Mia Farley and BGS Firecracker. Photo by Abby Powell.

Rarely in our sport do all of the pieces seem to come together at just the right time. A brilliant dressage test here, a confident cross country there, a clean show jumping round somewhere in between — but not all at once, not as often as we’d like. But no matter what our end goal is, we are all still in pursuit of the same goal: one weekend where it all happens. Just one, enough to stock up on motivation to start the process all over again.

The weekend of the Dutta Corp. Fair Hill International was one such moment for 19 year old Mia Farley. Finishing in Reserve Champion position in the CCI4*-L — the first attempt at the Long level for both Mia and her nine year old Irish Sport Horse mare BGS Firecracker — was the ultimate payoff for the attention to detail Mia had focused on in the months prior.

I first made Mia’s acquaintance when she was 14 and competing Donn and Daisy Tognazzini’s The Good Witch at the American Eventing Championships. Mature much beyond her years and impressively well spoken, Mia didn’t hesitate to tell me that her pie in the sky goal was the Olympics. “I know everyone says that, but I just keep learning that things are possible when you work hard,” she said then. Now, five years later, she’s inching ever closer to that goal, but she also reminds us of the bigger picture that keeps her grounded: “I just want to be a good horsewoman.”

Mia Farley and Fernhill Fine Diamond. Photo by Abby Powell.

Mia relocated from her home in southern  California to Virginia to take advantage of an opportunity to join the O’Connor Event Team just in time for the early 2018 season. Her first lesson was a return to the fundamentals of riding, the competitive rider’s foundation. David O’Connor, Mia noted, was studiously detailed and encouraged her to break down her riding to address individual, smaller issues.

“He had me starting out with a lot of bareback dressage,” Mia recalled. “I wasn’t able to get my hips to follow properly, and those lessons were a big eye opener for me. The fact that I couldn’t use my hips properly was a basic thing, but I needed a better grasp of the idea.”

Mia also mentions her elbows, another detail that needed attention. “I would get confused with keeping my hands still but keeping my elbows moving,” she explained. “This made me lock my arms. David really helped me with this and taught me to have quieter hands.”

As Mia prepared to move BGS Firecracker (“Cracker”, as Mia likes to call her) up to the Advanced level heading into 2019, the learning curve continued. Every competitive, hungry up and coming rider wants to have success quickly, but Mia would need to address the foundational issues first.

“David is really big on teaching us to go with what the horse is telling us,” Mia said. “It’s been a struggle for me, because I always want to fix a problem right away. But he’s good at reminding me that you get there faster if you go slower.”

With Cracker, this has been invaluable. Mia’s developed an affinity for riding mares (The Good Witch, Fernhill Fine Diamond, and now BGS Firecracker had been the mares who have shaped her career) but this requires a level-headedness that we don’t all possess. And Cracker hasn’t been the easiest to partner with, Mia admits. The beginning of the pair’s first Advanced season was far from ideal — they ultimately came to grief with a double dose of eliminations earlier this spring.

Mia Farley and Fernhill Fine Diamond. Photo by Abby Powell.

But as we all do, Mia kept her head down and kept at it, finding issues, addressing them, continuing on. The pieces began to fit together. Mia learned to ride more efficiently across the country. She continued to work on building trust with her mare. Two cracking prep runs before Fair Hill gave her more confidence as her 4*-L debut barreled toward her. She credits the O’Connors as well as her past trainer and mentor, Ginnie Bryant, for giving her both the motivation to keep chipping away and the confidence to believe that she was up to the challenge. “It’s amazing what you’re motivated to do when someone believes in you,” she said. “I think heading into Fair Hill, David and Karen knew I was more ready than I thought I was.”

Mia is quick to point out the areas in which she’d have liked to have done better during Fair Hill weekend, and she says her main expectation as she went in to show jump was to just have a clean round. But the end result was better than she ever imagined — “If you’d told me six months ago that I’d end up second at the Fair Hill four-star at the end of this year, I would have laughed at you.” To add a cherry on top of the whole pie, Mia also finished 11th in the CCI3*-L with Fernhill Fine Diamond, who she has campaigned this year for now-owner Charlotte Zovighian.

For Mia, the weekend was a taste of what she’s spent her still-young career working for, and it was a large enough dose of inspiration to bottle up for the next go-round.

“It was a true privilege to be able to ride with top riders like that, and I’m very thankful to have a horse that allows me to do that,” she said. “Making a bond with my horses is really important to me. I remember saying a long time ago that I hoped I would be able to have that relationship with my horse that would get us to the upper levels and, well, now I guess I can say I’ve done that.”

A rider schools the water at Barnstaple South. Photo via the Barnstaple Facebook page.

Derek Strine knows a good opportunity when he sees one. A lifelong businessman and real estate investor, Derek got back into the horse world after a number of years when his daughter, Katie, began riding. Now the owner of a booming new facility in Ocala, Barnstaple South, with plenty of support funneling in from an array of side hustles, Derek says eventing has become his second home. He plans to give the sport as much support as he can muster thanks to his knack for growing businesses.

Everything started when Derek’s daughter began riding with Bruce Davidson in Pennsylvania. From spending time around the jumper ring, where Katie had previously competed, Derek began to notice something: people flocked to the show jumping scene, but eventing seemed to get much less support.

But Derek admired the well-known eventer work ethic, the bootstrapping attitude that has transformed scrappy riders into polished professionals. He liked the attitude, so he started studying.

“I thought it was the right thing to do to put the riders and horses first and not just go after money,” Derek explained of his idea to start getting involved with the eventing community. Derek was in a position in which he knew he’d have enough financial backing from his various other businesses — more on that later — to be able to make an impact for eventing. And so he went to the eventing mecca, Ocala, Florida, where he purchased a parcel of land that would later be named Barnstaple South.

Photo via Barnstaple South on Facebook.

Derek worked with cross country course builder Mark McCleary, who built over a hundred fences for Barnstaple South. This was done with input from Derek, who had spent time poring over the questions asked on most courses and noticing that many facilities didn’t cater as much to the lower levels, as well as numerous top professionals such as Caroline Martin, Capt. Mark Phillips, Leslie and Lesley Law, John Michael Durr, and countless others with vast amounts of experience.

“The bulk of what we have added is for the lower levels,” Derek explained. He went on to go into the details of his facility’s offerings from a marketing standpoint. Go after the largest market, he advises, because that’s your biggest potential revenue source. “It’s a pyramid,” he continued. “From a marketing standpoint, you go after the broadest market — lower level horses and riders. We want to focus on good education that’s fun and safe and on good footing.”

Since its opening in 2018, Barnstaple South has added upgraded footing, more cross country schooling questions, and more amenities both for daily visitors as well as long-term renters. Barnstaple has become a destination for many riders heading south for the winter, with full-service facility features available for the winter season or even year round.

Coming down the pipe for the facility are recognized horse trials in 2021 as well as the USEA Young Event Horse Symposium in 2020. All of this has become a bit of a passion project for Derek, who says he simply wants to have a hand in helping the sport and its hard working participants grow. Contributing to the eventing has become his second love, and he wanted to find ways to expand the learning opportunities within the sport.

But how does Derek support this endeavor? I couldn’t help but ask — after all, we all know there isn’t much in the way of hand-over-fist revenue abounding in our beloved sport. Here is where Derek can’t stop talking — growing businesses has always been his life’s work, and he seems to enjoy the thrill of taking something and building it from the ground up.

Pennhurst Asylum. Photo via AETV.com.

One of his most perennially successful ventures is the Pennhurst Asylum, many times over voted the number one scariest haunted house in the U.S. Situated in an abandoned mental health hospital in rural Spring City, Pennsylvania, the Pennhurst Asylum is one of Derek’s favorite projects to date.

“I’ve been involved with [Pennhurst Asylum] for three years,” he said. “We get tens of thousands of visitors each season, and it’s very well-known among haunted house fans. It’s a long-term real estate development project, so we have plans going forward 20 years for the property.”

Derek says the success of the haunted house has enabled him to continue to invest in his southern facility in Ocala, but his involvement doesn’t end there. Derek has also gone into business with Caroline Martin and Emil Spadon sourcing horses to sell. After a trip to the world-class Aachen event with Caroline and Islandwood Captain Jack, Derek wanted to find more ways to raise the bar of competition here in the States.

Caroline Martin and Islandwood Captain Jack. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

“Teaming up with Caroline has been a great way to bring in more revenue for supporting [Barnstaple South],” Derek explained. “Having her expertise and sales ability makes that side of business easy while also bringing more quality horses into the country for our riders to compete with.”

It’s a hectic life for Derek, who commutes weekly between Florida and Pennsylvania and often says he forgets which car he’s looking for at whichever airport he finds himself haunting in the wee hours of the morning. It was fascinating to hear his perspective, as someone otherwise uninvested in riding personally, of wanting to simply help a sport he’s grown an affinity for grow and prosper.

“Financially, it seems that the eventers are the least supported in the business,” he said. “They’re more of the ‘can do’, ‘get it done’ type of people, and I have a lot of respect for that. I have a way to help support them, and I’ll keep doing it for as long as I can.”

Looking for something spooky to do this Halloween? Ask for Derek on your visit to Pennhurst Asylum and enjoy a free (and even scarier) upgrade to VIP. You can also check out an A&E special done on Pennhurst Asylum here.

Thibault Fornier and Siniani de Lathus. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

Update on 10/29:

An update from today on Thibault’s Facebook page shows even more progress being made, as Thibault was able to stand for a few moments. On 10/25, the page also posted that Thibault was also able to eat a bit.

Update on 10/24:

Thibault has passed two milestones in his recovery, according to the most recent update posted on his social media pages. We’re pleased to report that Thibault is no longer under respiratory assistance and is also no longer under sedation — both excellent updates. We will continue to monitor for updates on his condition and will provide them as they become available.

24-year-old French eventer Thibault Fournier has opened his eyes and continues to make slow progress after a fall on cross country at Pompadour Horse Trials in France earlier this month. Thibault was competing Chactas Chalonges, a 7-year-old Selle Francais gelding, when he fell and was subsequently airlifted from the venue to CMU Limoges.

Thibault has been in a coma since the fall, but progress updates posted on his Facebook page show some positive steps made. We will continue to provide updates on Thibault’s condition as they become available.

A young rising star for the French team, Thibault swooped in to win his first attempt at the CCI5* level, taking home the top honors at Les Etoiles de Pau aboard Siniani De Lathus in 2018.

Megan Sykes and Classic’s Mojah. Photo by Abby Powell.

Megan Sykes has lived much of the last four years in her truck. She’s come to love the hours spent listening to true crime podcasts and endless playlists shuffled by Spotify. It’s a nomadic life for Megan, who splits her time between southern California and west Texas, balancing a budding upper level career with a busy program back at home. But she says loyalty is important to her, and this concept is what makes her hook up the trailer and hit the road time and time again.

Megan began eventing at the age of 15, after spending her childhood as many of us do on the local hunter/jumper and 4H circuits. Wanting to give eventing a real go, Megan began riding at Mike Huber’s Gold Chip Stables and working as a groom for Heather Morris. From that point on, Megan recalls, “the rest is history.”

In 2015, Heather Morris moved to southern California to join up with Next Level Eventing. Megan joined her for the first winter season and says the only reason she returned back home was because she broke her leg. As fate would have it, though, Megan would meet her now-husband, Reed, after she returned home. The two now own and operate Northwest Stables and Classic’s Eventing out of Midland, Texas, where Reed breaks colts and runs the facility while Megan trains clients and takes on sale horses.

A New Classic

Megan Sykes & Classic’s Mojah. Photo by Sherry Stewart.

It was Tamie Smith who called Megan about a horse named Classic’s Mojah, who had just come in to the Next Level program to be sold. Megan, who had competed through the former CCI1* level with her previous horse, Ghypsy, was seeking a partner with whom she could continue to move up. “Mo,” an Oldenburg gelding who was seven at the time, was willing but able to take a joke, Megan described. It was his easy attitude and temperament, coupled with keen ability, that prompted Tamie to tell Megan she’d found her the perfect horse.

Suddenly, Megan found herself with a talented potential horse of a lifetime and a fantastic coaching team ready to make her dreams come true. She knew that pursuing both her upper level dreams as well as running her business back home would require some creativity, but she took on the challenge with aplomb.

It’s an 18 hour drive from point A to point B, and Megan makes the trek from Texas to California at least twice a year in order to take advantage of training opportunities with Heather and Tamie, as well as with dressage trainer Niki Clarke. Megan says their help has been invaluable and well worth all the juggling.

Megan typically starts her travel season in February, when the first shows of the new year are kicking off in earnest. “I typically have a few young horses at home that I’ll get going in the winter, going to schooling shows, and then I’ll pick one to bring with me to California and meet up with the NLE team at a jumper show and kick off the season. I’ll usually go home after the April event at Twin Rivers, then I’ll come back for late summer and stay for the fall season.”

For Megan, one of the biggest advantages that her work with Heather and Tamie is acquiring the tools to separate the emotions from her riding. With Mo, Megan feels some pressure to get it right since he’s her only top competition horse.

“When you only have one horse, you tend to pour your everything into it,” she says. “It can make you very emotional because everything is riding on that one horse. I’ve been fortunate enough to have the opportunity to ride some of the young horses at NLE, and it’s helped me develop more of a feel rather than attaching so much emotion to each ride.”

This learning curve has helped prepare Megan well for her own business, where she says she thrives on taking on sale horses and encouraging them to blossom. “I love working with the young horses and traveling to compete,” she says. “My time riding horses for Heather and Tamie has really helped me be more methodical and logical with my riding, which sets me up well for the future.”

The Proving Ground

Megan Sykes and Classic’s Mojah. Photo by Abby Powell.

This year, Megan’s travel plans included a maiden voyage to the final running of the CCI3*-L at The Dutta Corp. Fair Hill International. Megan and Classic’s Mojah have had a banner year together, finishing in second place in the CCI3*-L at Rebecca Farm this summer. Fair Hill, however, would be a different, more technical test.

For Megan, the journey to Fair Hill was a reaffirmation of why she’s chosen to pursue this path, why she spends endless hours in the truck, why she keeps putting in the time when others may have chosen to ease up on the gas.

“Fair Hill really tests your grit to get things done, and you really do get to compete against some great riders,” Megan said. “I wanted to prove to myself and to my horse that we could do more of the technical courses and still be competitive against the big names.”

And prove that they did, marching down centerline and laying down their first sub-30 score at the 3* level to sit fourth after dressage. A handful of time on cross country and an unlucky rail in their most challenging phase would keep Megan and Classic’s Mojah out of the top five, but their finishing score of 34.7 was enough to finish the weekend in seventh place overall.

The Next Level Eventing group always supports their own, and this was exemplified by the fact that both Heather Morris and Kaylawna Smith traveled to Fair Hill to coach, groom for, and support Megan. Tamie, fresh off a top finish herself at Boekelo, stopped by on her way back to California to compete at Fresno to help out and show her support. Anyone who observes this group is assured of one thing: NLE will never let you walk alone, even when you’re on the opposite coast.

I had called Megan to check in on how she was feeling after a huge effort over the weekend, and she seemed to take both the great achievements and the lessons learned in stride. For all my wonder at her lifestyle, I could almost see her shrugging nonchalantly through the phone. For her, it’s simple: you stick with the program that works for you, and you remain loyal to those who have helped you along the way. It’s not easy, but it isn’t hard at the same time. Megan’s message was clear to me through our conversations: when you know something works, you just find a way to do it.

The morning after Fair Hill, Megan packed up her precious cargo and got back on the road, heading back to Texas for a well-deserved vacation for Mo and some time to focus on the young horses and clients for Megan. It’s a 26 hour drive home from Maryland to Midland. Plenty of time for true crime, reflecting, and dreaming of what’s to come.