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.
