Classic Eventing Nation

The Experience Does Not Disappoint at The Event at TerraNova

By on Oct 22, 2022 6:03 pm -

Sara Kozumplik and Rubens d’Ysieux lead the way in the TerraNova 4*-S. Photo by Al Green Photo.

There are eventing shows, and then there are events. When they named the TerraNova fall horse trials “The Event at TerraNova”, they weren’t joking: this, dear reader, is an event.

This weekend was my first time checking out the relatively new facility in Myakka City, FL, about two hours south of Ocala. Like many of you, I’d seen the photos on social media, and it looked nice, but I didn’t really have any pre-conceived notions. I rolled up this morning with my phone, my camera, and my appetite (look, I am a sucker for a good food truck) ready to check out the show jumping for the FEI divisions.

The Event at TerraNova Saturday Show Jumping

Show jumping day one of two. 💥

#TerraNovaEquestrain #TheEventAtTerraNova #ShowJumping #ShowJumper #Eventing #Eventers #FloridaEquestrian

Posted by TerraNova Equestrian Center on Saturday, October 22, 2022

That part did not disappoint. While the 4* field is only 12 entries deep, there are some quality horses among them. Despite having one rail down, Sara Kozumplik and everyone’s favorite unicorn, the Selle Francais gelding Rubens D’ysieux (Balougran Z x Davidoff Silver Shadow, by Mr Blue), are leading the 4* on a score of 35.7. There was only one clear round in that division, logged by Mary Bess Davis and her Anglo European Sporthorse, Imperio Magic (Cassander C x Khadija des Hayettes, by Banboula du Thot), which helped propel them up the leaderboard from 7th place to now be sitting in second position heading into the cross country tomorrow on a 36.7.

Leslie Law and Castle Howard Romeo lead the 3*-S. Photo by Al Green Photo.

Clear rounds proved equally hard to come by in the 3* division, with only five riders adding nothing to their dressage score, now all occupying the top five positions on the leaderboard.

While the FEI divisions were busy show jumping, the lower levels (this event also runs national divisions from Intro on up) were doing the fun stuff out on cross country.

We’re all here for the running and jumping part, am I right? The finish line for the cross country was across the driveway from the show jumping warm-up, and my attention was quickly captured by the cheers and enthusiastic “Good Boy!” and “Good Girl!” coming from that side of the road.

Plenty of room to move about, but an easy enough area to navigate for wanderers. Photo by Amanda Chance.

Luckily the design of TerraNova makes it easy for spectators to see multiple things at once. The show jumping and dressage arenas are centrally located around the VIP pavilion/Rider’s Lounge, with the barns (omg the barns, we’ll get those) on the periphery of that, and then the cross country start box just a bit farther down the road.

In the interest of giving myself a better idea of the lay of the land, I did what any intrepid explorer does -– I started wandering. First down to the cross country warm-up, just in time to catch some of the Training division leaving the start box. Then I walked around part of the cross country track to check out some of the 4* track before heading back in to check out the stabling.

I had heard that the barns were pretty incredible here, and they lived up to the hype: this definitely isn’t your average horse show stabling. The barns are beautiful, with 250 permanent 12 x 12 stalls, each fitted with a stall mattress system along with its own fan and light, operated by individual switches. There are even large TV monitors in each barn aisle, one at each end.

While I was back in the barns I was able to catch up with competitor Amy Etheridge, leader of the Training Rider division, who came all the way to TerraNova from Texas to compete with Oldenburg gelding Royal Lufftanzer.

“I am here on my friend Kathy Rivera’s ex-Advanced horse, Lofty,” Amy described. “He’s 20 this year and I am having a blast and learning so much.” I was there when she left the start box and can attest that the smile was a full 1000 watts.

When asked why she chose this event, over 1100 miles from home, Amy said, “My friend came to the inaugural event last year and raved about the beautiful facilities and wonderful organization. We jumped at the chance to make the trip this year, and the event is even better than I imagined. The attention to detail is amazing in all aspects.”

As for the courses, “They were challenging works of art and a blast to ride! The footing was the most cared for and forgiving ground that I’ve had the opportunity to compete on.”

The amenities here can’t be beat! Photo by Amanda Chance.

On that note, I have to say that you can certainly see where the priorities lay when they were developing this facility. The ground indeed does feel fantastic, and at one point I started trying to count how many sprinklers were situated around the course, but quickly gave up on that venture when I got into the dozens. The jumps and the footing are immaculate.

The more I wandered around the grounds, the more I started seeing all these little things that let you know it was designed with horses and their comfort in mind. The roads between all the barns and rings have a path of looser, softer dirt for the horse traffic, and harder packed dirt for vehicles. There is very little concrete here, with ample space and grass for hand-walking or hand-grazing.

Thoughtful design is evident throughout the rest of the facility as well. From the parking area spectators enter vendor row (I’m always excited to see vendors at horse shows, even if my wallet isn’t), followed by an area for food trucks (the Italian ice is a 10 out of 10), and even an art show. The VIP pavilion sits in between two large arenas, and since there’s also a dressage show happening this weekend, that meant we had dressage on one side and show jumping on the other.

On the other side of the vendors was a “Tiny Town” – a play area for kids (both enclosed and staffed with volunteers, for parents that need a bit of a break from child-wrangling, of which I saw many), to keep them entertained on these long show days.

TerraNova is still in the process of adding on to the facility, but the infrastructure in place so far makes for a great experience for both spectator and participant. Well, except for the fact that I couldn’t find the poutine food truck today… I suppose that’ll be a quest for tomorrow.

Cross country can be viewed live on the Horse & Country live stream here. Take a look at some of the questions Capt. Mark Phillips has laid out for the 4*-S riders below:

The Event at TerraNova (Myakka City, FL): [Website] [Entries] [Live Stream] [Ride Times] [Volunteer] [Live Stream]

Leaders Unchanged Following Cross Country at Le Lion d’Angers

By on Oct 22, 2022 3:34 pm -

Caroline Martin and HSH Connor. Photo by Irish Eventing Times.

If Le Lion d’Angers hasn’t made it onto your eventing bucket list yet, let this serve as your sign: it needs to go straight to the top. I can’t quite call to mind any event that isn’t a 5* that attracts the crowds and buzz around these top young horses coming to the biggest challenge of their careers in France. The atmosphere is palpable, even while covering the event remotely as I am this week, and it feels like you’re getting a sneak preview at horses we’ll be seeing on future World Championship or Olympic squads (want proof? Many of the horses from the 2018 Le Lion are now household names now that they’re of 5* and Championship age — check out the results list and see how many names you recognize). Add in a gorgeous, impeccably decorated cross country, beautiful French fall weather, and enough to do for even the more non-horsey members of your party, and you’ve got yourself a quintessential eventing experience.

The idea behind a 6- and 7-year-old World Championship is a tricky one, isn’t it? On one hand, you want to separate the cream from the crop, providing a true championship-caliber challenge that also bears in mind the fact that, with any hope, there’s much more yet to come for these horses. The atmosphere here takes care of a good chunk of that task, as it’s more than most of the horses here will have ever seen with its tight roping and packed-in crowds. And while stalwart French course designer Pierre Michelet may have earned himself somewhat of a polarizing reputation, he’s popular in France — heralded for its young horse development system for generations — for a reason.

Liz Halliday-Sharp described the track best yesterday, noting that Pierre had left “room for interpretation” on his 2* and 3* tracks. A fundamental part of every event horse’s education is learning to acclimate — quickly — to changing terrain, to go away from each fence in pursuit of the time, to read and react quickly and seek out the next pair of flags.

“There’s a lot to do, but it’s not always about jumping,” Phillip Dutton elaborated after his clear round today inside the time aboard Denim in the 7-year-old class. “It’s about accelerating and turning and different angles coming to the jumps. Certainly it’s different style than what a lot of American horses are used to. I think it’s got to be the right kind of horse, but it’s a good experience for all involved.”

Of course, not every horse will come here and grow from the experience. Most riders here will be quick to tell you that it’s a certain type of horse that will excel here, and if you can coax them through three solid phases you’re sitting on a horse that’s well-prepared for the next steps in its career.

Certainly setting himself up as a definitive One To Watch™ early on this morning in the 6-year-old 2* division is Caroline Martin‘s HSH Connor (Connor 48 – Galwaybay Merstona, by Mermus R), who added no penalties and came home nearly 30 seconds under the optimum time to retain the lead earned in the dressage phase on a score of 25.2. Caroline left the box on a mission, putting to good use the old adage that if you ride the horse like it’s a seasoned campaigner, they’ll learn to step up and answer the questions as such. And like a knife through butter, Caroline carved her way through the track easily, shaving off seconds with her ability to kick for the next set of flags and trust in the boldness of the Irish gelding owned by Caroline and Sherrie Martin as well as Luanne McElduff.

“Connor was absolutely unreal,” Caroline told me. “He was so bright and brave and on it, there wasn’t really one question I was worried about. He did slip through one turn, but that was more my rider error than him. He was just absolutely class. I have such high hopes for him for the future. He felt like he could run four more minutes.”

If you’ve talked to Caroline at all this year, gratitude is the first thing you’ll hear from her — thanks to the support of her wonderful owners — who came onboard for these two horses after they were originally sourced to be sold by Kelly Hutchinson, and very nearly were sold two times — the Wilton Fair Grant provided by USEF and funded by David Lenaburg, and the mentorship of Rolex Grand Slam winner Pippa Funnell, she’s had a banner year basing in the UK and capping off with this event followed by one last hurrah at Pau next week with Islandwood Captain Jack.

“Coming here last year, I was completely a fish out of water and out of my element,” she explained. In 2021, she competed in the 2* here with Kings Especiale, finishing in 20th overall. “It’s the reason why I thought it was so important to move over here eventually, and the Wilton Fair grant couldn’t have come at a better time. All the thanks goes to the Federation, everyone who gave me that grant and David [Lenaburg], who provided the grant. If it wasn’t for that, there’s no way I would be in the position I am today. I think we have to come away from this weekend so far with how good my horses were and I think the future is bright for them.”

Caroline Martin shares a moment with Pippa Funnell after cross country.

Caroline says she has to pinch herself as she comes to the finish line these days, where Pippa’s almost always waiting for her. “It’s not often that a professional completely takes someone under their wing,” she said. “She’s given me so much of her time. I came to the finish and she started crying, and then I started tearing up. It’s just so special.”

As icing on the cake, Caroline also expressed her deep thanks for her receipt of the Holekamp/Turner Le Lion D’Angers Grant, which was awarded this weekend to 7-year-old HSH Blake, owned by Caroline and Sherrie Martin alongside Molly Hoff, who along with HSH Connor rose up via the USEA Young Event Horse Program. “It’s proof that the pipeline we have in America is working,” she said.

Cornelia Dorr and DHI Qyaracolle Z. Photo by Irish Eventing Times.

Moving from 16th into 11th and well within range of a top 10, or better, finish are Cornelia Dorr with DHI Qyaracolle Z (Quinar Z – Celiacolle Z, by Chellano), who finished clear inside the time today in the mare’s first 2*-L effort. This is a horse originally sourced for Cornelia as a four-year-old by Kevin McNab via Ian and Heidi Woodhead. Cornelia purchased the mare off video alone, a gamble that’s paid off especially with Cornelia’s decision to go over to the UK and base with Kevin.

“It’s been my plan to take her here to Le Lion since I decided to come over for the year,” Cornelia said. “She’s really, really straight and really amazing brave horse. She’s actually braver than Daytona, I’d say, so I wasn’t terribly stressed about the course. I was curious how the crowds would affect her, and they didn’t affect her at all…so that was really cool and exciting for the future.”

“I’ve learned a lot about her this week, but specifically I think it’s been more confirmed to me that she’s a serious horse for the future,” Cornelia continued. “It’s been really great to know what she will be like going forward in an atmosphere like this. There was a huge dressage atmosphere, and cross country I think there were thirty thousand people and it’s just really great to have that confidence in her. And the fact that she’s so brave about the jumping — she reads everything so well, she’s just a little baby genius as I like to say.”

Kelly McCarthy Maine and Cooley Cardento. Photo by Irish Eventing Times.

Canadian pair Kelly McCarthy Maine and Cooley Cardento (Cardento – Viranda, by Furore) picked up two refusals on course, one early on at fence 4B and a second at fence 18 but finished with more experience and knowledge to take home with them.

[View full 6-year-old 2* scores here]

Anna Lena Schaaf and Lagona OLD. Photo by Irish Eventing Times.

Also holding onto her dressage lead in the 7-year-old 3*-L division are Germany’s young prodigy Anna Lena Schaaf, who aims to pick up a second consecutive championship win here at this event with Lagona OLD (Lavagon X – Ile de Cartina, by Cartani 4), last year’s 6-year-old winner. The quick and nippy mare learned much in her first trip here, Anna Lena says, which served to benefit the pair out on course today.

“I think she learned a lot here last year,” Anna Lena said. “It was good that she was already here — she knows the crowd and she knows all the different jumps. I think some horses are a little bit spooky, but for her it was just like, ‘okay can we do this now?’ She was so straight on our line and so focused, and she really wants to run. I don’t have to push her after a jump. It was really easy for me. She is a small horse with not the biggest canter, and she always lands directly after the jump which is really easy for me because I can be quick and add one more stride between the fences. She has really quick reactions.”

Tomorrow will tell us whether or not we’ll see the 6-year-old champion come back to win the 7-year-old championship for the first time since 2014, when Tom Carlile’s Tenareze added another trophy to his 2013 Le Lion title. “I had a bit of pressure, but today I don’t feel this — I’m just so so happy with how it went today and so proud of Lagona,” Anna Lena said. “Tomorrow we will see — I think then I have a bit more pressure but I hope I can handle it.”

[Click here to view full 7-year-old scores]

Phillip Dutton and Denim. Photo by Irish Eventing Times.

It’s mostly been a banner weekend for the strong American contingent, and heading into tomorrow’s finale it will be Phillip Dutton with Ann Lapides, Caroline Moran, and Neill Sites’ Denim (Dinken – Celia II, by Ibisco xx) as top-placed for the U.S. in the 3*-L, adding nothing to their dressage score of 26.3 to move up to 10th. Believe it or not, this is one event the well-traveled Phillip has not been to before, so it’s a bit of a bucket list tick for him, too.

“There’s not many events I haven’t been to!” Phillip told me. “And [Denim] is a very exciting seven year old, so it’s good to mix in with the other top seven year olds in the world and his owners were excited for the opportunity to come over.”

Phillip calls the learning experience here “eye-opening” for young horses, and while he admits this wouldn’t have been his ideal cross country track, he does acknowledge that it’s all to play for in terms of the development of the horse. “Certainly the atmosphere and the intensity and pressure on the horses is unique,” he elaborated. “I’m not sure the cross country was that educational, it’s not my ideal cross country course, but it’s all part of the horse growing up. I think it’s got to be the right kind of horse you bring here, but it’s a good experience for everyone, including the owners, and it’s a fun event to be at.”

Liz Halliday-Sharp and Shanroe Cooley. Photo by Irish Eventing Times.

Next for the U.S. are Liz Halliday-Sharp with Ocala Horse Properties’ Shanroe Cooley (Dallas VDL – Shanroe Sapphire, by Condios), who also showed his top class on cross country today to add no penalties to his starting mark of 27.3.

“He was unbelievable,” Liz said. “He’s kind of a freak of a horse, he just finds it very easy. He was 16 seconds inside the time, which wasn’t really my plan but he has such a huge stride, he found it all very easy.”

Yesterday, Liz expressed some frustration with the dressage scoring on Thursday — despite a mistake in the medium canter during her test with Shanroe Cooley, she felt the marks she received were lower than the quality she showed. It’s an interesting phenomenon, to track scoring when a division runs over multiple days. Friday’s tests saw no test rider intended to align the judges’ scoring, and one could make the argument that the scoring rubrics trended somewhat differently on the second day. Liz’s score put her well further down than she would have liked to begin, and with good going today on a track that won’t typically eliminate a ton of horses (remember the concept of development here — you wouldn’t want to see a ton of eliminations, but sometimes this makes it difficult for riders to climb even with double clear jumping efforts), Liz was unable to move up the standings as aggressively as she would have liked to. She and “Dallas” still leap from 16th to 12th, however, just over two poles out of the lead with a formidable show jumping test yet to come tomorrow.

“Walking the course, I thought everyone might make the time,” Liz said. As I mentioned earlier, a track like this is a fine line and a unique challenge — test the horses, make your mark as a championship combination, but don’t punish. Liz says she felt an additional combination or question to slow the horses down on the way home could have at least made the time less gettable. “For me, it was a softer track than I rode in 2019 and the time was very easy. I feel like there could have been something to slow them up after the last combination. It’s a fine line, I’m sure, for Pierre Michelet as well because they are young horses.”

Time in Europe is about to become more the norm for Liz, who sat down with Chris and Rob Desino of Ocala Horse Properties and coach Erik Duvander after the Maryland 5 Star to map out the next year. That plan includes a couple of 5* events that begin with a B, to name a couple. The Desino brothers, who first entered into event horse ownership with a younger Deniro Z, have built up their string of Halliday horses to the point where the goal is to have several qualified for the Paris Olympics in two years’ time.

“It’s a sport that you can actually get around and understand, and take an interest in and care about,” Chris described when asked how eventing became the Ocala Horse Properties home. “On a Thursday, you can be up, on a Friday you can be down, but you can talk to the same people who really care about each other. It’s just a sport that’s very small but means a lot to everybody who’s here. Everyone here is so supportive of each other.

Caroline Martin and HSH Blake. Photo by Irish Eventing Times.

Caroline Martin is right behind Liz, moving to 13th with another double clear effort aboard HSH Blake (Tolan R – Doughiska Lass, by Kannan), adding no additional marks to her dressage score of 27.4.

Lucia Strini and Keynote Dassett. Photo by Irish Eventing Times.

It was sadly not the weekend for Lucia Strini and Plain Dealing Farm’s Keynote Dassett (Vigo d’Arsouilles – Bubble Gum, by Cardento), who came to grief on cross country today with two refusals and an eventual retirement at the final combination on course, a tricky downhill bank made to feel like you’re jumping off a roof to two angled brushes on a camber (Tilly, I hope you’re reading this and are proud). While their overseas adventure ends here, I hope some valuable experience and exposure was nonetheless gained and that we’ll see this pair back out smashing it soon.

Sunday will bring the final horse inspection as well as show jumping, which begins at 11:00 a.m. local time / 5 a.m. EST for the 2* and 2:30 p.m. local / 8:30 a.m. EST for the 3*. I’ll be back with one final missive from France (or, well, from my living room, which is currently operating on French time — which is admittedly way less enjoyable than actually being in France) tomorrow. Until then, Go Eventing!

FEI WBFSH Eventing World Championships at Mondial du Lion (Le Lion D’Angers, France): [Website] [Entries/Times/Scoring] [Schedule] [Live Stream] [FEI YouTube Channel]

Millbrook Horse Trials is Back for 2023!

By on Oct 22, 2022 10:00 am -

Tim Bourke and Buck Davidson enjoy a victory lap at Millbrook. Photo by Abby Powell.

Good news for the eventing calendar and Area 1: The Millbrook Horse Trials has announced, after a hiatus in 2022, that they will be back up and running in 2023, July 27-30.

Millbrook has been an important fixture on the Area 1 and national calendars, as well as in the local community, since 1985, and is special to many people. As the last Advanced event in Area 1 each season, “it is important to the Board that we do everything possible to keep this event on the schedule well into the future,” Sharyn Antico, event secretary and co-organizer, stated. “We are thrilled to have finally come to an agreement with the new venue owners.”

“We are here to run a quality competition, and we want to do a great job. We want to do this for the competitors, the sponsors, the land owners, the community and the sport… We support all levels of eventing, and are excited to be part of the new strategic calendar, by continuing to offer the Advanced Level in Area 1,” Sharyn commented, stressing the importance of creating an event that works for everyone and providing opportunities for the community.

The Millbrook water complex. Photo by Kate Samuels.

The Board is appreciative of this encouragement and of the supporters and volunteers who have made Millbrook a community event and a fixture for eventing’s High Performance and amateur riders alike.

Riders also shared their excitement and gratitude for the event to continue. As 5* event rider Booli Selmayr says, “I’m relieved and ecstatic that Millbrook Horse Trials will be running again this coming year. It has a vital role on the calendar for upper level riders along the east coast… and a destination event and summer goal for so many Area 1 riders. It’s an event in the area that has the atmosphere for riders to test themselves and their horses against the best in the country. [Additionally], Millbrook is one of the few events left which has a cross country course built into natural terrain, and is imperative for developing horses and riders for the future – to have to run and jump on the Millbrook hills. A massive thank you to those who have made this possible for 2023!”

Similarly, Kentucky and Burghley rider and long-time Millbrook competitor and supporter, Marcia Kulak is excited to see Millbrook back in action. “I’m a lifelong Millbrook attendee, as I competed in the inaugural event back in the 80s,” Marcia reflected. “[Millbrook] has always been an integral part of the Area 1, with [Area 1] relying on Millbrook to uphold the standard of the area’s calendar. You can bring your top horses, young horses, and clients for all levels to enjoy a weekend, and feel a venue and an atmosphere of such stature.”

While it’s important for competitors, Marcia also reflects on the role that Millbrook plays in the community: “The horse trial is a large part of the community as well, providing a social and community gathering space for horse and non-horse people alike. That’s unique for a once a year competition, with a lot of inherent value that the Board of Directors clearly recognize. I’m grateful for the event to be back up and running, and for the behind the scenes work to make it such a wonderful weekend.”

Plans for 2023 include rerouting part of the cross country track and expanding the country Fair, introduced in 2021 with much success, with family activities, vendors, and food. There are ways for everyone to participate and enjoy Millbrook Horse Trials.

Organizers hope to see a flood of support and encouragement as they gear up for next year’s event. Keep an eye on Millbrook’s website for more information, and how to best support the event, including community participation through volunteering and sponsorship.

Saturday Links from World Equestrian Brands

By on Oct 22, 2022 12:01 am -

Photo via Liz Messaglia on Facebook.

Watch out citizens of Eventing Nation, it’s a a cold one out there! Or, well, maybe it is at venues other than TerraNova for example. The full winter is still ahead of us, but it was somehow colder in Missouri and Kentucky than it was in Massachusetts this week! We all better bundle up I guess.

U.S. Weekend Action

The Event at TerraNova (Myakka City, FL): [Website] [Entries] [Live Stream] [Ride Times] [Volunteer]

Hagyard Midsouth Three-Day Event (Lexington, KY): [Website] [Entries/Ride Times/Scoring] [Volunteer]

Flora Lea Farm Mini Event (Medford, NJ): [Website] [Ride Times]

Ram Tap H.T. (Fresno, CA): [Website] [Entries/Ride Times/Scoring] [Volunteer]

Tryon Riding & Hunt Club “Morris the Horse” H.T. (Landrum, SC): [Website] [Entries] [Volunteer] [Scoring]

Waredaca Classic Three-Day Event & H.T. (Gaithersburg, MD): [Website] [Entries] [Ride Times] [Scoring] [Volunteer]

Willow Draw Charity H.T. (Weatherford, TX): [Website] [Entries/Ride Times/Scoring] [Volunteer]

Windermere Run H.T. (Kansas City, MO): [Website] [Entries/Ride Times/Scoring] [Volunteer]

Major International Events

FEI WBFSH Eventing World Championships at Mondial du Lion (Le Lion D’Angers, France): [Website] [Entries/Times/Scoring] [Schedule] [Live Stream]

Links to Start Your Weekend

Inside Piggy’s world

Baughman, Davidson Receive FEI Yellow Cards At Mars Maryland 5 Star

From One Extreme to Another: Former Bull Rider and Jockey Travis Atkinson Claims His Spot in Eventing

Bold Choices Lead To Thoroughbred Makeover Championship For She’s A Bold One

‘He’s their pride and joy’ – popular Santini starts new life in eventing

World Equestrian Brands Pick of the Week: Do you worry about your horse’s polos/boots creating too much heat during regular training?

Equilibrium Stretch & Flex Flatwork or Training Wraps are your perfect solution. They are soft and offer the support of an exercise wrap with the convenience of a boot. Breathable Stormatex material helps regulate skin temperature– The hotter your horse, the more breathable the wrap. Cooler legs are proven to be less prone to injury.

Saturday Viewing:

Midsouth Notebook: A Grit Your Teeth and Get On With It Type of Day

By on Oct 21, 2022 11:14 pm -

Dom Schramm and Quadrocana. Photo by Samantha Clark.

Both FEI cross country courses, the 2*-L and especially the 3*-S designed by Jay Hambly rode tough today at Hagyard Midsouth in Lexington, KY. In the 3*-S there were just seven clear rounds from 14 starters and only one of them — Cosby Green on the experienced Highly Suspicous — inside the time. The coffin, which came early, was influential; sited close to the 5* coffin seen at Kentucky this spring, multiple horses jumped the rail in only to be surprised by the gaping ditch with a large blue hose in it at the bottom of a steep decline. Later on, the water out in the tailgate field caused a little trouble, and a wagon to an acute corner on returning into the infield was also responsible for some penalties.

Leading the 3*-S pack overnight is Jeff Beshear who positively cruised round on his OTTB Say Cheese. Jeff was glad to have some solid rounds this year under his belt as they set off on course this afternoon. “He was awesome!” he smiled. “This is his best phase and we’ve done a bunch of hard ones this year so I actually didn’t think this looked all that challenging when I walked it. It’s hard, but after doing Great Meadow, Morven and Carolina in the spring I felt really good about it. He’s done a coffin like this one so I thought we’d be ok there and really there wasn’t anything else that he even looked at.”

Jeff and Say Cheese’s dressage score of 32.5 was their best so far at this level, and they added just a scant 0.8 worth of time penalties to it today. “I was happy with his score [yesterday], I thought he did a really good test and between he and I — we’re a little limited so I think we’re probably peaking at what we can score,” he laughed modestly. “But he’s a machine! He can make time anywhere I let him. I didn’t push him too hard in certain places but we’ll see what tomorrow brings.”

Jeff has been working hard on their show jumping but admits “he struggles in that phase and when he’s tired it’s even worse.” Both this horse and Jeff’s 2* ride, Storm Is Due, will have a break following this weekend but Jeff is hopeful he can step Say Cheese up to Advanced in the spring. “Neither one of us have ever done that,” he explained, and although he muses Say Cheese might be a better Short format horse he doesn’t rule out a career akin to Kevin Keane’s. “Maybe some day I can catch up to his legacy!”

Jeff’s wife, Emily, is back in the saddle and was back in the winner’s circle at Morven recently, and their son Nicholas has been crushing it this year, adding a 2* and a 3* win to his resume. “I’m more competitive with my son”, Jeff admits. “But then again, my wife does it for a living and I do it for fun! We all cheer each other on and I usually watch his lessons and that’s more the lesson I get than anything else because it’s obviously hard to take lessons from your wife!”

Emily and Nicholas were both supposed to be here this weekend too but sadly “the horses just didn’t work out to come”, so instead his parents are here supporting him this weekend, and his mother Jane, an experienced and accomplished fox hunter, eventer and all-round horsewoman in her own right, has been diligently adding grooming and videoing to her workload.

Local rider Cosby Green rode an efficient and professional round on Highly Suspicious, adding nothing to their dressage score and finishing the day in second place in the 3*-S. Cosby has grown up in Lexington — and more specifically the Horse Park — and riding at the highest level has long been her goal. “I’ve never wanted to do anything else. I remember when I was twelve years old, out here in my pink and green colours going Beginner Novice,” she said. “So it’s really special to have done the three-star here and to have done the Advanced in the past. It’s fun to measure your progress through the years. I love it here.”

Highly Suspicious came to Cosby’s barn about five years ago from Will Coleman. “We’ve been climbing up the ranks and doing some Advanced and trying to find our footing at four-star, but we thought this weekend we’d just do a nice, easy run in the three-star and get the confidence back,” she said.

Obviously walking the course with some higher level form was encouraging but nonetheless, Cosby granted, “I didn’t think it was that bad because we have done a lot together but at the end of the day it was a proper three-star, and the results definitely showed that and it rode like it!” Tryon’s 4* is probably next on their agenda following their good round today, and then Cosby will head to Ocala this winter with fellow Lexingtonian (via California!) Allie Knowles. Highly Suspicious goes by “Puff” in the barn which Cosby says suits him because “he’s just looking for snacks all the time and he’s got a really bubbly personality!”

Australian rider Dom Schramm was delighted to feel like he finally got all the moving parts together with his super-talented bay mare Quadrocona today, easing her home with a handful of time penalties to slide into third place going into the show jumping tomorrow. “She’s just such a good horse,” he reiterated. “I’ve known she’s unbelievable since she was a four year old and she’s been successful along the way, but we’ve just had one little thing after another which has prevented her from having superstar results. I think it’s all starting to come together now.”

Dom was not surprised by the trouble the track caused today. “Walking the course, I thought that Jay set a lot of really forward lines. I’m lucky that my mare is pretty nippy and I didn’t add [strides] everywhere, but the places where I thought it could get a bit sketchy I just made a bit of a wider turn and helped her, so I was a bit slow. I think if you were out there really gunning for it and you got even some of those lines a little bit wrong I could see where it might all fall apart. I thought it was a good course, I thought [Jay] did a good job, it certainly wasn’t easy, not at all!”

Stella Sunstein and Quite Quality. Photo by Samantha Clark.

Early to go in the order on his first horse, Penhill Celtic, Boyd Martin took a tumble at ditch in the coffin. “It’s a spooky fence and I underestimated it because he’s been such a good cross country horse,” Boyd said. “I had a great shot at part A and then as he jumped the rail he looked at the ditch and he slammed on the brakes and I slid up his neck and then poor old Donald was in a tiff and a frenzy jumping around and he threw me off.”

Luckily neither of them were any the worse for wear — “good as gold, it was graceful!” — and Boyd was able to lay those demons to rest definitively on his second ride, Contessa, with an emphatic and impressive clear round to move up to fourth place overnight.

“She was fantastic,” he agreed. “She’s so seasoned now and she had a nice run; this is her preparation for Tryon four-Long in a few weeks.” Despite his little blip, Boyd was full of praise for Jay’s track. “I loved the course,” he gushed. “I think maybe a couple of the distances were a bit open but at this level, we come to Kentucky and we should expect a coffin and a sunken road, good water jumps, narrows….I love coming here, they’re brilliant courses, top design. It was a green field with the three-Long last weekend at Maryland so I praise the course designer and I think we’ve just got to be ready that when we come here it’s up to scratch.”

Lynn Symansky’s flashy Global Cassero 3 was originally and inexplicably awarded 20 penalties but once they were removed it was just 13.6 time penalties that dropped them from second after the first phase to their current fifth position.

“I went slow on all of them. He was good but the ground was a bit firm so the plan was to go out and give them a good run and make it easy.” Lynn was a little surprised by the trouble the cross country caused today. “It walked like an average, stiff track”, she mused. “The coffin rode really, really hard. I think it was easier when it was filled with water because the horses didn’t peek so much at it; then they drained it and there was a blue hose in there so maybe it was a horse-eating snake!” Despite his experience Lynn said “Jerry” even had a look at the coffin but overall, “he was very good but the course certainly rode harder than it walked.”

Elaborating, Lynn mused that it was a good experience for all her horses. “It was a good track, I thought [Jay] did a good job with it. I didn’t walk away from it thinking it was too hard before going out and Jerry was good. For the greener horses it was pretty hard, especially walking it for my intermediate horses. I think it was a proper three-star track and just because the field has trouble I don’t necessarily think that’s a reason to dumb it down, I think it was up to the standard.”

Kentucky is in the midst of an extraordinarily dry period, and Lynn appreciated the mammoth effort the grounds crew have made to try and alleviate the hard footing, with aerating and non-stop sprinklers. “They did what they could with the ground,” Lynn agreed. “They really made a huge effort to make the ground as good as possible but you can’t add six weeks worth of rain in a weekend!”

An unfortunate stop at the coffin saw dressage leader Allie Knowles and Katherine O Brien’s Business Class drop to sixth place after this phase, but overall she was encouraged by their round today.

“It was great. We’ve had some trouble recently this fall, so I knew he would be backed off and it was a tough coffin, but once I jumped it I think he knew I was serious and he went beautifully. I think this will help him moving forward,” Allie said. Like so many of the riders I talked to, Allie was a fan of the course. “It’s a proper three-star track”, she confirmed. “He’s a very well-schooled horse but he and I have just not been on the same page in the last few months so I think this was definitely a step in the right direction. Obviously I of course wanted to go clear but I think we are headed back that way so I think it was a good progression for our confidence, and even having the stop I think he’s going to leave more confident than when he started and I will too. The results page doesn’t always tell the whole story!”

There were 21 clear rounds in the 2*L from 30 starters and Dom Schramm sits atop that leaderboard on another striking dark bay mare, this time It’s Adomos Fuwina. The Horse Park is bustling with action with the Training Three-Day and a plethora of lower levels also taking place — the organisation to coordinate all the things truly boggles the mind, and I only wish I could cover every division equally.

There are final horse inspections early Saturday morning before the FEI divisions show jump to decide the final placing.

Hagyard Midsouth Three-Day Event (Lexington, KY): [Website] [Entries/Ride Times/Scoring] [Volunteer]

Friday #FOMO from TerraNova: Lucienne Bellissimo Best of CCI4*-S

By on Oct 21, 2022 5:30 pm -

We are well underway at The Event at TerraNova, where divisions ranging from Starter up through 4*-S are running at the beautiful facility that boasts plenty of updates from its inaugural running last fall. Friday was all about dressage as we look ahead to the jumping phases over the weekend. Amanda Chance will be bringing us missives from on the ground beginning tomorrow, but for now let’s catch up on scores and social media from Myakka City, FL.

Lucienne Bellissimo is in two of the top three spots on the leaderboard with Horse Scout Eventing’s Dyri (1st – 30.8) and Tremanton (3rd – 31.9). Sandwiched in between the two are Sara Kozumplik and her longtime Advanced/4* partner Rubens d’Ysieux (31.7).

Leading the dressage after today in the 3*-S are Leslie Law with Jackie and Steve Brown’s Castle Howard Romeo on a score of 29.8. Ben Noonan and his up-and-comer Street Fighter are in charge of the 2*-S on a score of 26.7. There is also a 1*-S running this week, and Leslie Law has won the dressage portion aboard Fernhill Lottery (28.6), also owned by Jackie and Steve Brown.

[Click here to view full scores through the first phase at Terranova]

Don’t forget there is a full live stream available on Horse & Country, featuring both the eventing as well as the dressage CDI4* competition! Click here to view the schedule (H&C+ subscription required).

Tomorrow, the National divisions will run cross country while the FEI divisions show jump, concluding with cross country on Sunday morning. You can view the full schedule for each day here.

The Event at TerraNova (Myakka City, FL): [Website]. [Entries] [Live Stream] [Ride Times] [Volunteer]

TerraNova Equestrian – Dressage

It's been a great day of dressage for both The Event and TerraNova Dressage! We've been enjoying incredibly lovely weather and look forward to seeing more dressage tonight for FEI levels from the Prix St Georges to Grand Prix.

#TerraNovaEquestrian #TheEventAtTerraNova #TerraNovaDressage #Equestrian #HorseShow #Eventing #Dressage #EquestrianLife

Posted by TerraNova Equestrian Center on Friday, October 21, 2022

Can’t Catch Caroline in 6-Year-Olds + A Reigning Champ’s 18.6 Leads 7-Year-Olds at Mondial du Lion

By on Oct 21, 2022 3:00 pm -

When you pull up the FEI record of the current 7-year-old leader at this week’s FEI WBFSH Eventing World Breeding Championships in le Lion d’Angers, France, you’re met with a wall of first-place finishes.

One win on German young rider Anna Lena Schaaf‘s record with the stunning Lagona OLD came right here at this venue, in 2021 when she led wire-to-wire to win the 6-year-old championship. This year, the pair went in to lay down a superb 18.6 to start this return tour in familiar position.

Despite the fact that Anna Lena hails from a long family lineage of top-sport breeding and training, Lagona OLD (Lavagon – Ile de Cartina, by Cartani 4) is a bit an outlier in this respect, having been purchased by Anna Lena as a 5-year-old in 2020. It’s proven to be a beneficial choice, and the pair has done nothing but improve on the form shown here last year in the intervening months: they’ve won four times in six international starts and have yet to finished outside of the top 10. And while this will be the Oldenburg mare’s debut at the Long level of this step up, she’s following the same pathway that led her to a debut at the 2*-L level in 2021 — albeit, she admits, with a bit more pressure this time around.

“I have a bit of pressure now,” Anna Lena said. “Because I think last year, I was here like a small girl and nobody knows me and it was like, okay, maybe she can do the cross country, maybe not, after the dressage, but this year it’s a bit more pressure.”

That pressure doesn’t keep Anna Lena from feeling proud of her mare, who she says has made improvements in all three phases in the last year. “I think she really learned a lot here, and she really enjoyed it here with all the crowd and the difficult jumps here and beautiful design,” she explained. Despite some fiery mare moments in the warm-up, Lagona settled in to earn sensational marks from the judging panel of Andrew Bennie (NZL), Joachim Dimmek (GER), Anne Keen (GBR). “She was really concentrated and she has really good movement. I had a really good feeling during the test and she was really with me — I can only sit and just let her go, so that was really good.”

Second in the early going for the 7-year-olds and unseating the Thursday leader is reigning Olympic champion Julia Krajewski, who brings forward the full brother to fischerChipmunk FRH, Chintonic 3 (not to be confused with a similarly named Chin Tonic HS piloted by Will Coleman!), who was fifth here in the 6-year-old division last year.

A much shorter-statured horse than his brother, Julia says Chintonic shares a similar, eager-to-please cuddler personality with his brother but is otherwise different to ride — “probably because of their size difference,” she notes. Today’s test earned the pair a 21.6, improving on their 2021 score of 27.9. Strength, Julia says, is the biggest thing Chintonic has gained since his last trip here.

“He has become way stronger, he’s way more able to carry himself,” Julia explained. “He’s still obviously developing — he’s a very short horse, so it’s not the easiest for him to be really open. But he always wants to please, he always wants to really do the right thing and that’s something very important in a horse, I think, if you can say that. Last year he was super wobbly, so he really got way stronger.”

Julia admits she felt “a bit insecure” going into her test today, as Chintonic displayed some tension during arena familiarization that she hadn’t yet felt from him. “I was a bit surprised yesterday for arena familiarization. I think he remembered the prizegiving from last year!” she explained. “He got really tense…Then I would have to say I was really, really proud of him that he basically went into the arena and really concentrated and tried to do his absolute best.”

Phillip Dutton and Denim. Photo by Irish Eventing Times.

The remaining U.S. pairs also did their dressage tests today to wrap up the first phase of competition. Phillip Dutton is the highest-placed of Friday’s 7-year-old bunch with Ann Lapides, Caroline Moran, and Neill Sites’ Denim (Dinken – Celia II, by Ibisco xx), scoring a 26.3 to sit in 13th after dressage. The Holsteiner gelding is a relative newcomer to Phillip’s string, having been sourced by Carol Gee and originally campaigned by Merel Blom. Denim came to Phillip in March of this year — he competed here at Le Lion with Merel in 2021 as a 6-year-old — and has since collected a slew of impressive placings. The pair were second in the 2*-L at Bromont in June, and this will be the gelding’s first 3*-L.

Caroline Martin and HSH Blake. Photo by Irish Eventing Times.

Caroline Martin piloted her 7-year-old partner, HSH Blake (Tolan R. – Doughishka Lass, by Kannan) to a top-20 27.4, the second-best score the Irish gelding has earned at the 3* level so far. This is the horse that has now been awarded the Holekamp/Turner Le Lion d’Angers Grant after Caroline opted not to bring original awardee Kings Especiale this week (riders are only allowed two horses at Le Lion, so she was always going to have to make the tough decision not to bring one of her original three entries).

Lucia Strini and Keynote Dassett. Photo by Irish Eventing Times.

Lucia Strini and Keynote Dassett fell a bit victim to the atmosphere at this venue today, scoring a 42.6 but powering through to move on to the jumping phases. Things came a bit undone for “Wilson” in the canter work in particular, and it’s important to remember that most horses — perhaps in particular those coming from the U.S. and its relatively quiet events — have not seen this level of atmosphere yet in their young careers. It’s excellent practice for bigger events yet to come, and this pair will be one ready to get out there and get it done tomorrow.

Cornelia Dorr and Qyracolle Z. Photo by Irish Eventing Times.

Dressage also concluded today for the 6-year-old 2*-L championship, and Caroline Martin will remain untouched from her Thursday lead with HSH Connor. Best of Friday’s bunch were Brazil’s Marcio Carvalho Jorge and Barratt Eventing’s Linkin Park K (dig the name), a KWPN gelding by Emir R. This pair’s 28.5 is good for sixth overnight, leaving the bulk of the top 10 otherwise unchanged from Thursday.

Cornelia Dorr rounds out the North American crew with the absolutely precocious Zangersheide mare DHI Qyracolle Z (Quinar Z – Celiacolle Z, by Chellano), scoring a 30.6 to sit in 16th overnight. This pair began their FEI career together this year with a bang, winning the YH2*-S at Millstreet in June. This is the first Long format for the 6-year-old.

We now look ahead to what Pierre Michelet has up his sleeve on cross country tomorrow. Le Lion’s course is well-known as being absolutely stunning in terms of presentation, and this year’s offering is no different, with fences paying homage to the upcoming Paris Olympics decorating the track. Pretty fences aside, though, there is plenty of challenge in true Pierre style (think the suck it in and pray type, but appropriate for younger horses).

“I’ve ridden here a few times, so I sort of know what to expect from Pierre here,” Liz Halliday-Sharp said. She’ll take the 7-year-old Shanroe Cooley, owned by Ocala Horse Properties, out on course at 2:20 p.m. local time / 8:20 a.m. EST tomorrow (October 22). “It’s very much Pierre’s track where he leaves a lot of room for interpretation from the riders. There are a lot of bending lines where you can make a decision versus it being right in front of you. He’s made it tricky enough, but with room for interpretation. It’s a 9 minute 10 second course so that’s long enough for a seven-year-old. We’re lucky the ground should be good. And obviously the crowds are a big part of what is up for the horses to look at here too, so that will certainly be a factor and it will be the most ‘Dallas’ has seen. But he’s very brave. He’s got a huge stride, so I’ve been trying to organize places where maybe the numbers will be a bit different for me.”

Julia and Anna Lena echo this analysis, describing the track as insistent on line selection and straightness, but overall — as is generally the reception here — fair to the horses while still being an up-to-snuff championship track.

You can view the course, and each fence if you click on the fence number, here or by clicking the image below.

A homage to the upcoming Paris Olympics. Photo via Mondial du Lion.

The sultry rabbit returns… Photo via Mondial du Lion.

Photo via Mondial du Lion.

The Lion track is nothing if not a work of course building art. Photo via Mondial du Lion.

Full cross country start times can be found here for both divisions. There will also be a free live stream available via the FEI’s YouTube channel:

6-year-old division begins at 4:00 a.m. EST:

7-year-old division begins at 7:00 a.m. EST:

FEI WBFSH Eventing World Championships at Mondial du Lion (Le Lion D’Angers, France): [Website] [Entries/Times/Scoring] [Schedule] [Live Stream]

Enjoy some more social snaps from Friday in France:

Cassie Sanger Hits the Board in Her CCI3*-L Debut at Maryland

By on Oct 21, 2022 11:30 am -

Cassie Sanger and Fernhill Zoro. Photo by Shannon Brinkman Photography.

In her first run at the CCI3*-L level, 18-year-old Cassie Sanger claimed the top Young Rider award and third place overall at the Maryland 5 Star at Fair Hill last weekend. She and Alice Roosevelt’s Fernhill Zoro, a 14-year-old Anglo European gelding (Verdi x Oronia 2/Voltaire) rose to the overall top three of the USEF National Championship in a field of 58 entries that included several Olympians.

“Since the beginning of the year I had dreamed of coming here, but it was a bit of a reach because I hadn’t even moved up to Intermediate yet,” she said. “But the season kept going the way we had hoped and suddenly we were here!”

Cassie said that “Zoro” put in a personal best dressage score for both herself and the horse at the 3* level. On cross country she had a plan for how she wanted the course to go, and she rode her own horse, Redfield Fyre, earlier in the day and their double clear round gave her a boost of confidence going into her ride on Zoro.

“In show jumping it was honestly a little helpful that the rails kept coming down because it took the pressure off a little,” she admitted. “I obviously wanted to jump a clear round and we had the second to last rail down, which is a little bit heartbreaking because it was just a cheap rail, but that’s the sport and we can always do better next time. We can put that behind us; for my first three-star Long it was very satisfying to finish third.”

Cassie has been riding Zoro fully since December and is leasing the gelding from Alice Roosevelt and her family while Alice is focused on college. The girls are friends and keep in close touch — “I text her all the time and send her little video snippets,” Cassie said.

While Zoro has an abundance of talent, Cassie said his rise to success hasn’t come without hard work. “He’s an incredible mover and a super jumper. He’s been in my coach’s program for seven years and it’s taken all that time to get him the way they want on the flat. Even in the warm-up here, we were both getting a little annoyed with each other and I gave him a little tap with the whip and he almost bucked me off and then took off! I was like, ‘Oh God, here we go.’ But he is an absolute professional in the competition ring.”

Cassie is a senior at the Berkshire School in Massachusetts, where she is a day student. She rides with with Darrah Alexander, who schools her horses for her when she is too busy with school. “She knows that horse inside and out, just like Alice and me,” she said.

The proper way to celebrate. Photo by Amber Heintzberger.

Redfield Fyre, a 9-year-old KWPN gelding, has been Cassie’s partner since the beginning of his eventing career in the U.S., after he was imported by Caroline Martin. “I’ve had him since 2020 in the middle of Covid and we know each other really well,” she said. “He’s a cross country machine, that’s where he really shines, so Saturday was so much fun, getting to do that with him. On Sunday morning he came out with a lot of energy and then got in the ring and fizzled. I think we jumped him a little too much in the warmup. It’s okay, we’re learning and he’s still young and it was his first long-format too. It’s also a learning experience, figuring out how many jumps we can get out of him, and we won’t do that next time, we’ll limit how many jumps we do. He was good; I could have been more tall with my body and he didn’t pick up his feet quite as much as we’d hoped. It was a very tough course and for him it was a very challenging course but he is very talented and definitely a horse for the future.”

Fortunately, she said, “Zoro is very good on his feet, he was tired too and luckily it worked, just kicking on. There’s a lot of atmosphere but in the ring you don’t really see all the crowds – I did see the big screen out of the corner of my eye and it was a little distracting.”

Cassie keeps her horses at Caroline Merison’s Shekomeko Creek Farm in Pine Plains, NY, where Darrah is the head trainer. “It’s about five minute to my house and I spend time there every day,” she described. “I have a very good group of people around me and right now I’m basically the only Young Rider in the barn, and every time I ride I get a private lesson and I get a ton of attention. I’m kind of like the child of the barn, it’s all older ladies and they really look out for me, it’s really fun. Caroline and a couple of her friends from Area I that I’ve gotten to know came to Maryland, as well as my family.”

Cassie Sanger and Fernhill Zoro. Photo by Amber Heintzberger.

She noted, “I also have an amazing groom, Sarah Tompkins, who was been incredible all weekend. It would not be possible without her! Coming to these events is an eye-opener, even for riders; especially being young, you see a whole other side of horsemanship, especially on Saturday night and Sunday morning. “

Following the event, Sanger is focusing on college applications. “I have one week left this fall quarter before all my college applications go in, so it’s a busy week! Riding is a huge priority but I definitely want to go to college. I’m interested in SMU in Charleston and I’m ED-ing to Richmond. I think I’ll just travel to go to college like Alyssa Phillips did, it seemed to work out for her and I have a good support base so I can keep my horse at home. I’m interested in Econ and Business; even if I end up doing riding as a profession, I think that will be useful.”

Miss any of our coverage from MARS Maryland 5 Star, presented by Brown Advisory? Click here to catch up!

Road to Le Lion: Keynote Dassett Takes on France

By on Oct 21, 2022 9:00 am -

Lucia and Keynote Dassett. Photo by Erin Gilmore Photography.

Last fall, Lucia Strini was just getting back in the saddle after the birth of her second child, and certainly wasn’t planning her first trip competing abroad. However, a fated trip to Dassett Eventing in England for her sister, Benita, resulted in the purchase of Keynote Dassett, and their journey progressed all the way to FEI WBFSH Eventing World Breeding Championships at Mondial du Lion in France this week.

“Wilson”, as he is known around the barn, is a 7-year-old KWPN gelding sired by Vigo D’arsouilles, out of a Cardento mare named Bubble Gum. His young horse career was slightly stymied by event cancellations due to COVID, so by the time the Strini sisters found him as a 6-year-old, he was relatively green, having only completed a handful of preliminaries.

“Benita went over to Dassett Eventing to try him specifically for me, and called me within five minutes to tell me that he was perfect,” says Lucia, with a smile on her face. “He’s been everything Kate Rocher-Smith said he was, maybe just a little sassier.”

Wilson settled in at Ecurie Livio. Photo courtesy of Lucia Strini.

Jumping talent is surely not something that Wilson lacks, and despite his relative lack of experience, he has taken to the upper levels of the sport with ease and gusto. However, sometimes tamping down the enthusiasm is a challenge, as it often is with big-time horses.

Lucia spent last winter getting to know her new mount, and came out in January to cruise around a Training level at Grand Oaks in Florida. They quickly popped up to Preliminary, ending the spring season with an FOD at the Virginia Horse Trials CCI2*-L.

As she found herself with three spectacular 7-year-olds in her barn, (Kevin G and FE Caspian right alongside Wilson) the thought of tackling Le Lion slowly entered her mind.

“I’ve been trying to produce upper-level eventing horses for my whole life, and how often do you have this kind of chance?” Not many riders can boast that kind of choice, and so the dream of competing abroad became a real plan.

When it came down to choosing which young horse would be most suited, Wilson won out because of his incredible ground-covering gallop, and her confidence in his jumping ability. He isn’t actually the biggest of horses, however when he goes cross country, you can see him grow and expand with each jump.

Lucia and Dassett Keynote had moved up to Intermediate this summer. Photo by Erin Gilmore Photography.

“He’s a funny horse, and very sensitive, so I’ve had to learn a lot to ride him the way that suits him,” says Lucia. “He has a big ego, and expresses his opinions on a lot of things. He gets quite wild in the warm-up, and I’ve had to experiment with some alternative routines like warming up far away from everybody to keep the lid on.”

Even though the opportunity for a CCI3*-L at Fair Hill is much more convenient — and does feature its own Young Horse Championship within the 3* division — the chance to go to Le Lion is a once in a lifetime opportunity for Lucia. Thanks to the support of her family, many supporters, and loyal sponsors, she was able to make this dream a reality. The entire Plain Dealing Farm family will be joining in on the experience, with her parents, husband, and two kids arriving in time for dressage today (October 21).

This will be the first competition abroad for Lucia, and she’s spent months analyzing old courses and rounds from previous years at the championship, and has decided this is the perfect opportunity to experience a big European competition for herself.

“I’m not going there to win,” she says, “Obviously an FOD would be amazing, but it’s really more for the experience, and delivering a performance that is positive for both of us.”

Photo by Erin Gilmore Photography.

The pair flew over to France last week, accompanied by her sister/stand-in coach/emotional support human Benita, and #supergroom Sarah Choate, who has been working for Plain Dealing Farm for seven years. Ahead of the competition, they based out of Ecurie Livio alongside Liz Halliday-Smith’s mount, Shanroe Cooley, who is also headed to the same competition.

With four American riders on the list for the 7-year-old 3*-L this week, Lucia and Wilson might fly under the radar a bit, but this exciting pair is certainly one to watch for the future.

Friday News & Notes Presented by Zoetis

By on Oct 21, 2022 12:03 am -

Ice packs have multiple uses! Photo courtesy of SEU FB.

How exciting is it to see an American on top at Mondial du Lion! Caroline Martin has certainly found an amazing group of young horses to keep in her string, and having pretty much tromped us all in the four and five-year old YEH classes in the US, she’s spending time in Europe to train and improve. Seems like it’s working, as she’s currently winning the 6-year-old CCI2*-L division with HSH Connor! Can she reproduce that today with HSH Blake in the seven-year-old division?

U.S. Weekend Preview

The Event at TerraNova (Myakka City, FL): [Website]. [Entries] [Live Stream] [Ride Times] [Volunteer]

Hagyard Midsouth Three-Day Event (Lexington, KY): [Website] [Entries/Ride Times/Scoring] [Volunteer]

Flora Lea Farm Mini Event (Medford, NJ): [Website]

Ram Tap H.T. (Fresno, CA): [Website] [Entries/Ride Times/Scoring] [Volunteer]

Tryon Riding & Hunt Club “Morris the Horse” H.T. (Landrum, SC): [Website] [Entries] [Volunteer] [Scoring]

Waredaca Classic Three-Day Event & H.T. (Gaithersburg, MD): [Website] [Entries] [Ride Times] [Scoring] [Volunteer]

Willow Draw Charity H.T. (Weatherford, TX): [Website] [Entries/Ride Times/Scoring] [Volunteer]

Windermere Run H.T. (Kansas City, MO): [Website] [Entries/Ride Times/Scoring] [Volunteer]

Major International Events

FEI WBFSH Eventing World Championships at Mondial du Lion (Le Lion D’Angers, France): [Website] [Entries/Times/Scoring] [Schedule] [Live Stream]

News From Around the Globe:

Carl Hester shared his expertise on how to produce a nice young horse. After all, I think he has had pretty good success with his program. His horses only work four days a week, and only about 20 minutes of proper work at that. He’s unique in the dressage world that he has mandatory hacking days, for all ages of horses, but especially young horses. [Precision & Expression with Carl Hester]

For Katie Bystrom, becoming an equestrian was destiny. “A love of horses is in the DNA of the females in our family,” Bystrom shared. Her mom grew up riding with her grandmother on the family farm in Indiana and eventually, Bystrom would follow in the same path, pursuing her love of horses at a young age out on the trails with her mom. She’s logged over 70 hours of volunteering already this year, but also expects her students at Back Run Eventing in Washington to donate their time to competitions. [VIP Volunteer: Katie Bystrom]

I don’t even know how to explain this…but some guy decided that horses need designer sneakers. I have so many questions. [Fashion Sneakers for Horses]

Dating as far back as anyone can tell, the fashion world has been drawn to the iconic equestrian look. Some brands, like Ralph Lauren and Hermes, have built their entire high fashion brand around their equine foundation. Last year, Tory Burch was thrilled to announce the newest idea in boots—convertible ankle to knee high boots. And y’all… they were half chaps and paddock boots! Not a new concept to us at all. [Everyone Wants To Be Us]

Ever thought about ditching the hair nets and going to a dude ranch? Honestly, me too. Many times. Vyla Carter lived our dreams and left the A-circuit show ring and applied for a job on a dude ranch in Wyoming. And she landed it! I’m so jealous. [How I Found My Passion For Riding Again on a Dude Ranch]