Rider: Michaela Smith and Cashmaker (25.9)

Twin Rivers Spring International (Paso Robles, CA) [Website] [Entries] [Ride Times] [Volunteer] [Scoring] [Live Stream]

Record Field Size for FEI Levels at 2024 Twin Rivers Spring International

By Jonathan Horowitz on Apr 10, 2024 9:30 am -

The largest field for the international levels of eventing in the history of Twin Rivers Ranch in Paso Robles, California, is scheduled to compete in the 2024 Twin Rivers Spring International from April 11-14. The event will feature FEI competition in the CCI4*-S, CCI3*-L, CCI3*-S, CCI2*-L, CCI2*-S, and CCI1*-L. National levels will go from Beginner Novice up to Advanced, as well as a five-star combined test and intercollegiate, interscholastic, and adult team challenges.

The year after Tamie Smith and Mai Baum won the CCI5*-L at the Kentucky Three-Day Event to become the first American pair since Phillip Dutton and Connaught in 2008 and West-Coast-based tandem since Derek di Grazia and Sasquatch in 1985 to capture top honors in Lexington, three entries in the 2024 five-star field will be using the Twin Rivers Spring International as their final prep.

Rebecca Braitling and Caravaggio II. Photo by Ride On Photo.

Bec Braitling, who is based at Twin Rivers and represents Australia internationally, will compete with longtime partner Caravaggio II in the five-star combined test, as well as do the dressage test ride for the four-star competition. They are eyeing their first five-star together at the Kentucky Horse Park, where they competed in the CCI4*-S in 2023. Braitling and “Ernie” were one of 12 out of 49 in the 2023 Kentucky four-star with zero jumping penalties and finished 23rd overall before embarking on a trip to Europe to represent Australia in international competition.

“It’s such a long process with these horses, so any time you get the chance to go do these things, you like to jump on it, that’s for sure,” Braitling said. “He’s my buddy.”

The Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event would represent Braitling’s return to eventing’s highest level for the first time since she rode Just A Lady at Adelaide in Australia in 2003. She and Arnell Sporthorses’ 13-year-old black British Sport Horse gelding (Vangelis-S x Courtesan) are also long-listed for the Australian eventing team at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.

“For me the big focus is doing a five-star,” Braitling said. “A lot of people that are going to end up doing [the Olympics] are going to be looking at a different preparation, but I feel like with him, you don’t get many chances to do a five-star. So, that’s my biggest focus for this year.”

James Alliston and Karma. Photo by Ride On Photo.

James Alliston is using Twin Rivers as his final prep for the Kentucky five-star with Karma at the Advanced level and with Paper Jam in the CCI4*-S. Kentucky would be the first five-star for Karma, a 10-year-old bay Oldenburg mare (Escudo II x Travita). She was eighth in the CCI4*-S there in 2023. Then, she won the CCI4*-S at the Twin Rivers Fall International before representing the United States and finishing 14th, the highest for an American, at the FEI Eventing Nations Cup Netherlands CCIO4*- NC-L at Military Boekelo in Enschede, Netherlands.

“Everything she’s done, she’s done it well up to this point,” Alliston said. “So, hopefully the massive jumps and all of that doesn’t back her off too much, and she can go as she’s been going.”

Paper Jam is in the midst of a comeback after not competing in 2023. The 15-year-old chestnut Hanoverian gelding (Paparazzo x Reely Jamin) has finished second in events at Advanced-Intermediate and Advanced at Ram Tap in Fresno, California, in 2024.

“I wasn’t going to do the five-star to be honest; I was probably going to do the four-star [in Kentucky], and I still might,” Alliston said. “But, he’s going really well, and he has quite a lot of experience at four-star. He’s just had a year out with an injury, but he’s come back. They never forget anything, and they always have that experience. He doesn’t feel that rusty. Obviously five-star is a big ask, and they need to be at the top of their game. So, I’ll see how this show goes.”

There are a total of 70 entries across the FEI levels at the Twin Rivers Spring International in 2024. The most previously was the 68 that competed the first time Twin Rivers offered international competition during the spring in 2006. There were 56 competitors at the 2023 Twin Rivers Spring International after 17 ran in 2022.

After Twin Rivers featured its largest field for the 2023 Dutta Corp. USEA Young Event Horse (YEH) West Coast Championships since the West Coast Championships were first held as a standalone event at Twin Rivers in 2020, some of the YEH alumni will be making their FEI debuts.

Andrea Baxter and Camelot PJ. Photo by Ride On Photo.

Twin-Rivers-based Andrea Baxter and Camelot PJ (Colman x Hauptstutbuch Evita), the 5-year-old champions, are entered in the CCI1*-L. Baxter also rides The Big Easy (Mr Lincoln B x PLS Hippo Q), sixth in last year’s 5-year-old championship, in the CCI2*-S. The CCI2*-S is the largest FEI level at the 2024 Twin Rivers Spring International with 24 entries.

“They’ve all just stepped up the levels, and it’s kind of fun having them all showing up at the same time, Baxter said. “This time last year, they all did their first Novice in April, and a year later we’re doing a two-star on The Big Easy and the one-star on the other two.”

Baxter is also entered with Adventure (Avos Jordan Z x Rockmount Lillie) in the CCI1*-L. This will be Baxter’s first FEI competition since the same event in 2022 when she and Laguna Seca (Linaro x Indy 500) won the CCI3*-S.

“I’m excited,” said Baxter, who will also compete at the Beginner Novice level during the weekend. “I kept joking with everybody that I was retired after Indy [500] and Laguna Seca. I sold Laguna Seca to a young rider and restocked, and I’ve been doing that over the last couple years. It felt like I was out of it for a while, but here I am back again.”

Molly Duda and Disco Traveler. Photo by Ride On Photo.

After winning the Advanced level at the 2024 Twin Rivers Winter Horse Trials, Molly Duda and Disco Traveler (Donatelli x Cadence) are part of the field of seven for the CCI4*-S. They’re coming off a second-place finish to Mai Baum in their four-star debut at the Galway Downs International H.T. in Temecula, California. Smith is entered in the CCI4*-S with Julianne Guariglia’s Pierre’s Farceur du Bochard (Con Air x Ariane du Bochard), who competed at the three-star level with Ugo Provasi in France in 2023.

In the CCI3*-L, the highest long-format level offered, James Alliston will ride Cora, who won the Intermediate level at this year’s Twin Rivers Winter Horse Trials. Wife Helen Alliston will be aboard Call Me Rudi (Clooney x Genia), who won at Intermediate at Ram Tap in November 2023. Both horses will be moving up to CCI3*-L for the first time.

“He’s doing his first three-long, so that’s quite exciting,” Helen Alliston said. “He’s feeling good; he’s feeling ready. So, he’ll do that, and then I’ll probably just put him out in the field after that while I go cheer on James in Kentucky.”

She added about Call Me Rudi, “He’s one of my favorite horses I’ve ever ridden. I’ve got very high hopes for him. His jump is 10 out of 10. He has a lot of Thoroughbred in him, so he can gallop well.”
Dressage for the CCI4*-S and CCI2*-S will take place on Thursday and for all other levels on Friday. The short-format FEI levels will also show jump on Friday. All FEI levels will do cross-country on Saturday, and the long-format FEI levels will conclude with show jumping on Sunday.

Twin Rivers Spring International (Paso Robles, CA) [Website] [Entries] [Ride Times] [Volunteer] [Scoring] [Live Stream]

A Look into the Crystal Ball of West Coast Eventing at Twin Rivers

By Jonathan Horowitz on Mar 4, 2024 10:30 am -

Molly Duda and Disco Traveler. Ride On Photo.

The 2024 Twin Rivers Winter Horse Trials in Paso Robles, California, showed how much there is to be excited about for the future of West Coast eventing.

Molly Duda and Disco Traveler moved up to the Advanced level for the first time and won— setting the horse and young rider up to make their four-star debut this year. James Alliston, who campaigned Karma to be the 2023 Bates USEA Mare of the Year, showcased another speedy bay mare in Cora for her first victory at the Intermediate level. At the Preliminary level, Tamie Smith won the Open division with Sumas Tina Turner in the U.S. debut for the Irish Sport Horse mare that previously competed up to the three-star level with Australian Olympian Kevin McNab in Great Britain. In the Preliminary Rider division, Lex D ridden by Audrey Sanborn won his first blue ribbon since capturing the 2021 Dutta Corp. USEA Young Event Horse West Coast Championship for 5-year-olds, and it was Sanborn’s first victory at the upper levels in a USEA-recognized event.

Duda, who moved up to and won her three-star debut at the 2023 Twin Rivers Spring International for her first FEI victory at the age of 18, took the next step in her promising young career at Twin Rivers’ first recognized event of 2024.

“The weekend was absolutely surreal,” she said. “It was both my and Disco’s first Advanced, so my goal was just to finish on a number, but taking the win was beyond what I ever imagined. It is truly a testament to the partnership I have built with this horse over the years and the team behind us that makes all of this possible—especially my wonderful coaches, Mickayla Howard, Tamie Smith, Bec Braitling, and Robyn Fisher.”

“Just to finishing on a number” turned out to be finishing on the lowest number for Duda and Disco. Duda and the 15-year-old Swedish Warmblood gelding (Donatelli x Cadence) were second after a dressage score of 36.6, moved into the lead with the fastest round on Morgan Rowsell’s Advanced cross-country course by adding 12.0 time penalties, and jumped clear and added two seconds of time penalties in show jumping to finish on a score of 49.4.

“Moving forward, the plan is for Disco to run the CCI4*-S at Galway Downs [California] later this month and aim for the CCI4*-L at Rebecca Farm [Montana] this summer,” Duda said. “Disco continues to exceed every expectation of him, and I’m beyond excited for the rest of the season with him.”

In second and third at Advanced were two California-based five-star riders with Bec Braitling and Caravaggio II (Vangelis-S x Courtesan) just 0.7 points back in second and Tamie Smith and Elliot V (Zavall VDL x Vera-R) in third. Duda credits the support of and camaraderie with the top-level West Coast eventers for her growth.

“On the first day, Tamie led a cross-country course walk for the entire Advanced division, and everyone walked the lines together and discussed strategies,” Duda said. “Tamie’s generosity is infectious, and the sense of community she creates among the competitors is truly special.”

James Alliston and Cora. Ride On Photo.

As he looks ahead to the five-star debut for Karma (Escudo II x Travita) at the 2024 Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event, Alliston is quickly moving Cora (Commissario x La-Montana) up the levels.

“The first thing, she’s massive,” Alliston said about the 9-year-old bay Hanoverian mare. “She’s really, really tall. She’s probably the tallest horse I’ve ridden. I don’t know exactly what she sticks at, but she must be 18 hands—really big, enormous. She’s German. She’s kind of cool — she doesn’t look like she’d be super speedy, but she’s a really good galloper and has all the pieces. So, we’re excited.”

Their first event together at the Novice level came at the Twin Rivers Fall International in September 2022. Then 2023 saw them start the year at Training and finish at Intermediate. They were the fastest on Adri Doyal’s Intermediate cross-country at the Twin Rivers Winter Horse Trials, adding 1.2 time penalties, and then show jumped clear to finish with a score of 34.2. James’ wife, Helen Alliston, was second with Call Me Rudi (Clooney x Genia).

“We got her with just 90 days under saddle,” Alliston. “She’s come along quite quickly and been pretty straightforward to move up the levels. It’s been nice. She’s one of those ones that does everything quite easily so far, so you feel like you could go quite quickly with her.”

Tamie Smith and Sumas Tina Turner. Ride On Photo.

Then at Preliminary, Sumas Tina Turner (Quantino x Sumas Fanny Brice) and Tamie Smith were “simply the best” in the Open division, finishing on their dressage score of 23.2 and leading after each phase. The 8-year-old chestnut Irish Sport Horse mare whose biggest career victory came in the CCI2*-L at Mallow in Ireland in 2023 with McNab represents another promising eventing prospect that Smith campaigns for owner Julianne Guariglia. Smith previously rode Guariglia’s Solaguayre California (Casparo x Solaguayre Calandria) up to the five-star level.
Sanborn and Lex D (Freeman VDL x Berber), an 8-year-old bay Dutch Warmblood gelding, finished on their dressage score of 22.4 in the Preliminary Rider division in the important win for their careers.

Audrey Sanborn and Lex D. Ride On Photo.

The 2024 Twin Rivers Winter Horse Trials were run against a backdrop of rainy weather in California’s wine country of Paso Robles.

“The show was exceptionally well run, and the organizers did a great job rearranging the schedule with the rain to ensure the quality of the footing for the upper-level horses,” Duda said. “Morgan [Rowsell] designed a fantastic cross-country course, which asked a lot of challenging technical questions but ended up riding really well.”

In addition to adapting the schedule to the weather, show organizers also sealed the dirt-based cross-country tracks overnight and adjusted which jumps would be offered based on the changing conditions.

“We’re so appreciative of how our riders came together to make this a successful first recognized event of the year at Twin Rivers,” organizer Connie Baxter said. “When conditions are tough, you really see how special the eventing community on the West Coast is.”

Twin Rivers will next host the Twin Rivers Spring International from April 11-14 offering FEI levels up to four-star. Entries opened on February 27 and close on March 26. The Twin Rivers Summer Horse Trials will run from June 27-30 up to the Advanced level and also offer Twin’s first Young Event Horse competitions on the road to the 2024 USEA Young Event Horse West
Coast Championships that will take place October 25-26. Twin Rivers will also host the Twin Rivers Fall International from September 19-22.

Twin Rivers Winter H.T. (Paso Robles, CA) [Website][Scoring]

Camelot PJ and Oxford K Deliver Fairytale Finishes at Young Event Horse West Coast Championships

By Jonathan Horowitz on Oct 30, 2023 11:30 am -

The 2023 Dutta Corp. USEA Young Event Horse (YEH) West Coast Championships came down to the final rides in both the 4- and 5-year-old divisions to crown a champion. Camelot PJ and Andrea Baxter recorded the best jumping score on Saturday’s second day of competition at Twin Rivers Ranch in Paso Robles, California, to move from sixth to first to win the 5-year-old championship. Oxford K and Amber Birtcil also had the best jumping score for the 4-year-olds to break the tie Birtcil had with another of her horses in Oriental Star after dressage and conformation on day one to win the 4-year-old championship.

This year’s YEH West Coast Championships continued to raise the bar for the top eventing prospects on the West Coast. The 32 horses made up of 18 5-year-olds and 14 4-year-olds represented the largest field since the West Coast Championships were first held as a standalone event at Twin Rivers in 2020.

Baxter, who has experienced eventing success up to the five-star level, said she was particularly proud of this victory because of her passion for working with young horses and serving on the USEA’s Young Event Horse committee.

“This program has been very special to me,” Baxter said. “I remember being able to compete Indy 500 when we first hosted the YEH championships at Twin Rivers in 2011, and that was so valuable early in her journey to becoming a five-star horse. When we gave the West Coast championships their own home here starting in 2020, we decided to turn it into a real FEI event where the young horses get to be showcased in the forelight. It gives them an opportunity that hopefully prepares them for what they hopefully will become.”

Andrea Baxter and Camelot PJ. Tina Fitch Photography.

Camelot PJ’s victory with a score of 85.94 out of a possible 100 was highlighted by having the best score from championship judges Marilyn Payne from the United States and Christian Schacht from Germany among the 5-year-olds for cross-country efforts (26.4 out of 30) and for overall evaluation for rideability, between fences, and open gallop (13.75 out of 15). Camelot PJ also had the second-best score for conformation (8.9 out of 10), show-jumping efforts (12.3 out of 15), and general impression as a potential four- or five-star event horse (9.2 out of 10). The overall score represents a weighted total of each mark with 10 percent for conformation, 20 percent for dressage, and 70 percent for jumping and galloping.

“To ride him, he is just effortless,” Baxter said. “He jumps with scope for days. He lands light as a feather. He gallops. He’s a beautiful mover. He’s the smartest horse you’ll ever come across. He’s a little suspicious, a little spooky, and quirky, but just everything about it is self-awareness, and he loves the job. He just plays with the jumps, and he’s the type of horse that, if we all had horses like this, we’d be winning medals. So, in my eyes, he’s just unbeatable, and it’s cool that the judges could see that, too.”

The bay roan Hanoverian gelding (Colman x Evita) goes by the barn of “The Hustler” because of his attitude, with Baxter saying that his theme songs are “Hustlin’” by Rick Ross and “You Can Do It” by Ice Cube.

“He’s tricky, he’s quirky, but he’s very self-aware and very brave at the jumps,” Baxter said. “He loves the job and loves the game.”

Birtcil finished second the 5-year-old championship with the bay Dutch Warmblood gelding Nevada (Il Est Balou x Onile W), culminating a big weekend for her highlighted by the win in the 4 year-old championship with the bay Dutch Warmblood gelding Oxford K (Grand Slam VDL x Walzing Patty). Her Cellar Farm Corp owned six horses in the 4-year-old championship—four ridden by Birtcil and two ridden by Bec Braitling—with all six finishing in the top-seven placings.

Amber Birtcil and Nevada. Tina Fitch Photography.

“Oh, I love it,” Birtcil said. “I think it’s the best. I mean, to go in the Flag Ring and the flags get going for dressage, and they have to cope with that. But, it’s such a laidback, easygoing atmosphere that’s it’s so inviting for them. And, it’s decorated so beautifully. They really make it such a big deal here that I think it’s the perfect thing. That’s why anything that’s 4 and 5 in my barn I drag out and has to come.”

Oxford K’s sire, Grand Slam VDL, is also the sire of the 8-year-old bay Dutch Warmblood gelding
Kuno SMH, who competed in the CCI4*-S 8/9-Year-Old class at the Blenheim Palace International in
Great Britain in September. His dam, Walzing Patty, is the dam of three show jumpers that have
competed at 1.40 meters—one based in California, one in Europe, and one in Iran.

Amber Birtcil and Oxford K. Tina Fitch Photography.

“Oxford” won with a finishing score of won with a finishing score of 83.06 and recorded the highest score among the 4-year-olds for conformation (8.4 out of 10), for general impression as a future four- or five-star eventer (9.0 out of 10), for cross-country efforts (26.1 out of 30), and for overall evaluation for rideability, between fences, and open gallop (13.0 out of 15).

“He’s super quirky,” Birtcil said. “He’s hard to get on. He’s a bit of an odd duck. Those ones tend to stay. He does suit me. He’s very comfortable. I do like his personality even though he is odd, but the easy ones are the easy ones I generally sell.”

Braitling rode the Cellar Farm Corp’s bay Dutch Warmblood mare Olalandra (Falaise De Muze x
Gilandra) to second-place in the 4-year-old championship.

“I was riding them for Amber, and I hadn’t jumped them until today with the warmup jumps,” Braitling said of her two catch rides. “I had no plan. It’s kind of almost more fun doing it that way on 4-year-olds. Basically, I think riding 4-year-olds is like having no plan anyways, so it’s perfect.”

Olalandra was the lone mare in the 4-year-old field against 13 geldings.

“It’s funny, and I think it goes in rotations,” Braitling said. “I was just in Europe, and I feel like all there were were a million mares at the top level. I think one deterrent for me if you’re importing is that it’s expensive to bring mares in. But she was phenomenal. She’s an old soul that one.”

Bec Braitling and Olalandra. Tina Fitch Photography.

Sophie Stocks and her bay Irish Sport Horse gelding Rosco (Tyson x Kah Lasina) finished third. Birtcil and the Cellar Farm Corp’s chestnut Thoroughbred gelding Smarter World (Smart Bid x Circle the World) won The Jockey Club Thoroughbred Incentive Program Award as the highest-placing former racehorse in seventh overall. The bay Thoroughbred gelding Check the Boxes (Box Score x Multiplyingtheheat) ridden by Tommy Greengard and co-owned by Greengard and Andrea Pfeiffer won The Go Get ’Em Award, In Memory of Don Trotter for the best gallop score with a perfect 10 for his gallop.

For the 5-year-olds, third-place went to Jordan Linstedt and her bay Hanoverian gelding LS Crown
Royal (by Comte). Ashley Horowitz and her grey Irish Sport Horse gelding Monbeg Salt Fever
(Womanizer x Eden Breeze) in fourth were the highest-finishing pair that also competed in the 2022 USEA YEH West Coast Championships, with “Salty” also finishing fourth as a 4-year-old. There were six horses from last year’s YEH 4-year-old championship, as well as the 4-year-old champion and reserve champion from last year’s USEA Future Event Horse West Coast Championships that were in this year’s YEH 5-year-old championship.

The special awards for the 5-year-old championship were The Jockey Club Thoroughbred Incentive Program Award won by the chestnut Thoroughbred gelding Wynnville (Lakerville x Tebowing) ridden by Ella Garcia. The Big Easy, a chestnut Irish Sport Horse gelding (Mr Lincoln B x PLS Hippo Q) ridden by Baxter, won The Safe Harbor Award given to the 5-year-old with the most graceful and rider friendly performance throughout the competition.

“The Big Easy couldn’t be a more fitting winner,” Baxter said. “Nicknamed ‘Yoda,’ he displayed his perfection by standing like a total gentleman in the middle of the ring while everyone else victory galloped around him. He’s a gentle giant with scope, talent, and mental capacity for any sport. He’s the barn favorite.”

As for her overall winner, Camelot PJ, Baxter said, “The sky is the limit.”

Links Results | Website

Rising Stars Crowned in Return of FEI Competition at Woodside

By Jonathan Horowitz on Oct 9, 2023 11:30 am -

Tommy Greengard said he was “a little excited, a little nervous” before competing in both his and his horse Joshuay MBF’s first four-star at the Twin Rivers Fall International in September. They finished third, and that experience set them up for what would then be their first four-star victory as one of the West’s top up-and-coming eventing pairs two weeks later in the Woodside Fall International.

Also highlighting the event that saw the return of international competition to The Horse Park at Woodside in California for the first time since 2021 was the three-star win by Helen Alliston and Flinterro Z on the same weekend that her husband, James, and Karma were the top finishers for United States at the FEI Eventing Nations Cup Netherlands CCIO4*-NC-L at Military Boekelo in Enschede, Netherlands.

Stephanie Goodman and Elwenda DP won their first international event together in the two-star, and Josh Barnacle and Skyrise captured the inaugural one-star held at Woodside.

There was a festive atmosphere that complemented Woodside’s hosting its first FEI event in two years with a reception on Thursday honoring the gold medal by Tracy Bowman and Jolie Wentworth at the 2023 FEI Para Driving World Championships, a happy hour hosted by Laughing Monk Brewery during the FEI show jumping rounds on Friday, and a high-energy awards ceremony for the FEI levels during the competitors’ dinner on Saturday.

Greengard, 24, can now add a victory in the CCI4*-S at the 2023 Woodside Fall International to his list of accomplishments that also includes wins in the 2022 USEA Young Event Horse 5-Year-Old West Coast Championships and in the 2022 Intermediate Championship at the American Eventing Championships, as well as two FEI victories at the two-star level.

Tommy Greengard and Joshuay MBF. Tina Fitch Photography

At Woodside, he and Joshuay MBF (Foreign Affair x Fernacchy MBF) led after dressage with a score of 26.8 and jumped clear in show jumping and on cross-country, just adding time penalties for their finishing score of 47.6.

“The whole thing was a highlight,” Greengard said at Saturday’s awards ceremony. “It was our second four-star. He did a really good dressage test, and he jumped super last night. So, I was just trying not to get in his way today. We’ve joked since he was a young horse just to try to stay out of his way and let him win, so it was nice to be able to that today.”

Greengard said that he would next point the 9-year-old bay Dutch Warmblood gelding to the CCI4*-L at The Eventing Championships at Galway Downs in Temecula, California, on November 1-5 and that their goal next year could include the CCI4*-S at the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event.

A trip to the East next year could also be in the cards for Helen Alliston after she and Flinterro Z (Figaro B x Sara’s Muse), an 8-year-old bay Zangersheide gelding, won their second three-star event this year in the CCI3*-S at the Woodside Fall International. They led after a dressage score of 28.5, dropped to second after one rail in show jumping, and went back into the lead with the level’s second-fastest cross-country round that added 6.4 time penalties to finish with a score of 38.9.

“I’ve just been really trying to give him as diverse an education as I can,” Helen said. “I know I show mostly in California, but Derek [di Grazia] now designs at Woodside. So, I actually skipped Twin a couple weeks ago to focus on this show because Derek’s courses are definitely different than everyone else’s, and they’re quite difficult. With all horses, especially Flinterro, he needs to see a lot of different styles of cross-country and see a lot of different questions before he moves up to Advanced. When I walked the course, I was pretty wide-eyed. It looked really difficult, and he just flew around. I was very, very excited about it.”

Helen Alliston and Flinterro Z. Tina Fitch Photography.

It was a big weekend for Alliston Equestrian with both Helen’s three-star win, as well as a third place finish with Call Me Rudi (Clooney x Genia) in the two-star, and James’ 14th-place finish aboard Karma (Escudo II x Travita) as the top American pair at Boekelo. The United States finished fourth as a nation. Helen said it was the first time in 12 years that they’ve shown apart.

“We do everything together,” Helen said. “I think I was more nervous than he was, probably. I don’t know if that’s because he’s a guy or has more experience than me or what,” she added, laughing.

They did keep in touch and follow each other’s rounds during odd hours with the time difference.

“It was pretty cool for both of us to have good weekends,” Helen said.

The CCI2*-S represented the first FEI win for Elwenda DP (Westpoint x Wenderola), and for her rider, Goodman, it was her first FEI win “at least in the last 20 years,” she said. (Goodman’s USEA record goes back to 1995.) They led after each phase and added just 2.4 time penalties on cross-country to their dressage score of 28.5 for a finishing score of 30.9.

“She moved up to this level at this event last year,” Gooman said. “So, in a year, I think she has been consummate and honest. She can be a spooky horse and has developed confidence in being able to be a little bit quicker and not be as worried and spooky.”

For that reason, Goodman said she has kept a busy schedule with Elwenda DP. Woodside was their 11th event in six different states in 2023 at either the two-star or Preliminary levels.

“Just trying to give her as much as exposure as possible,” Goodman said. “She started later at life at this and just trying to give her the confidence and exposure that’s been part of her everyday routine since she did not start doing this until later.”

Stephanie Goodman and Elwenda DP. Tina Fitch Photography.

The 13-year-old bay Dutch Warmblood mare was originally imported by owner Deanna Briggs from the Netherlands as a dressage horse in 2017 and started competing in eventing with Goodman in 2021.

“Everything I ask her she seems to take pretty in stride, so we’re willing to let her do whatever she wants to do,” Goodman said.

The 2023 Woodside Fall International represented the first time that The Horse Park at Woodside has run a CCI1*-S. Barnacle and Skyrise (Silic x Aunt Polly) won with a score of 33.4 after posting the fastest one-star cross-country round on Saturday.

“They’re quick and a little bit lighter than some of the warmbloods, a little bit quicker on their feet,” Barnacle said about eventing with Thoroughbreds like Skyrise. “I took the wrong path in the woods, and that probably cost me a few seconds, actually.”

The 10-year-old bay California-bred Thoroughbred gelding had a three-race career in 2017 for the late owner-trainer William Delia in Northern California. Several of Delia’s former horses are now in successful eventing careers.

“My farrier sent me a picture,” Skyrise’s current owner, Summer Gloeckner, said. “I had been looking for a new Off-the-Track Thoroughbred at Golden Gate Fields. My farrier friend said I should come look at this guy. His farrier friend was shoeing him [on the track]. I went out, and it was love at first sight.”

Gloeckner competed Skyrise in three events in 2023. With Gloeckner recovering from an injury, Barnacle was back aboard for the first time since 2022 when he had taken Skyrise up to the two-star level.

The addition of a one-star marked another area of growth for the team at The Horse Park at Woodside.

Josh Barnacle and Skyrise. Tina Fitch Photography.

“Hosting our first FEI one-star that is building on the Modified courses earlier this year, it feels like a great example of what is happening here at Woodside,” said Horse Park Executive Director Steve Roon. “The Horse Park is so appreciative of two incredibly talented and dedicated teams—Bert Wood with the cross country crew and Christina Gray with the show management. Every show continues to build on our foundation of success.”

The 2023 eventing calendar for FEI events in the USEA’s Area VI will conclude with the The Eventing Championships at Galway Downs on November 1-5. That event will coincide with the USEF CCI2*-L and USEF CCI4*-L Eventing National Championships and the USEF Eventing Young Rider National Championships, presented by USEA.

Among the young riders from Area VI that had strong results at the Woodside Fall International were Greengard in first and Sophia Click in third and fifth in the CCI4*-S. Click rode Quidproquo (Quidado x Waleila) and Tarantino 54 (Quattro B x Los Argentina) to those placings, respectively. Also, Julia Beauchamp Crandon was third in the CCI3*-S with Playing the Game (Hillviewfarm Trnvelyan x Oughterard Beauty). Fiona Holland was second in the CCI1*-S with Joshua Tree (Acore x Gijit). Elsa Warble and Molly Duda were first and second, respectively, at the Intermediate level with FE Unlimited (Uriko x Viona III) and Disco Traveler (Donatelli x Cadence).

“It’s great to see the international levels return to Woodside,” said USEA Area VI Chair Andrea Pfeiffer. “The October date is an important one to maintain. It gives horses on the West Coast a last chance to qualify for the international divisions at Galway in November. This venue is making it so that the West Coast can do the prep necessary to get to a North American five-star or a European debut. The talent on the West Coast is growing, the future is very bright, just like the sun here.”

Links Results | Website

Twin Rivers Sets Stage for Nations Cup & Young Horse Championships

By Jonathan Horowitz on Sep 25, 2023 10:15 am -

Karma is developing into one of the fastest and most-reliable cross-country horses in the West. The 9-year-old bay Oldenburg mare and James Alliston won their third-straight blue ribbon together at either the four-star or Advanced level in the CCI4*-S at the Twin Rivers Fall International in Paso Robles, California, with the only double-clear cross-country round on Saturday. Karma is now scheduled to fly from Los Angeles to Amsterdam on Wednesday, and then Alliston will join her to compete at the FEI Eventing Nations Cup Netherlands CCIO4*-NC-L at Military Boekelo in Enschede, Netherlands, on October 5-8 as part of the Land Rover U.S. Eventing Team.

Other highlights in the second international event of the year hosted at Twin Rivers Ranch were the victory in the CCI3*-S by Erin Kellerhouse and Bon Vivant GWF, who led after each eventing phase in the largest FEI division, and the CCI2*-S and CCI1*-S being won by a pair of 16-year-old riders. Julia Beauchamp Crandon and MGH Capa Vilou were the only pair to finish on their dressage score in the CCI2*-S. Jillian Mader and Coolrock Wacko Jacko took the first-ever CCI1*-S held at Twin Rivers.

James Alliston and Karma. Ride On Photo.

Prior to the weekend, Alliston had said, “I definitely won’t be babying her,” when it came to his approach to the final run for Karma (Escudo II x Travita) before heading overseas. They blazed around cross-country designer Morgan Rowsell’s 3,619-meter four-star track in 6:11, 10 seconds under the optimum time and 35 seconds faster than any other pair. Their final score was 36.2.

“She was awesome,” Alliston said afterward. “Felt very bold and fit. The ground was really good, so I thought it was a nice opportunity to give her a quick run as fitness preparation for Boekelo. It was a good setup for Boekelo hopefully.”

This year, Karma was also the only horse to make time on cross-country when winning at Advanced at the Twin Rivers Summer Horse Trials, when finishing second in the CCI4*-S at the Twin Rivers Spring International, and when finishing fourth at Intermediate at the Twin Rivers Winter Horse Trials. Alliston and Karma were one of only two inside the time when winning the CCI4*-L at Rebecca Farm in Kalispell, Montana, in their event prior to the Twin Rivers Fall International.

With an eye also on potential events overseas for the horses she rode in the CCI4*-S, Tamie Smith and Elliot V (Zavall VDL x Vera-R) had the only double-clear show jumping round at the level on William Robertson’s course. They finished fourth overall after adding 19.2 time penalties on cross-country. Smith was also second with Cooley By Design (Plot Blue x Uthree Z) and fifth with Kynan (Envoy x Danieta).

Kynan is currently the traveling reserve for the United States at the 2023 Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile, at the end of October, and Elliot V is a team alternate. They are scheduled to compete in the Mandatory Outing for the Pan American Games at the Maryland Horse Trials at Loch Moy on the same weekend that Alliston and Karma are at the FEI Nations Cup Netherlands.

Tommy Greengard and Joshuay MBF (Foreign Affair x Fernacchy MBF) were third in the four-star debut for both horse and rider.

Erin Kellerhouse and Bon Vivant GWF. Ride On Photo.

In the CCI3*-S, Kellerhouse and Bon Vivant GWF (Banderas x Power Point) led after a dressage score of 27.6, tied for the best across all the FEI levels. Then, they were one of only three pairs in the biggest FEI class with 17 entries to record zero jumping penalties in show jumping and on cross-country. They added just 6.4 time penalties on cross-country for a finishing score of 34.0.

“It was one of those weekends that all phases just felt great,” Kellerhouse said. “He’s getting settled and strong enough to feel confident and happy in his work.”

Kellerhouse has developed quite the partnership with the 8 year-old bay Oldenburg gelding she calls “Pierre” in the barn. They first competed together at the Beginner Novice level when Bon Vivant GWF was 4 years old in 2019.

“Jill Jaeger and I bought him as a baby from Gateway Farm [in California], where my cousin Laurel Ritter and her business partner Elizabeth Jenner bred him,” she said. “He was really the first horse that they bred that had jumping lines. They mostly breed dressage horses. As a 4-year-old he always just got the jumping and was super brave and happy to do his job.”

Julia Beauchamp Crandon and MGH Capa Vilou. Ride On Photo.

With the 2023 USEF Eventing Young Rider Championships to take place at the Galway Downs International Horse Trials in Temecula, California, on November 1-5, a pair of 16-year-old riders won the CCI2*-S and the CCI1*-S.

“We have a really strong set of young riders out here because we all work really hard out here,” Beauchamp Crandon said. “We try and compete with the East Coast and do our best, and we all just want to keep getting better. So, we have a strong desire to keep improving and work together as a team.”

Beauchamp Crandon and MGH Capa Vilou won their first blue ribbon in their 13th USEA-recognized event together. They started showing together last year after the 9-year-old dark bay Dutch Warmblood mare previously competed at the equivalent of America’s Preliminary level in Great Britain in 2021 with Sammi Birch.

“She gets on course, and she just locks in and focuses,” said Beachamp Crandon, who was also fourth in the CCI3*-S with Playing the Game (Hillviewfarm Trnvelyan x Oughterard Beauty). “She really listens to me. It’s taken a bit to get a partnership with her. This year, it’s felt more set, and I’ve been able to communicate with her a bit better cross-country, and each show has gone a little bit better. She loves working. She definitely likes to work, but she also likes her rest time.”

They were the only two-star pair out of 14 entries with a double-clear show jumping round and then one of only three with a double-clear cross-country round, finishing with a score of 31.1.

“After the dressage, she was feeling super rideable and overall very willing to listen in the show jumping, which I think helped a lot,” Beauchamp Crandon said. “This also helped us cross-country I believe, as she was a bit calmer, so I could go quicker and make better use of the track with her like this.”

Jillian Mader and Coolrock Wacko Jacko. Ride On Photo.

In the CCI1*-S, the first competition ever held at the level at Twin Rivers, fellow 16-year-old Jillian Mader and Coolrock Wacko Jacko (Jacomar x Lux D Part) led after each phase to win with a score of 32.4. They were fourth in Twin Rivers’ inaugural CCI1*-L at the Spring International and have put together five top-three finishes since.

While riders like Alliston and Smith may have horse shows overseas on the horizon, the Twin Rivers Fall International marked the return to competition in the United States for Rebecca Braitling, an Australian team member based at Twin Rivers. Braitling and Caravaggio II (Vangelis-S x Courtesan) spent the summer in Europe representing Australia at the CCIO4*-S competitions at CHIO Aachen in Germany and at Haras de Jardy in France. She and the 12-year-old British Sport Horse gelding owned by Arnell Sporthorses also took on the CCI4*-S at Hartpury and the CCI4*-L at Blenheim in England.

At the Twin Rivers Fall International, Braitling was first and second in the Open Modified division with Arnell Sporthorses’ Freedom Hill (Vriend x Sallymount) on a score of 25.0 and Jenny Ramirez’ Conlino PS (Conthargos x Zoratia) on a score of 25.2.

“It was great to be back but wild to think that just one week ago I was show jumping at Blenheim and now doing it at Twin Rivers,” Braitling said. “Big credit to Andrea [Baxter] for keeping my horses well tuned-up so I could pick up where I left off.”

Tamie Smith and Solaguayre Cantata. Ride On Photo.

With an eye toward the Dutta Corp. USEA Young Event Horse (YEH) West Coast Championships that will take place at Twin Rivers on October 27-28, Smith and Solaguayre Cantata (Canturo x Solaguayre Clarita) won the 5-year-old qualifier with the second-highest YEH score of 89.6 in the United States this year.

“Cantata is a remarkable mare, and I’m very excited to have such a promising young horse to produce for the Guariglias,” Smith said about the dark bay Argentine Sport Horse mare owned by Julianne Guariglia. “They have been so supportive to me in recent years, and it’s extra special because Cantata is from the same breeder in Argentina, Solaguayre,” referring to Solaguayre California, the mare whom Smith lost earlier this year following complications from surgery.

Also producing a top-10 5-year-old qualifying score across the country was Andrea Baxter and Estrella Equestrian’s chestnut Irish Sport Horse gelding The Big Easy (Mr Lincoln B x PLS Hippo Q) with 87.4.

Baxter, who serves on the USEA’s Young Event Horse Committee, also has Estrella Equestrian’s Camelot PJ (Colman x Hauptstutbuch Evita) and Arnell Sporthorses’ Nicolai Van De Heering (Hernandez TN x Candy D) qualified for the 5-year-old championships.

Amber Birtcil and Cellar Farm Corp’s bay Dutch Warmblood gelding Oxford K (Grand Slam VDL x Walzing Patty) won the 4-year-old qualifier at the Twin Rivers Fall International with a score of 85.3, second-best in the United States for 4-year-olds in 2023.

“He is actually quite quirky, but I really like his type, and for me he’s quite comfortable to ride which has become quite important for me,” Birtcil said. “He has been super here for his first outing, taking it all in stride. I love how the YEH introduces them to the sport.”

Birtcil acquired “Oxford” (“He’s quite serious in his personality, so it really suits him,” she said about the barn name) from the Netherlands last year. Oxford’s dam, Walzing Patty, has produced three show jumpers that have competed at 1.40 meters—one based in California, one in Europe, and one in Iran.

The USEA YEH West Coast Championships have been held as a standalone event at Twin Rivers since 2020 and will be preceded in 2023 by the Last Chance Qualifier on October 26.

“We love coming to them each year,” Birtcil said. “It’s a great showcase for young horses and being able to produce them.”

Amber Birtcil and Oxford K. Ride On Photo.

The full list of winners from the 2023 Twin Rivers Fall International:

CCI4*-S: James Alliston and Karma (36.2)
CCI3*-S: Erin Kellerhouse and Bon Vivant GWF (34.0)
CCI2*-S: Julia Beauchamp Crandon and MGH Capa Vilou (31.1)
CCI1*-S: Jillian Mader and Coolrock Wacko Jacko (32.4)
Open Intermediate: Amber Birtcil and Le Top F (44.1)
Open Preliminary: James Alliston and Justiz-ESH (17.9)
Open Modified: Rebecca Braitling and Freedom Hill (25.0)
Open Training: Andrea Baxter and Adventure (31.9)
Sr. Training Rider: Jessica Higgins and Finnegan (29.9)
Jr. Training Rider: Emma Pistone and Paulank Pepper Pot (32.6)
Open Novice: Lauren Billys Shady and Mister Cooley (12.5)
Sr. Novice Rider: David Timchak and Over Easy (26.4)
Jr. Novice Rider: Kennedy Wiklund and Atta Boy Atticus (25.3)
Novice Amateur: Christine Poulos and Quality Beach (28.1)
Open Beginner Novice: Natalie Burk and Laced Sensation (27.8)
Sr. Beginner Novice Rider: Kate Flaherty and Eli’s Coming (23.1)
Jr. Beginner Novice Rider: Erika Small and Happy Hour (30.6)
Open Starter: Bo Moore and Zodiac Kowboy (36.3)
YEH-4: Amber Birtcil and Oxford K (85.3)
YEH-5: Tamie Smith and Solaguayre Cantata (89.6)

Entries & Results | Website | YEH Championships Qualified Horses

West Coast Eventers Eyeing Big Results at Twin Rivers Fall International and Beyond

By Jonathan Horowitz on Sep 22, 2023 11:00 am -

James Alliston and Karma winning at Advanced at the 2023 Twin Rivers Summer H.T. Photo courtesy of Ride On Photo.

2023 has been the year of the West Coast eventer. Events at Twin Rivers Ranch in Paso Robles, California, have provided a springboard for horses and riders based on the West Coast to go on to shine on national and international stages. That is scheduled to continue with the Twin Rivers Fall International that will take place from September 21-24. The event will feature: FEI competition in the CCI4*-S, CCI3*-S, CCI2*-S, and CCI1*-S; national levels from Starter up to Intermediate; and qualifiers for 4- and 5-year-olds in the USEA’s Young Event Horse Program (YEH) leading up to the Dutta Corp. USEA YEH West Coast Championships that will take place at Twin Rivers on October 27-28, with a Last Chance Qualifier on October 26.

James Alliston will be using the CCI4*-S at the Twin Rivers Fall International as the final prep for himself and Karma to represent the United States at the FEI Eventing Nations Cup Netherlands CCIO4*-NC-L at Military Boekelo in Enschede, Netherlands, on October 5-8.

“It’s for me as much as for her, honestly, just to make sure we’re used to jumping some big jumps,” Alliston said. “It’s the same dressage test [as Boekelo], which is nice, so I can practice that. I’ll try and be competitive. I think it’s good for the fitness. I definitely won’t be babying her.”

This will be the fourth event at Twin Rivers this year for Alliston and the 9-year-old bay Oldenburg mare (Escudo II x Travita). They are coming off wins at Advanced in the Twin Rivers Summer Horse Trials and in the CCI4*-L at The Event at Rebecca Farm in Montana. Prior to that, following a second- place finish in the CCI4*-S at the Twin Rivers Spring International in April, Alliston and Karma finished eighth in the CCI4*-S at the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event.

“The timing works out two weeks before Kentucky, so it normally lines up with the last run before Kentucky,” Alliston said. “This show in the fall lines up as well if you’re going to do Boekelo or whatever your plans are—if you’re going to Maryland or something else like that. You’re going to get reliable footing. So, that’s definitely a huge positive. There’s nice big warmup arenas. There’s nice courses. It’s going to be a strong test. They do a good job of changing the courses the whole time, which I think is awesome. We really like Twin Rivers for our best horses. You don’t just jump the same course four times a year. You’re still educating the horses.”

In addition to the CCI5*-L victory by West-Coast-based Tamie Smith and Mai Baum (Loredano x Ramira), three of the top 10 in the CCI4*-S in Lexington were also from California. They were Alliston and Karma in eighth and Smith riding Solaguayre California (Casparo x Solaguayre Calandria) in second and Elliot V (Zavall VDL x Vera-R) in 10th.

Smith will be returning to compete in California for the first time since she became the first American rider since Phillip Dutton in 2008 and the first West Coast rider since Derek di Grazia in 1985 to win the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event. She also used the Twin Rivers Spring International in April as her final competition before Lexington.

Tamie Smith and Kynan winning at Intermediate at the 2023 Twin Rivers Winter H.T. Photo courtesy of Ride On Photo.

Smith has three entries in the CCI4*-S, with Kynan and Elliot V using Twin Rivers as a springboard to potential top-level international or national competition. Kynan (Envoy x Danieta), an 8-year-old bay Dutch Warmblood gelding, is currently the traveling reserve for the U.S. team at the 2023 Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile, at the end of October. Elliot V, a 14-year-old bay Dutch Warmblood gelding, is a team alternate. After Twin, both horses will head east to the Mandatory Outing for thePan American Games at the Maryland Horse Trials at Loch Moy on October 7-8.

“Twin is quite important for those horses to be prepared for that,” Smith said. “This will be my first competition coming back into the fall and just gauging where they’re at. They’ll probably all be very raring to go and happy to be out and competing. I think it’ll be a great event. Morgan [Rowsell] is the course designer, and he always puts enough on the course to test the horses and get them looking at where they’re headed. If you have any homework you need to get done, then you can.”

Smith will also be competing for the first time on Cooley By Design (Plot Blue x Uthree Z), an 11-year- old bay warmblood gelding, while regular rider Gina Economou recovers from injury.

Tommy Greengard and Joshuay MBF winning at Intermediate at the 2023 Twin Rivers Summer H.T. Photo courtesy of Ride On Photo.

Tommy Greengard and Joshuay MBF (Foreign Affair x Fernacchy MBF) will each be making their four-star debuts at the Twin Rivers Fall International.

“A little excited, a little nervous—he’s ready to give it a crack though,” Greengard said. “He’s done his job at the Intermediate, three-star level, and this is the next logical step for him.”

The 9-year-old bay Dutch Warmblood gelding and Greengard won the Intermediate Championship at the USEA American Eventing Championships (AEC) in 2022.

“He’s a phenomenal, natural cross-country horse, and it’s been fun to see, as the years have progressed, the rideability start to come through,” Greengard said. “He’s always been very brave and quite keen, but as he’s gotten older, he’s become a bit more rideable.”

Greengard rode in his first USEA-recognized event in 2011 and in his first FEI competition in 2018. His top accomplishments include three national titles at the 2022 USEA American Eventing Championships and victory in the 2022 USEA YEH 5-Year-Old West Coast Championships.

There are 47 entries across the four FEI short-format levels at the 2023 Twin Rivers Fall International, almost twice as many as the 24 FEI entries there were at the event in 2022. This year represents the most FEI entries since international competition returned to Twin Rivers’ fall event in 2019 after a decade- long hiatus. Twin Rivers is hosting its first one-star competitions in 2023 with a CCI1*-L in the spring and the first CCI1*-S in the fall.

The largest FEI class in 2023 will be the CCI3*-S with 18 entries, including Lauren Billys Shady and Can Be Sweet (Candyman x Tres Belle), the first-ever international gold medalists in eventing for Puerto Rico at the 2023 Central American and Caribbean Games in El Salvador in July. Smith and Crafty Don (Tolan R x Diamond Breaker) won the CCI2*-L at the 2023 Twin Rivers Spring International.

As Twin Rivers prepares to host the 2023 USEA YEH West Coast Championships at the end of October, this event will feature qualifiers for 4- and 5-year-olds.

“We love the Younge Event Horse Program,” Greengard said. “It’s such a phenomenal way for the horses to get exposure in a way that’s less stressful for them.”

Greengard will ride the bay Thoroughbred gelding Check The Boxes (Box Score x Multiplyingtheheat) he owns with Andrea Pfeiffer in the 4-year-old qualifier.

“We actually purchased him as a 2-year-old,” Greengard said. “He never raced. He wasn’t even backed. He came through a good friend of ours [William Delia] who was getting out of racing, and he was the one that we felt was the most likely candidate for an event horse. He kind of hung out for two years. I got on him for a little bit as a 3-year-old. He’ll do his first horse show this weekend.”

Smith will ride Julianne Guariglia’s Solaguayre Cantata (Canturo x Solaguayre Clarita) in the dark bay Argentine Sport Horse mare’s first USEA-recognized event in the 5-year-old qualifier.

“She came from the same farm as my Solaguayre California mare,” Smith said about the Argentine Sport Horse mare that she lost earlier this year following complications from surgery. “They’re similarly bred and have similar personalities. It’s a special thing. I think the mare is really talented, one of my nicest horses I’ve had. It’ll be exciting to see what she’s going to come out with.”

The Baxter family that has owned and operated Twin Rivers since 2001 has made a significant commitment to growing Young Event Horse programs on the West Coast. Twin Rivers has hosted the USEA YEH West Coast Championships as a standalone event since 2020. Andrea Baxter will ride the chestnut Irish Sport Horse gelding The Big Easy (Mr Lincoln B x PLS Hippo Q) in the 5-year-old qualifier.

“He’s always had a really, really good brain,” she said. “He’s like an old soul, but physically he was still growing. He still is growing, but he’s a lot more leveled-out now. He’s been going great. He easily jumps the big jumps. I’ve just been trying to get into the right balance timing-wise with his growth.”

She also serves on the USEA’s Young Event Horse Committee.

“That is really helpful that I have such a hand in developing the young horses regularly,” Baxter said. “I keep coming back to my number one thing I brought to the committee asking the 4-year-old [championships] to be smaller [jumps]. Last year, the 4-year-olds was 3-foot-3, and I got them to put that down to a Novice height [of 2-foot-11]. I feel like that was my biggest accomplishment because the 4-year-olds are learning to go, stop, steer, jump basic jumps. Yes, they’re all scopey and horses are being bred to be serious jumper, so typically we’re not lacking scope on the young horses, but we don’t need to overface them as 4-year-olds and getting ahead of ourselves with their trainability.”

The YEH competition kicked off the Twin Rivers Fall International on Thursday.

Twin Rivers Links: Entries & Results | Website

‘Sweet’ Win at Intermediate, ‘Wild’ Win at Preliminary, and Event’s Inaugural Modified Highlight Woodside Summer H.T.

By Jonathan Horowitz on Aug 15, 2023 9:30 am -

Lauren Billys Shady and Can Be Sweet. Photo by Tina Fitch Photography.

Fresh off winning the first-ever international gold medal in eventing for Puerto Rico at the 2023 Central American and Caribbean Games in El Salvador, Lauren Billys Shady and Can Be Sweet returned to their home base of California to win the Intermediate level at the Woodside Summer Horse Trials. Then, Castle Larchfield Purdy, the horse Shady took to two Olympics and one Pan American Games, won the first-ever Modified level held at Woodside with his new partner Nadia Vogt.

At 17 years old, Vogt happens to be four years younger than the 21-year-old Castle Larchfield Purdy. Another teenage rider, 19-year-old Gabriella Ringer, continued her success at the Preliminary level, and her victory aboard Get Wild at Woodside came against her trainers, James and Helen Alliston.

The Woodside Summer H.T. marked the second of three USEA-recognized events hosted at The Horse Park at Woodside in 2023, coming between the Woodside Spring H.T. in May that unveiled new cross country courses and new custom-built show jumps and the upcoming Woodside Fall International in October that will mark the return of competition at the FEI levels to Woodside.

Shady and Can Be Sweet (Candyman x Tres Belle) won their fourth blue ribbon in their last five events competing at Intermediate with a finishing score of 38.1. Marc Grandia and GHS Calexico (Van Gogh x Penhaligon Cairo), the youngest horse in the field of 12 at the level at 8 years old, finished second with a score of 42.1. It was the bay Irish Sport Horse mare’s second run at Intermediate after they also finished second at The Event at Rebecca Farm in Montana.

“He’s quite confident, and he’s quite powerful, and he’s really different from the other horses I’ve had,” Shady said about Can Be Sweet. “He’s got a lot more [Thoroughbred] blood. He’s a lot hotter than the other horses I’ve ridden. So, for me, it was just taking my time to develop him and learn the ride, but I’ve learned a lot getting to ride him and I really enjoy riding him. I just like how fast he is on cross country. I’ve been on colder horses before, and that feeling of being able to really let it rip out there has been really fun for me. Also, just riding a horse that’s a bit smaller has been fun for me, too, because it really suits my size. I feel like I’m kind of on a pocket rocket. I can be quite efficient on him, which is very nice.”

Nadia Vogt and Castle Larchfield Purdy. Photo by Tina Fitch Photography.

Shady said that the long-term goals for her and Can Be Sweet, an 11-year-old bay German Sport Horse gelding, could be the 2026 FEI Eventing World Championships and then the 2028 Olympics. They’ve been together since the horse came from Germany to the United States as a 5-year-old in 2017 and have come a long way from the first time she attempted to ride him.

“I did get bucked off the first day,” Shady recalled. “When he landed in the U.S., I got on him on on the mounting block, and he bucked me off at the mounting block. So, we kind started with a bang, but other than that, he’s been pretty fun to produce.”

Shady represented Puerto Rico at the 2016 and 2020 Olympics with Castle Larchfield Purdy (Karistos x Hallo Purdy), and the bay Irish Sport Horse gelding has since been teaching the next generation of eventers. Maddie Smith rode “Purdy” to success at the Preliminary and two-star levels in 2022 and the start of 2023, and Vogt began leasing him at the beginning of June.

“He’s a very cool horse; I don’t think I’ve ridden anything like him before,” Vogt said. “He saves you a lot if you mess up because he knows what he’s doing. I love riding him. Whenever I get on his back every day, it brings me joy. He’s very fun to work with—definitely tries to test you a little bit when you first get to know him, but he’s a very good horse. At home, he definitely is the horse of the property. He definitely thinks he’s the man of the barn.”

Vogt is a working student for Shady, and Purdy still resides at Shady’s barn. “It’s been so fun because I still get to ride him every day,” Shady said. “I still get to train him every day. And then, he’s teaching young girls up the levels. He’s killing it. He’s so great at it. It’s fun to have him around, and he’s kind of the life of the party. Everybody wants to see him, he’s the king, but also he’s quite grumpy. He’s just fun. He’s part of the furniture of the barn. He needs to be there. He wouldn’t want anything different. He loves to compete. He loads himself on the trailer. He really likes to be out. So, it’s good for him.”

Woodside was Purdy’s second USEA-recognized event with Vogt after they finished third at Training at the Twin Rivers Summer H.T. in Paso Robles, California. At Woodside, they were the only horse and rider out of 18 entries in the event’s inaugural Modified level to finish on their dressage score, winning on 29.5 over Sophie Tice and Viva La Vida (Versace x Daydream by D’Accord) with 30.7.

“The cross-country was great,” Vogt said. “I’ve never done Prelim, but I thought it was a very good step-up for Prelim. I like that it followed the Preliminary track, and the course rode really nicely. There were a lot of open spots to gallop. The jumps were really nice, big, and bold.”

Running a Modified level for the first time represents the next chapter in the growth of eventing at Woodside.

Gabriella Ringer and Get Wild. Photo by Tina Fitch Photography.

“It rode beautifully; people said it looked ominous, but then afterward they came off satisfied and had a great sense of accomplishment because it rode well and was so aligned with the Preliminary course that it was a good test to get them ready for that,” said Victoria Klein, who serves on the Board of Governors of The Horse Park at Woodside.

Added Horse Park Executive Director Steve Roon: “One of the keys about the Modified course is that it takes advantage of all the terrain here at Woodside. It’s through the woods and water and up and down hills with lots of terrain questions and beautiful new jumps that were built for the Modified course.”

Ringer and Get Wild (Plot-Blue x Cantana) won their fifth-straight event at the Preliminary level. The streak started at the Area VI Championships held at the Ram Tap H.T. in Fresno, California, in October 2022. At Woodside, they finished on their dressage score of 27.6, ahead of James Alliston and Cora with 29.3. Ringer trains with James and Helen Alliston at Alliston Equestrian in Castro Valley, California. Helen was fourth on Call Me Rudi.

“She always beats me—every time,” James said with a smile as the three of them rode back to their stables together after the awards ceremony. Ringer said she’s grateful for the four events that James rode “Ace” back in 2021, including three wins at Preliminary. “Being part of their barn and riding with such experts really just solidified our partnership and made us feel much stronger,” Ringer said. “He’s so careful, and he’s super scopey, and for the most part, he’s pretty brave. He’s just a really nice partner going to those big jumps knowing that he’ll clear them for sure.”

Ringer was part of the USEA Emerging Athletes U21 (EA21) Program for developing young riders this year and hopes to be selected for the Area VI team that will compete at the 2023 USEF Eventing Young Rider Championships at Galway Downs in Temecula, California, in November. Get Wild’s win was the 11th at the level for the big 17.1 hh 11-year-old dark bay Dutch Warmblood gelding.

The team at Woodside will now look ahead to the Woodside Fall International on Oct. 6-8 that will feature the event’s first-ever CCI1*-S, as well as a CCI2*-S, CCI3*-S, and CCI4*-S, along with national levels from Starter through Advanced-Intermediate.

“[Bert Wood] will be building 10 additional jumps for Derek’s [di Grazia] FEI courses, and we’re going to continue enhancing all the courses as resources allow,” Klein said.

The full list of winners from the 2023 Woodside Summer H.T.:

Open Intermediate: Lauren Billys Shady and Can Be Sweet (38.1)
Open Preliminary: Gabriella Ringer and Get Wild (27.6)
Open Modified: Nadia Vogt and Castle Larchfield Purdy (29.5)
Open Training: Ella Garcia and Wynville (31.4)
Jr. Training Rider: Anya Ostrovsky and Dassett Whisper (28.8)
Sr. Training Rider: Suzanne Miller and Kryptonite Z (27.8)
Open Novice: Helen Alliston and Barony (25.0)
Jr. Novice Rider: Emma Slocum and Patito (26.1)
Sr. Novice Rider: Lauren Masi and Far N’ Away (31.4)
Novice Amateur: Rhiannon Gorin and CSF Handsome (27.8)
Open Beginner Novice: Ruth Bley and Celest Blue (24.4)
Jr. Beginner Novice: Katherine Jackman and Prada (25.6)
Sr. Beginner Novice Rider A: Olivia Bodner and Nil Phet (34.1)
Sr. Beginner Novice Rider B: Anne Johnson and Grandios Sky (30.0)
Starter A: Daniela Zarate and Lexington DF (22.7)
Starter B: Olivia Galuppo and Mischief Managed (29.3)

Young Horses Take Spotlight at Twin Rivers Summer H.T.

By Jonathan Horowitz on Jul 2, 2023 11:30 am -

James Alliston and Karma. Photo by Ride On Photo.

The 2023 Twin Rivers Summer H.T. in was highlighted by performances of young horses. From the United States Eventing Association (USEA) Young Event Horse competition that kicked off the event on Thursday to the win by Karma ridden by James Alliston as the youngest horse at the Advanced level on Saturday, the future of the sport of eventing on the West Coast looked bright on a hot weekend in Paso Robles, California.

The top-two finishers at the Advanced level were two special mares in West Coast eventing and the youngest and oldest competing at the highest national level at Twin Rivers. Hawley Awad and Jollybo (Jumbo x Polly Coldunnell), a 19-year-old bay British Sport Horse mare, led after a dressage score of 25.5. This was the first Advanced that Jollybo has done at Twin Rivers since 2017 — before the mare competed in her first 5* at the Kentucky Three-Day Event that year. Awad and Jollybo would go on to represent Canada at the 2018 World Equestrian Games and the 2022 FEI Eventing World Championships.

Alliston and Karma (Escudo II x Travita), a 9-year-old bay Oldenburg mare, overtook Jollybo with a double-clear cross-country round, the only one at the level to jump clear and finish inside the time on the course designed by Morgan Rowsell. The mare added one rail and two seconds of time penalties in show jumping to win with a score of 38.4.

“She’s definitely improving all the time,” Alliston said. “She’s naturally obviously very fast with lots of energy and enthusiastic about her cross-country and her jumping. So that’s nice to have naturally.”

James Alliston and Karma. Photo by Ride On Photo.

Karma was coming off a strong eighth-place finish in the CCI4*-S at this year’s Kentucky Three-Day Event. Alliston said his short-term goal for Karma would be the CCI4*-L at The Event at Rebecca Farm in Kalispell, Montana, at the end of the month, and the long-term goal would be her CCI5*-L debut at the 2024 Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event.

“There were hard enough fences to make sure we’re awake with the four-long to come, but hopefully it was a nice confidence builder as well,” Alliston said. “She is a warmblood, but she’s a very good galloping warmblood. This [was] a nice, good fitness run here. I went pretty quickly just to bring the fitness along.”

The 2023 Twin Rivers Summer H.T. kicked off on Thursday with its first Young Event Horse qualifier on the road to the Dutta Corp. USEA Young Event Horse West Coast Championships that will be held at Twin Rivers Ranch on October 27-28.

Sigourney Jellins and Cobain PJ. Photo by Ride On Photo.

Cobain PJ (Carridam PJ x Evian), a bay Hanoverian gelding owned and ridden by Sigourney Jellins, won the 4-year-old qualifier with a score of 83.1, the third-highest 4-year-old qualifying score in the United States so far this year.

“I couldn’t be any happier,” Jellins said. “It’s his first show over here and only his second time away from home. So, he’s just a really cool horse, and I’m really excited about his future.”

Jellins acquired Cobain PJ at the end of March because he’s a full-brother to her 6-year-old Hanoverian mare Catalina PJ that she moved up to the Modified level at the Twin Rivers Summer H.T. Jellins and Catalina PJ won the YEH 5-year-old qualifier at this event last year.

“I loved her so much that I bought the full-brother,” she said. “I let him hang out for the first couple months to hang out and be a horse. I started just doing groundwork with him. He was already under saddle with a breeder in Germany and I’ve had him under saddle here for a month and a half or so, and he’s fantastic. What a sensible guy and so sweet. He’s kind of one of those horses that thinks everything is easy.”

Amber Birtcil and New Gaillard AJK. Photo by Ride On Photo.

New Gaillard AJK (Gaillard De La Pomme x Pikolina), a bay Dutch Warmblood gelding owned by Cellar Farm Corp. and ridden by Amber Birtcil, won the 5-year-old qualifier with a score of 87.3, the seventh-highest 5-year-old qualifying score in the U.S. so far this year.

“He’s super to ride,” Birtcil said. “He’s brave. He’s just been lovely to develop.”

Birtcil bought “Gary” (“It suits his personality; he’s a little bit of a goofball,” she said) when he was 2 years old. He remained in the Netherlands until coming to America shortly before the 2022 USEA YEH West Coast Championships, where he finished fifth as a 4-year-old.

“I love it,” Birtcil said about the YEH program. “I think it’s a great introduction for them as far as learning to go in the water and be in the show atmosphere. Especially, I love doing the Championships with the horses. They go up in the big ring with the flags. The jumping is so beautifully decorated. It’s challenging, but it’s inviting for the young horses at the same time. So, any 4- and 5-year-old we have in the barn, we drag them out, and they all get to do a qualifier or the Last Chance Qualifier, and everything we have goes and does the Championships, if nothing else just for the experience, because I think it’s a great way to introduce them to the sport.”

Other highlights from the Twin Rivers Summer H.T. included victory at Intermediate by Tommy Greengard and Joshuay MBF (Foreign Affair x Fernacchy MBF) with a score of 29.7. It was the first blue ribbon for the 9-year-old bay Dutch Warmblood gelding since the Intermediate championship at the 2022 USEA American Eventing Championships.

Molly Duda continued her strong 2023 with a win in the Open Preliminary division on her 11-year-old chestnut Irish Sport Horse gelding Carlingfords Hes a Clover (Polanski x Fourleaf Clover) with a score of 20.2. In 16 competitions this year, Duda has won six times and been in the top-three 12 times at levels ranging from Training to Intermediate/three-star.

Gabriella Ringer and Get Wild (Plot-Blue x Cantana), the 2022 Area VI Preliminary champions, won the Preliminary Rider division with the lowest finishing score of the weekend of 19.5. They also won the Preliminary Rider division at last year’s Twin Rivers Summer H.T.

Adri Doyal designed the cross-country courses from Intermediate through Starter at Twin Rivers. The cross-country building and facilities management teams at Twin Rivers put in extra hours managing the courses in a heat wave. Organizers adjusted ride times in response to triple-digit temperatures, and competitors ensured positive experiences for their horses.

Tommy Greengard and Joshuay MBF. Photo by Ride On Photo.

While the West Coast eventing community came together at Twin Rivers during the weekend, two West-Coast-based pairs were representing their countries at the prestigious CHIO Aachen CCIO4*-S at the World Equestrian Festival in Germany. Tamie Smith and Mai Baum (Loredano x Ramira) followed up their historic victory in the Kentucky 5* by finishing third individually as part of the silver-medal-winning United States team at Aachen. Rebecca Braitling and Caravaggio II (Vangelis-S x Courtesan), who train out of Twin Rivers and won the Advanced level at the 2023 Twin Rivers Spring International, were part of the Australian team.

“The competition at Twin Rivers and at Aachen shows how strong eventing on the West Coast is,” said Connie Baxter, organizer of events at Twin Rivers. “We’re very grateful for all the riders, volunteers, officials, and sponsors that helped make this weekend a success. We appreciate the support of everyone during an unusually hot weekend, and it was a total team effort. We look forward to the remaining events we’re hosting this year.”

Twin Rivers Ranch will next host the Twin Rivers Fall International on Sept. 21-24. The Dutta Corp. USEA Young Event Horse West Coast Championships will take place on October 27-28, with a Last Chance Qualifier on October 26. Twin Rivers will also host events that are part of the Young Horse Show (YHS) Series on September 16 and October 26. The YHS/FEH Regional Finals will take place on October 28, combining Future Event Horse and Young Event Horse championships.

The full list of winners from the 2023 Twin Rivers Summer H.T.:

Advanced: James Alliston and Karma (38.4)
Open Intermediate: Tommy Greengard and Joshuay MBF (29.7)
Open Preliminary: Molly Duda and Carlingfords Hes a Clover (20.2)
Preliminary Rider: Gabriella Ringer and Get Wild (19.5)
Open Modified: Anna Pierce and Dreamweaver (39.2)
Open Training: Helen Alliston and Barony (30.2)
Sr. Training Rider: Mackenzie Davison and Lockdown JPL (32.8)
Jr. Training Rider: Ellie Ryhorchuk and Jacobite (28.6)
Open Novice: Grace Brownrigg and Dhaulagiri (31.7)
Sr. Novice Rider: Ashley McCaughan and Excel Star Megawatt (33.6)
Jr. Novice Rider: Lauren Klein and Little Ghost (29.7)
Open Beginner Novice: Auburn Excell Brady and Carlo R (31.3)
Beginner Novice Rider: Annie Desmond and Little Elf (32.2)
Starter: Daniela Zarate and Lexington DF (33.0)
YEH-4: Sigourney Jellins and Cobain PJ (83.1)
YEH-5: Amber Birtcil and New Gaillard AJK (87.3)

Twin Rivers Summer H.T. (Paso Robles, CA): Website, Entry Status/Ride Times/Live Scoring

Woodside Recognizes the Best in the West

By Jonathan Horowitz on May 29, 2023 2:30 pm -

The 2023 Woodside Spring H.T. served as a celebration of the successes of the West Coast eventers that competed in the Kentucky Three-Day Event, as well as what’s in store for the future of the sport in California.

On the eve of competition on Thursday, organizers at the Woodside Horse Trials held a party in honor of both Tamie Smith’s historic win in the Kentucky five-star and the team of cross country builders led by Bert Wood that unveiled new courses at The Horse Park. Derek di Grazia designed the new Advanced and Intermediate tracks, with Wood designing the new tracks for Preliminary through Starter.

“Of course it is always a wonderful feeling being back home in California, and to have been recognized the way Woodside did is humbling and a tremendous honor,” Smith said. “There are many of us who dream of being able to accomplish big things in this sport. So I hope to continue to be an advocate and example of the ability to achieve these goals and dreams from the West Coast.”

In addition to Smith’s becoming the first American since Phillip Dutton and Connaught in 2008 and the first West Coast eventer since di Grazia and Sasquatch in 1985 to win the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event, California-based James Alliston completed his first five-star since 2016.

James Alliston and Call Me Rudi. Tina Fitch Photography photo.

Alliston, who rode Nemesis to 20th place in the five-star debut for the 9-year-old Canadian Warmblood gelding (Novalis 46 x Sara’s Muse), is back competing California. Focusing on his up-and-coming prospects, he rode Call Me Rudi and Cora to a one-two finish in the Open Preliminary division at Woodside. Alliston has developed a reputation for bringing young horses up the levels, and Nemesis was the youngest in this year’s Kentucky five-star field.

“Good to be back home helping my students and riding my up-and-coming horses who will hopefully be able to go east in a few years,” Alliston said. “Very exciting that Tamie won in Kentucky having honed her skills and produced her horses in California. Courses were amazing and excited to have such challenging and educational tracks here. Many thanks to Derek and Bert and also the Woodside organizers who have worked hard on this show.”

Call Me Rudi, an 8-year-old bay Bavarian Warmblood gelding, finished on his dressage score of 25.3. Cora, an 8-year-old bay Hanoverian mare, was second on her dressage score of 26.8. James’ wife, Helen, was seventh in the division riding HSH Redfield Hillside Star.

“They are both exciting German horses who look like they have promising futures,” Alliston said. “Call Me Rudi is owned by a partnership with John Matheny and will be for Helen to ride. I think she will take over after this show.”

While Smith and Alliston have proven themselves at the highest levels of the sport, the Woodside Spring H.T. also spotlighted the continuing rise of 18-year-old Molly Duda. Duda was coming off her first career FEI win in the CCI3*-S with Disco Traveler at the Twin Rivers Spring International. The dark bay 14-year-old Swedish Warmblood gelding (Donatelli x Cadence) won the Open Intermediate division at Woodside as the only horse at the level to finish on his dressage score, 33.4. Duda and “Disco” were the only pair to go double clear on either di Grazia’s cross-country or Marc Donovan’s show jumping courses at Intermediate. This was their third win in a row at either the Intermediate or three-star levels.

Molly Duda and Disco Traveler. Tina Fitch Photography photo.

“My trainer [Mickayla Howard] and I got emotional last Thursday when we arrived at The Horse Park— exactly one year ago at this event, Disco and I completed our first show together and took home our first blue ribbon in the Junior Training Rider division” Duda said. “Now, winning the Intermediate just a year later feels like a dream. I am absolutely filled with gratitude for this horse, and for my trainer, Mickayla, who has always supported our partnership and pushed us to be the best we can. Disco and I are still at the beginning of our journey together, and I can’t wait to see where it takes us.”

At Advanced, Amber Birtcil and the Cellar Farm Corp’s Cinzano won in the return of the 12-year-old dark bay Holsteiner gelding (Classe x Walta) to the level for the first time since 2021.

“Cinzano and I have been together for about seven years now; even though the scoreboard doesn’t reflect it, I was thrilled with our weekend,” said Birtcil, who won with a score of 108.2. “This was our return to the level, and although I felt a bit rusty, he was excellent and it felt great to cross that finish line. I’m excited to build on this and tackle the rest of the season together. The event was wonderful with new course by Derek, brand new show jumps and everything was decorated and looking stunning. They’ve truly done a wonderful job! I’m excited to come back later this year.”

Amber Biracial and Cinzano. Photo by Tina Fitch Photography.

In addition to the new cross-country tracks, The Woodside Horse Trials unveiled new show jumps built by Jonathan Berger of JB Horse Standards in Sacramento. The new jumps reflected how the West Coast eventing community came together to support horse trials at Woodside with 15 training barns donating to the building of new jumps and acquisition of other eventing equipment.

“To me, the incredible thing about this weekend was that it was a celebration of West Coast eventing where everybody came together,” said Steve Roon, Executive Director of The Horse Park at Woodside. “We had enormous support from the community to enable the work to be done, and we had marvelous artisans to create the cross-country courses. We had marvelous JB jumps to execute all the stadium jumps. It truly ended up being a celebration of West Coast eventing.”

The Woodside Horse Trials recognized: Anke Herbert Dressage, Bay Haven Equestrian, Cellar Farm, Cheval Training, Chocolate Horse Farm, Equinox Equestrian, Fox Equestrian, Kismet Farms, Lauren LoPiccolo Equestrian, Portola Valley Pony Club, Rising Tides Equestrian, Sauvignon Eventing, Tayside Sport Horses, The Fencing Pony, and Webb Ranch. Many had their logos emblazoned on custom-built jump standards.

Tamie Smith speaks at the party in her honor on the eve of competition at the Woodside Spring H.T.
Tina Fitch Photography photo.

“The changes that the team at Woodside made were absolutely vital to our success and future of West Coast eventing, and to see the community from all demographics contribute was even more touching,” Smith said.

Horse trials at Woodside will continue in 2023 with the Woodside Summer H.T. with plans to add a Modified level. Then, the Woodside Fall International on October 6-8 will mark the return of eventing at the FEI levels to Woodside with a CCI1*-S planned to be run for the first time alongside the CCI2*-S, CCI3*-S, and CCI4*-S.

“In order to continue to keep our horses and riders at the top of their game, these changes and efforts are imperative,” Smith said. “Overall, Woodside and their team hit it out of the park, and I only can hope other venues and our eventing community use this as an example to strive for in years to come.”

Victoria Klein and Steve Roon from The Horse Park at Woodside present a plaque to Tamie Smith recognizing her
five-star win in Kentucky that she could choose to place on any cross-country fence at Woodside.

Links Results | Website

The full list of winners from the 2023 Woodside Spring H.T.:

Advanced: Amber Birtcil and Cinzano (108.2)
Open Intermediate: Molly Duda and Disco Traveler (33.4)
Open Preliminary: James Alliston and Call Me Rudi (25.3)
Preliminary Rider: Coco Meerkamp and Dalanteretto (29.2)
Open Training: Sophie Tice and Viva La Vida (23.6)
Jr. Training Rider: Isabelle Eppink and Enfinity (28.6)
Sr. Training Rider: Mickayla Howard and Miss Tique (23.6)
Training Amateur: Leah Yacoub Halperin and Rodrigue Du Granit (30.5)
Open Novice: Kristen Joly and Kleary’s Rosie the Riveting (29.7)
Jr. Novice Rider: Holly Fosmark and When Starz Align (24.7)
Sr. Novice Rider: Eri Takada and Toronto Z (27.2)
Novice Amateur: Angela Bryson and Petite Pavarotti (28.3)
Novice Horse: Lauren Billys Shady and Mister Cooley (22.5)
Open Beginner Novice: Alexis Helffrich and Casanova (23.2)
Jr. Beginner Novice: Zoe Barker and Kontessa M (21.2)
Sr. Beginner Novice Rider A: Eileen Morgenthaler and Levitate (23.6)
Sr. Beginner Novice Rider B: Annie Desmond and Little Elf (25.6)
Jr. Starter: Michaela Smith and Cashmaker (22.3)
Sr. Starter: Megan LeFave and Lord Rocco (28.7)

Connect with Woodside

Location: 3674 Sand Hill Road, Woodside, CA 94062
Email: Send message at http://www.horsepark.org/emailmessage.php
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FEI Long Format Recap: Sibling Horses with Married Riders Win FEI Classes at Twin Rivers Spring International

By Jonathan Horowitz on Apr 17, 2023 11:00 am -

The day after Nemesis won the CCI4*-S at the 2023 Twin Rivers Spring International, his younger brother Flinterro Z won his first FEI competition in the CCI3*-L. James Alliston rode Nemesis to the four-star win, and his wife, Helen Alliston, was aboard Flinterro Z in the three-star. Other highlights from Sunday’s final day of the Twin Rivers Spring International in Paso Robles, California, were the second-straight victory at the CCI2*-L level by Crafty Don and Tamie Smith, as well as a win by Jillian Newman and Curraghgraigue Freeman in the first ever CCI1*-L held at Twin Rivers Ranch.

Both Nemesis, who is 9, and Flinterro Z, who is 8, are out of the Thoroughbred dam Sara’s Muse, and both were bred by Danielle Burgess in Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada. (Note: The dam of Nemesis is registered with the FEI as Maesy, which is the barn name for Sara’s Muse.) However, the two brothers are quite different in terms of their looks and personality, according to Helen Alliston. Nemesis is by Novalis 46 and is a chestnut gelding registered as a Canadian Warmblood. Flinterro Z is by Figaro B and is a bay gelding registered as a Zangersheide.

Helen Alliston and Flinterro Z. Ride On Photo.

“We just really liked Nemesis, and [Burgess] said she had another one, and she claimed it was even better,” Helen said about Flinterro Z, who was a rising 2-year-old when the Allistons purchased him. “She did say on the phone he’s a bit small right now but he’ll grow, don’t worry. We bought him sight unseen, and when he showed up—Marc Grandia actually drove him down from Canada, and we met him at like one in the morning—and I remember he was tiny and pretty weird-looking. I just remember James and I drove home, and James lay in bed with his eyeballs popping out of his head like, ‘What did we buy?’ He was kind of like an ugly-ducking turned-swan because now he’s beautiful. As soon as we saw him moving, we knew he was a nice horse.”

Flinterro Z added 2.0 time penalties on cross-country and 1.2 time penalties in show jumping to their dressage score of 29.6 to finish with a score of 32.8.
“I wasn’t actually going to do this class, but one of our other horses [Addyson] got hurt that was entered here,” Helen said “So, I took that entry and just threw him in here.”

As far as what’s next for Flinterro Z, Helen joked, “I don’t really have a plan because this wasn’t the plan,” although she added that she’s considering the CCI3*-L at The Event at Rebecca Farm in Kalispell, Montana, in July.

Tamie Smith and Crafty Don. Ride On Photo.

The CCI2*-L represented Crafty Don’s (Tolan R x Diamond Breaker) seventh victory in 20 events since 2021 and second at the CCI2*-L level. Julianne Guariglia’s 7-year-old bay Irish Sport Horse gelding and Smith finished on their dressage score of 26.8.

“He’s just super consistent,” Smith said. “He’s very careful. He’s mostly Thoroughbred. He’s Irish-bred. And, even though he’s 18 hands, 17.3, or whatever, he just goes like a Thoroughbred really light across the ground, and he finds all the phases super easy.”

Having finished fifth in the Dutta Corp. USEA Young Event Horse (YEH) West Coast Championships for 5-year-olds in 2021, Crafty Don is in the running for the Holekamp/Turner Young Event Horse Lion d’Angers Grant, and Smith is considering aiming the bay Irish Sport Horse gelding for this year’s FEI World Young Horse Championships at Mondial du Lion in France.

“He’s probably been ready to move up to Intermediate, and I’ve just been trying to take my time because he is careful,” Smith said. “So, I think he’s ready now. He is in contention for the Le Lion young horse grant for the 7-Year-Old World Championships, and I think we’ll just see how the year plays and see if that’s something that we’ll end up doing with him—as long as when he moves up he feels confident because you’ve got to have a very bold, strong cross-country and show jumping horse there.”

Jillian Newman and Curraghgraigue Freeman. Ride On Photo.

Newman’s journey to victory in the CCI1*-L in the 17-year-old rider’s first FEI competition began when she saw a Facebook post about Curraghgraigue Freeman (Freeman VDL x Curraghgraigue Vella Erri).

“I liked his size and he looked like a good boy, but he had a pink nose,” Newman said, with a laugh. “I really liked his face. He looked like he had a kind eye.”
However, five days after the 8-year-old bay Irish Sport Horse gelding arrived in the United States in June 2021, he underwent colic surgery. It would be six months before Freeman could start working with her new horse, although that time did allow her to develop a bond that helped accelerate their journey through the eventing levels. She bestowed the barn name of “Quincy” on Curraghgraigue Freeman, and that barn name continues to take on several other iterations like “Q Man” and “Quinoa.”
“It was rough, but it was nice because we got time where I got to know him and he got to know me,” Newman said. “So, we trusted each other a lot before I started competing him.”

Jillian and Quincy won their first event together in February 2022 at the Galway Downs Kickoff H.T. in their hometown of Temecula, California, in the Junior Novice Rider Division. They did seven USEA-recognized events together in 2022 with six top-five finishes and moved up to Modified for their final competition of the season in the Galway Downs International Event & H.T. in November. Before Quincy, Newman, who began eventing when she was 13 in 2019, had competed as high as Novice.

In 2023, they were part of the first Modified level ever offered at Twin Rivers at the Twin Rivers Winter H.T. in March, finishing 14th of 26 with a score of 39.1. Before attempting their first FEI competition in the inaugural CCI1*-L at the 2023 Twin Rivers Spring International, Jillian and Quincy entered the Preliminary level at the Galway Downs International H.T. with the plan of doing dressage and show jumping at the higher level and then withdrawing before cross-country.

That set them up for the best dressage score they’ve had together—27.0. They added 1.6 time penalties in show jumping to finish with a score of 28.6.

“He’s great because he’s super brave,” Newman said about Quincy. “So, the size of the jump was never an issue for him; it was just getting rideability. Now, he’s finally at a point where he’s so rideable and good.”

Newman will graduate from Great Oak High School this year and plans to attend Virginia Tech in the fall where she will study environmental policy, join the Hokies eventing team, and compete in the USEA’s Intercollegiate Eventing Program.

In 2023, there were a total of 56 entries across the FEI classes, more than three times as many as the 17 for the Twin Rivers Spring International. Twin Rivers Ranch will next host the Twin Rivers Summer H.T. from June 29 to July 2, followed by the Twin Rivers Fall International on Sept. 21-24, and then the Dutta Corp. USEA Young Event Horse West Coast Championships on October 27-28.

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Sponsors and Volunteers

Twin Rivers is proud to host the 2023 Twin Rivers Spring International with generous support from sponsors.

Presenting sponsors for the season include: LEGIS Equine, horsemen insuring horsemen, Auburn Labs, manufacturers of the adaptogenic APF Formula for horses, people and dogs; Best Western PLUS Black Oak, which offers exclusive discounts for exhibitors; and Professional’s Choice, manufacturers of sports medicine boots for equine athletes.

Supporting sponsors include: Chubby Cov, makers of beautiful custom stock ties; Riding Warehouse, the horse gear and apparel supplier; RevitaVet, a leader in preventative maintenance and rehabilitative infrared therapy devices; and Devoucoux, saddle makers dedicated to the partnership between horse and rider.
For sponsorship opportunities, please contact Christina Gray of Gray Area Events at [email protected].

Volunteers play a major part of events at Twin Rivers. Twin Rivers’ generous volunteer incentive program includes vouchers for show stabling and credits for schooling between events at the beautiful 500-acre venue. That is in addition to the genuine appreciation of the Baxter family and the entire Twin Rivers team. To sign up, please visit
www.twinrivershorsepark/volunteer.

Twin Rivers FEI Short Format and Advanced: Alliston Takes First and Second in CCI4-S, Duda Wins First Career FEI in CCI3-S

By Jonathan Horowitz on Apr 16, 2023 11:30 am -

James Alliston and Nemesis. Photo by Ride On Photo.

A James Alliston one-two in the CCI4*-S and Molly Duda’s first career FEI victory in the CCI3*-S highlighted the conclusion of the FEI short-format competition at the Twin Rivers Spring International in Paso Robles, California, on Saturday. Also, Rebecca Braitling and Caravaggio II produced a classy cross-country round to win the Advanced level, and Camille Brewer and Cooley Rock Star won the CCI2*-S by just two-tenths of a point.

Alliston was using Twin Rivers as the final runs for Nemesis and Karma before heading to the prestigious Land Rover Kentucky-Three Day Event at the end of the month. Twin Rivers has been his final prep before his last six trips to Kentucky as well. Nemesis (Novalis 46 x Maesy) won the CCI4*-S at Twin Rivers in 2023 by adding just 0.8 time penalties on cross-country for a finishing score of 30.0. The chestnut Canadian Warmblood gelding was third in the CCI4*-S in Kentucky in 2022 and will be aiming for his first CCI5*-L in Lexington in 2023.

Bec Braitling and Caravaggio II. Photo by Ride On Photo.

Karma (Escudo II x Travita) finished five seconds under optimum time—and were the only pair in the field of six to do so—on Morgan Rowsell’s four-star cross-country course to take second in the CCI4*-S at Twin Rivers with a score of 39.2.

“I feel good about the preparation obviously,” Alliston said. “I don’t want to put too many expectations on how competitive I think I’ll be with a young horse, and it’s been a while for me personally. It’s whole ’nother world out there with the world’s best obviously. So, I’m happy with how it went this weekend, and hopefully that can be a springboard to a good performance there.”

Both Nemesis and Karma will be the youngest for their respective levels in Kentucky, and it will be reminiscent of Alliston’s first time there in 2011 when he and the 9-year-old Thoroughbred gelding Parker (Marquetry x Hello Mom) finished 14th out of 45 in 2011.

“It seems a bit aggressive, but I feel like you have a small window with these horses where they’re going well and healthy and everything,” Alliston said.

Also headed to Kentucky out of Twin Rivers’ CCI4*-S will be Tamie Smith and Elliot V (Zavall VDL x Vera-R), a 14-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding owned by the Elliot V Partnership. They were third with a score of 40.5.

Molly Duda and Disco Traveler. Photo by Ride On Photo.

In the CCI3*-S, Duda’s victory on Disco Traveler (Donatelli x Cadence), a 14-year-old Swedish Warmblood gelding, was the first in international competition for the 18-year-old rider from Menlo Park, California. Duda and Disco Traveler were coming off a victory in their move-up to Intermediate at the Galway Downs International H.T. in March. At Twin, they were the only pair in the field of 17 to finish on their dressage score—33.7. They were just one of two to go double-clear on cross-country on Saturday.

“This weekend was absolutely incredible,” Duda said. “Disco gave me his all and took care of me in all three phases. I think what makes our partnership special is that we have so much mutual trust, and we just love working together. I’ve been riding him for about two years now, and he took me all the way from Training level to my first Intermediate, and now my first FEI win. I’m so excited to continue building our partnership this season and see how far we can go together.”

Camille Brewer and Cooley Rock Star. Photo by Ride On Photo.

At Advanced, Braitling and Caravaggio II, a 12-year-old British Sport Horse gelding owned by Arnell Sporthorses, continued their streak of never having a cross-country jump fault in the 29 events they’ve completed since they started competing together in 2019.

In the CCI2*-S, Camille Brewer and Cooley Rock Star (O.B.O.S. Quality x Farna), a 13-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding, won with a score of 29.2. They were first after dressage with a score of 28.0, dropped to second after show jumping when they added 1.2 time penalties, and regained the top-spot after a double-clear cross-country round.

FEI competition at the 2023 Twin Rivers Spring International will conclude on Sunday with show jumping for the CCI3*-L, which is the first Selection Trial of 2023 for the U.S. team that will compete at the 2023 Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile, at the end of October. Other FEI levels that will crown their winners on Sunday will be the CCI2*-L and the first CCI1*-L in the history of Twin Rivers Ranch.

Twin Rivers Spring International (Paso Robles, CA) [Website] [Entries / Ride Times] [Volunteer][Scoring]

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