Classic Eventing Nation

Thursday News & Notes Presented by Stable View

By on Nov 4, 2021 12:03 am -

THE CUTEST. Photo by Kate Samuels.

This week, while the fall colors were at their peak, I did a photo shoot with my friend and her magical unicorn, Huey. He was the perfect model with maximum snuggling and a lot of posing and gazing into the distance. His sparkling white coat, while something I do not envy on a daily basis, looked amazing for the photos and I truly had such a good time creating some fun images for her to look back on for years to come. Look at that photo, can’t you just feel the pony love??

U.S. Weekend Preview:

Galway Downs International (Temecula, Ca.): [Website] [Entry Status] [Schedule] [Volunteer]

Full Gallop Farm November H.T. (Aiken, Sc.): [Website] [Entry Status] [Volunteer]

Full Moon Farms H.T. (Finksburg, Md.): [Website] [Entry Status] [Volunteer]

Rocking Horse Fall H.T. (Altoona, Fl.): [Website] [Entry Status] [Ride Times] [Volunteer]

Texas Rose Horse Park Fall H.T. (Tyler, Tx.): [Website] [Entry Status] [Ride Times] [Volunteer]

News From Around the Globe:

The final FEI event in Area VI gets underway this week in Temecula, California. For the 11th year, Galway Downs International is offering their CCI4*-L in addition to a CCI3*-L, CCI2*-L, a Modified/Training Challenge, Training/Novice Challenge, and Novice/Beginner Novice Challenge, and Beginner Novice, Novice, Training, and Preliminary horse trial divisions. [Galway Downs Fast Facts]

Icabad Crane is on to his third career at the age of 16. After a 33-race career on the track for Graham Motion, Icabad went to Phillip Dutton, won America’s Most Wanted Thoroughbred in 2014 at RRP, competed through CCI2*, gave Olivia Dutton a few years of training, and even became Evie’s at home schoolmaster. However, after a pasture accident in 2018, his career as an event horse was winding down, and now he’s loving life as a pony horse for Graham himself. [Icabad Crane Starts New Career]

Debbie Adams is the woman behind the many successful “DA” horses out on the eventing circuit, but you may not know her.  Debbie has done just about everything in the sport from riding at the advanced level, Event organizer, judge, trainer, & more.  Listen in to hear all about Debbie and the many hats she wears in the equestrian world. [Podcast with Debbie Adams]

Best of blogs: Every Equestrian Has Opinions about Pentathlon

Video: 

Wednesday Video from Kentucky Performance Products: Ride Around Pau with Liz Halliday-Sharp

By on Nov 3, 2021 5:00 pm -

Eventing Nation’s coverage of Les 5 Etoiles de Pau was brought to you by Kentucky Performance Products, our go-to source for the best support your horse can get. With a full line of proven supplements designed to help your horse feel his or her best, you can have peace of mind knowing that Kentucky Performance Products has your horse’s top health in mind. Learn more about KPP by visiting kppusa.com.

Liz Halliday-Sharp and Cooley Quicksilver on course at Pau. Photo by Tilly Berendt.

Liz Halliday-Sharp and Cooley Quicksilver now has two five-stars under his belt, following up on a Kentucky completion earlier this year with a 21st place finish at Pau. Now Liz has posted a video from their cross country round, where they jumped around clear with just 8.4 time penalties — well done to this exciting pair!

You can catch up on EN’s coverage of Pau here and view final scores here.

Challenge: Maintaining condition during competition and training

Solution: Equi-Jewel®, a high-fat, low-starch and -sugar formula developed to safely meet the energy needs of your horse.

Whether you have a hard keeper that needs extra calories to maintain his weight, or a top performance horse that needs cool energy to perform at her peak, Equi-Jewel can meet your horse’s energy needs. Equi-Jewel reduces the risk of digestive upset, supports optimal muscle function, maintains stamina, and helps horses recover faster after hard work, all while providing the calories your horse needs to thrive.

The horse that matters to you matters to us®. Call 859-873-2974 or visit KPPusa.com.

Just 4 Horses We’re Crushing On at This Year’s Goresbridge ‘Go for Gold’ Select Event Horse Sale

By on Nov 3, 2021 3:30 pm -

It’s quickly approaching Goresbridge “Go for Gold” season and as we do each year we’re busy window-shopping for who we’d most like to buy at the popular Irish event horse sale. In fact, our wishlist helped connect Florida-based Crissa Gillette and EPA Wildfire during the 2020 sale.

This year’s Go for Gold sale will return with in-person attendance after being held fully online in 2020. On November 15 and 16, a select catalog of 81 horses that have been specially selected by an experienced panel of horsemen and women will be made available via both in-person and online bidding. The best part about the Goresbridge sale format is that the full catalog, along with x-rays and videos of each horse, is available online in the weeks leading up to the actual event. Then, the day before the sale commences each horse is ridden before the attendees as a full preview.

You can learn more about the Goresbridge Go for Gold sale, preview the catalog, and sign up to place your bid here.

This year’s lot is just teeming with quality horses — truth be told I could probably write four more wishlists to include all of the delightful young horses I’ve seen. I’ve included a few of our initial favorites in the list below.

The horses selected for this wishlist were picked by the EN team and are in no way reflective of any preference on the part of the sale or selectors.

Lot 10: Carrickview Charisma
Singular La Silla – Penhaligen Carmen, by Cavalier Royale – 4 year old gelding

Lot 11: EPA Elegance
Wido – Miss Courcel, by Dow Jones Courcel – 4 years old – 16.3 hands

Lot 51: MBF Senorita
Ramiro B – Beca, by Fines – 3 years old – 16 hands

Lot 69: MBF Kingsriver Romeo
Womanizer – Soraja, by Sandro Hit – 3 years old – 16.2 hands

The Conversation Is Set to Continue at 3rd Annual Tom Bass Diversity Seminar

By on Nov 3, 2021 3:00 pm -

Screenshot from the 2020 Tom Bass Seminar.

Mark your calendars for the 3rd annual Tom Bass Seminar on Diversity in Equestrian Sports, to be held Saturday, Nov. 20, 2021! This year’s seminar will be presented via Zoom webinar beginning at 1:30 p.m. ET. Eventing Nation is proud to once again partner with this important event, which launched and is dedicated to continuing an industry-wide discussion about issues of race in equestrian sport.

Launched in 2019 as part of the annual Day of the African Equestrian (DOTAE) celebrations, the 2021 seminar takes place in a time of political, commercial and societal disruption highlighted by the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, never-ending cultural wars, ramifications of the MeToo and Black Lives Matter movements and a widening gap between ‘the haves’ and the ‘have nots’ in the United States and other countries.

This year’s edition will feature the following panels: Domestic Sport, Youth, Media and International. The seminar will pay tribute to equestrians of color participating in the recent Olympic and Paralympic Games in Tokyo as riders, coaches, officials and members of supporting delegations. This year’s roster will be a mix of returning panelists as well as some very exciting new voices, to be announced soon. The event will be moderated by Melvin Cox, Managing Director of SportsQuest International, LLC and a Lecturer at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Free online registration for the seminar is now open here.

The seminar’s namesake is an homage to legendary American Saddlebred trainer Tom Bass (1859 – 1934), who was born a slave in Missouri. After the Civil War he found work as a stable boy and eventually became a world champion competitor, esteemed trainer and founder of the American Royal Horse Show in Kansas City. For many years he was the only African-American permitted to compete at the American Royal. He invented the Tom Bass bit, a benchmark for humane bitting that is still in use today, and performed for five different U.S. presidents. His clients included President Roosevelt, Buffalo Bill Cody, Anheuser-Busch executives Adolphus and August Busch, and Will Rogers.

Tom Bass riding his famous Saddlebred mare Belle Beach. Photo via Wikimedia Commons.

Topics to be explored by panelists include:

  • Demystifying horse sport — not for rich kids only … reviving equestrian heritage in lower and middle income communities
  • Developing broad-based community support for equestrian activities at all levels
  • Building sustainable programs that support diversity in the horse industry
  • Incorporating the lessons gleaned from social activism into the ways in which we do business
  • Leveraging (new and traditional) media in horse focused education and promotion
  • Developing stories that more accurately reflect the life experiences of equestrians of color
  • Incorporating the rich equestrian heritages of non-white, non-European communities (including African, African-American, Asian, Hispanic, Native-American, Romani, South Asian and others) into our shared equestrian narrative
  • Celebrating participants in the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games
  • Supporting entrepreneurship within the equestrian marketplace

The seminar is presented by The African Connections Research and Education Fund, Inc. and SportsQuest International, LLC. Public Relations assistance and technical support are being provided by the Tryon International Equestrian Center (TIEC). You can rewatch the 2020 edition here.

Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation Named Official Charity of LRK3DE 2022

By on Nov 3, 2021 12:00 pm -

In addition to showcasing top international eventing talent, the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event Presented by MARS Equestrian is committed to showing love to charities that support equine organizations and serve the local community. The event names a different official charity to benefit each year, and we are pleased to share that Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation has been named the official charity of the 2022 event.

As the official charity, Grayson-Jockey Club Research will receive a portion of the proceeds from a special farm-to-table charity dinner on Thursday, April 28, in the Big Barn at the Kentucky Horse Park. A reception will be followed by a three-course dinner by local chefs Jeremy Ashby and Janey Thompson and an auction. A limited number of tickets ($90 per person) to the dinner are available here.

“We are deeply honored to be selected as the official charity of the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event,” said Dell Hancock, chairman of Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation. “EEI’s commitment to helping non-profit organizations should be commended, especially given the financial challenges of the past year. Their generosity will help improve the lives of all horses, from three-day eventers to horses in your backyard.”

Since 1983, the Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation has provided more than $27.5 million to fund 366 projects at 44 universities in North America and overseas. Through the years, research funded by Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation and its predecessor (the Grayson Foundation) has uncovered solutions to critical problems affecting horse health as well as clues to numerous other solutions of equine health issues.

“Over the years, EEI has maintained a strong commitment to supporting charities that serve the local community and support the equine industry,” said EEI president Mike Cooper. “This year, after so many individuals and organizations stood by us during the challenges presented by COVID-19, we are redoubling our commitment to giving back and we are thrilled to partner with the Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation as our official charity.”

The Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event Presented by MARS Equestrian returns to the Kentucky Horse Park April 28-May 1, 2022. Visit the website for more information and to purchase tickets, and we hope to see you there!

Go Eventing.

Fix the Horse That Leans or Bulges to One Side with This Easy Exercise

By on Nov 3, 2021 9:00 am -

In this excerpt from her book 55 Corrective Exercises for Horses, trainer Jec Ballou shows how creative use of our environment can provide all we need to counter a horse’s problematic posture or movement patterns.

Photo courtesy of Jec Aristotle Ballou.

Skilled riding is often all it takes to improve a horse’s athleticism, performance, and overall well-being. But just as often, even good dressage-based training programs fail to fully root out the habits and patterns that prevent many horses from reaching optimal movement and correctness of their gaits. Anything from a poorly fitting saddle to inconsistent exercise schedules to an injury or stress, or past postural imbalances can create compromises. These quickly become deeper impediments to a horse’s movement mechanics that persist even with good, regular riding schedules.

The body’s way of taking care of itself during physical imbalances is to put up defenses. These defenses take the form of muscular spasms, adhesions, tightened muscles, restricted joint motions, and signals to and from the central nervous system to move differently.

Curing these defenses is not as simple as giving the horse a period of rest, though that can seem like a sensible solution. Adhesions and spasms, for instance, do not go away on their own after aggravating sources have been eliminated. They require outside manipulation as well as correct signals from the body to clear out. Putting a horse out in the field for a few months with the hope that everything will clear up rarely fixes the underlying problems.

Therapies like chiropractic care and massage are generally successful in releasing areas of immobility so the horse is able to move optimally. They free up areas of tension and compromised mobility that the body will not release by itself. However, they only set the stage; they do not by themselves create healthy movement. For that, the horse must be taken through exercises that habituate correct new patterns. Physical motions are governed by an underlying wiring that will still store faulty signals until these signals are reprogrammed.

This is where corrective exercises like the one I’ll share here, Serpentine Across the Ditch, come in. When a horse has developed more strength in—or favors use of—one front limb, it causes him to travel crookedly. This comes about by one of his shoulder blades developing tighter soft-tissue connection with his torso. Because of this, he will commonly be seen or felt leaning to one side or “bulging” one direction with his shoulders or rib cage when in motion.

A helpful technique to partially remedy this is to stimulate his shoulder-girdle muscles with varying effort and coordination. Constantly changing slopes and surfaces help prevent him from traveling habitually with the forelimbs.

1. Find a ditch or canal that slopes downward approximately 5–10 feet, and then rises up the other side. Be sure the banks of this ditch are stable enough to ride on and not crumbly or dangerous.

2. Begin by standing in the swale, with the horse’s body parallel to the banks or sides.

3. Now proceed to ride a shallow serpentine that keeps crossing the ditch.

4. With each loop of your serpentine, move just two or three steps up the side of the bank and then return back down. The loops should be tight and swift.

5. Remember to change your horse’s poll flexion and bend for each loop, the same way you would in the arena. Be sure to not let him “fall” down the slopes with quicker strides. His rhythm should remain measured throughout.

This excerpt from 55 Corrective Exercises by Jec Ballou is reprinted with permission from Trafalgar Square Books (www.horseandriderbooks.com).

Wednesday News & Notes from Haygain

By on Nov 3, 2021 12:01 am -

Today we celebrated Halloween as well as diversity, equity, and inclusion! My heart is so full — such a wonderful…

Posted by Erin Tomson on Sunday, October 31, 2021

Yes, I’m still Halloween-stalking and no, I’m not sorry. As we get closer to “giving season” (honestly, I have feelings about this sort of notion, but that’s a different tangent — shouldn’t we be generous and giving at all times of year, though?), I wanted to provide some resources on nonprofits, access programs and other organizations that are working to improve the lives of others using horses. I envision this hub living somewhere here on EN, maybe as a standing page with a list of organizations you can help, donate to, or otherwise support. Strides for Equality Equestrians has begun a directory of sorts along the same lines, so it’s definitely worth checking out, but there could always be more visibility for programs (think of all the therapeutic riding/equine assisted therapy programs, youth programs and others) all working to make our little world a better place! Stay tuned for more on this — and if you have ideas or programs we should know more about, please tip us by emailing [email protected].

U.S. Weekend Preview:

Galway Downs International (Temecula, Ca.): [Website] [Entry Status] [Schedule] [Volunteer]

Full Gallop Farm November H.T. (Aiken, Sc.): [Website] [Entry Status] [Volunteer]

Full Moon Farms H.T. (Finksburg, Md.): [Website] [Entry Status] [Volunteer]

Rocking Horse Fall H.T. (Altoona, Fl.): [Website] [Entry Status] [Ride Times] [Volunteer]

Texas Rose Horse Park Fall H.T. (Tyler, Tx.): [Website] [Entry Status] [Ride Times] [Volunteer]

Wednesday News & Links:

Congratulations to Will Coleman and Chin Tonic HS, who won the eventing portion of the Notting Hill Stables Invitational in Ocala yesterday! Justine Dutton and Chris Barnard have become an integral part of the Ocala community, often hosting schooling shows at their home facility or putting on larger productions such as this Invitational. This event featured a $10,000 Eventing Show Jumping Invitational yesterday and will host show jumpers for the Fall Jumper Invitational today.

A massive congratulations to Will Coleman Equestrian and Chin Tonic for winning the Eventing day of The 2021 Notting…

Posted by Justine Dutton on Tuesday, November 2, 2021

Specially featured on course for the Notting Hill Stables Invitational was a just-finished jump for Jessica Halliday in her well-known Buck Off Cancer colors. “I wanted Jessica Halliday to be a part of the The 2021 Notting Hill Stables Invitational at The Florida Horse Park and I couldn’t think of a better way,” Chris Barnard wrote on Facebook. “A couple of weeks ago Jess texted and asked me to send photos, so here you go Jess! I hope she can see it and likes it.”

Jessica’s jump. Photo courtesy of Chris Barnard.

To make a donation to Buck Off Cancer in honor of Jessica, click here for more on how to do so.

William Fox-Pitt has never been shy about sharing his opinion, and his stance on the future of the sport is one he’s always willing to share. In this piece from Horse & Hound, William reflects on his weekend at Pau and the influence that the second phase of competition should have.*

Heels Down Mag writer Justine Griffin competed her off-track Thoroughbred, Magic Mike, at the inaugural Event at TerraNova in Myakkka City, Fl. last month. How did it go? She shares her review here.

Also, a throwback from Heels Down: are you pro- or anti-No Stirrup November? I’ve found myself erring more on the side of anti these days, though I can definitely say I’ve benefitted from some quality no-stirrup work in the past. Correctly done, you can get a lot out of this work, but maybe it’s time to rethink the notion of an entire month of, let’s be honest, not great riding. More on the anti-No Stirrup November stance here.

Riding will no longer be a part of the modern pentathlon after a vote by the International Modern Pentathlon Union this week, Inside the Games reports. The sport had come under intense scrutiny following public abuse and poor riding on display at this summer’s Tokyo Olympics. The International Modern Pentathlon Union has not officially confirmed nor denied this report, and had said it will issue a formal statement on Thursday, November 4. It is believed that the riding portion would be replaced by cycling.

Do you want to place a spot in our upcoming Holiday Gift Guide? We’ll be opening spots later this week — click here to get on the list!

*This link may contain a paywall.

Wednesday Video Break:

Piggy’s back! After a break from her vlogs, Piggy March returns with an update.

Tuesday Video: Ride Around Pau with Cathal Daniels and Rioghan Rua

By on Nov 2, 2021 5:00 pm -

 

Ride the CCI5* Etoiles de Pau cross country with the pocket rocket Rioghan Rua and Cathal Daniels.

Filmed with the fabulous new Cambox.

Sébastien Cambox Les 5 étoiles de Pau Horse Sport Ireland Hoofprints Innovations Cathal Daniels Sport Horses

Posted by Irish Eventing Times on Saturday, October 30, 2021

I almost love catching up on helmet cams after a 5* even more than I do rewatching the live stream. I don’t know what it is — maybe it just feels like I’m riding the course, and I can really see the lines and choices the rider is making and how the horse responds. At any rate, Irish rider Cathal Daniels posted his helmet cam from his romp around the Pau 5* with Rioghan Rua, and it’s definitely worth a tune-in!

Cathal and Rioghan Rua (Jack of Diamonds – Highland Destiny) added just one second of time around Pierre Michelet’s track and would eventually wind up in 13th overall on a finishing score of 37.3. Want to relive more Pau? Click here to catch up on Tilly’s reports.

Who Jumped It Best? Fresno County Horse Park Modified

By on Nov 2, 2021 12:00 pm -

Photo by Sherry Stewart.

It’s time to cast your vote for our latest Who Jumped It Best? poll. This edition comes to you fresh from the West coast — Fresno County Horse Park, to be exact — and behind the lens of Sherry Stewart. Many thanks to Sherry for sending these shots in! You’ll find a poll at the bottom of this post to vote for the pair you feel presents the best overall picture. Good luck and happy voting!

Kelly Pugh Goodman and Fanlehane Valentino. Photo by Sherry Stewart.

Madison Lerner and Win Photos. Photo by Sherry Stewart.

Jolie Wentworth and KF Klosterbrau. Photo by Sherry Stewart.

Leah Forquar and Oakleys Hunt SE. Photo by Sherry Stewart.

Natalie Barton and Storm Watch. Photo by Sherry Stewart.

Sarah Cullum and Rebels Lancelot. Photo by Sherry Stewart.

Kate Miller and Josephine. Photo by Sherry Stewart.

Kristin Terris and Rathcash Olympia. Photo by Sherry Stewart.

Kim Goto Miner and Milagro NBS. Photo by Sherry Stewart.

YEH and FEH West Coast Championships Puts Eventing’s Rising Stars in Spotlight

By on Nov 2, 2021 9:00 am -

Lex D, owned by Cellar Farm Corp and ridden by Amber Birtcil. PC: Tina Fitch Photography/US Eventing

The 2021 Dutta Corp. USEA Young Event Horse (YEH) and USEA Future Event Horse (FEH) West Coast Championships held on Oct. 29 and 30 at Twin Rivers Ranch in Paso Robles, Calif., gave young horses the chance to shine on a big stage. The 4-year-olds and 5‑year-olds that culminated a year of YEH events and the yearlings, 2-year-olds, 3-year-olds, and 4-year-olds that finished the FEH calendar for 2021 left the judges, their riders, and those in attendance excited about what lies ahead for the future of the sport of eventing.

YEH 5-Year-Old West Coast Championship

Lex D, a bay Dutch Warmblood gelding ridden by Amber Birtcil and owned by Cellar Farm, captured the YEH 5-Year-Old West Coast Championship. Quinn HSR, a chestnut Oldenburg gelding ridden by Kaylawna Smith-Cook and bred and owned by Anita Nardine, won the YEH 4-Year-Old West Coast Championship.

Birtcil started working with Lex D in the spring after the horse came to the United States from the Netherlands. Maarten Groeneveld, who bred the bay Dutch Warmblood gelding Carry On that Birtcil rode to wins at the Advanced level in 2016 and 2019, connected Birtcil with the bay Dutch Warmblood gelding Lex D.

“My goal all year with him was to do the 5-year-old Young Event Horse [West Coast] Championships,” Birtcil said. “I knew he had a great amount of talent and it would be a great showcase for him to show that off in.”

YEH judges Chris Ryan from Ireland and Debbie Adams from the United States scored the West Coast Championship horses in three sections: conformation/type, dressage, and jumping test/gallop/general impression. Lex D scored highest of the 13 5-year-olds in conformation/type with a 9.7 out of 10 and combined that with the second-best dressage score of 16.6 out of 20 and fourth-best jumping score of 66.6 out of 70 for a total of 92.9.

 

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“He’s a super mover and very much a head-turner just to look at,” Birtcil said. “On top of that, he’s super brave and has a great jump. He was at a show jump barn in Holland where I get most of my horses from, but the big thing that Maarten and I both look for is that they just have to be brave and willing.”

The West Coast reserve champion for the 5-year-olds, the brown Dutch Warmblood/Holsteiner mare Liefhebber ridden by Andrea Baxter, turned in the best dressage score of 16.8 and second-best jumping test score of 66.9.

“She is a fabulous mover and a fabulous jumper,” Baxter said. “I’m still getting to know her, and she’s green. But, in a weird way, my mistakes almost showed off her talent better. She was fabulous in the whole thing.”

Montecristo, a bay Thoroughbred gelding with a previous racing career under the name of Swope, had the top jumping test score of 67.5 ridden by Joe McKinley. Montecristo won The Jockey Club’s Thoroughbred Incentive Program (T.I.P.) award for the YEH 5-Year-Old West Coast Championship.

 

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YEH 4-Year-Old West Coast Championship

While the YEH 5-Year-Old West Coast Champion came from Europe, the YEH 4-Year-Old West Coast Champion Quinn HSR was bred in Southern California. Smith-Cook, whose work with youngsters also includes being a new mom to her 1-year-old daughter Kennedi, said that the talent of Quinn HSR has only shown through recently.

“His brain is just so easygoing,” Smith-Cook said. “He’s pretty go-with-the-flow, and then he has the gaits. He moves super well. He jumps fantastic. He just wants to do his job.”

They combined the third-best dressage score of 15.8 with the second-best conformation score of 8.7 and second-best jumping test score of 59.7 for a winning total of 84.2.

“It’s kind of hard to pick one thing or one phase,” Smith-Cook said. “I would say he’s super good at the flat work, but his gallop is unreal.”

West Coast reserve champion Musquito, a bay Dutch Warmblood gelding ridden by Bec Braitling and owned by Michlynn Sterling, recorded the best jumping test score of 60.8 among the 10 4-year-olds. Braitling also finished third with Gaelic Gamble, a chestnut Irish Sport Horse gelding also owned by Sterling.

NSF R-Twain Star ridden by Jillian Terzian and Magnesium Overcast ridden by Lani Homan-Taylor had the top dressage scores of 15.9 while finishing sixth and eighth, respectively, overall.

McKinley’s bay Thoroughbred gelding Starting Over, a former racehorse under the name of Albert Park, captured the Stillwater Farm Award for the best gallop score for the 4‑year-olds and The Jockey Club’s T.I.P. Award for the 4-year-old class.

The Safe Harbor Award for the YEH competitor exhibiting the most rider-friendly performance went to 5-year-old bay Dutch Warmblood gelding Leonardo Diterma, the 2020 YEH 4-Year-Old West Coast Champion.

 

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USEA FEH West Coast Championships

For the USEA FEH West Coast Championships, Graceland’s Ladera, a bay Oldenburg mare owned and handled by Charlotte Freeman, was West Coast champion 4-year-old after Friday’s evaluations of horses’ gaits under saddle and conformation and Saturday’s free jump by judges Susan Graham‑White from the United States and Chris Ryan from Ireland.

Graceland’s Ladera also qualified for The Dutta Corp. USEA YEH West Coast Championship through Twin Rivers’ Last Chance Qualifier held on Oct. 28, but Freeman opted to focus on the FEH series as a better fit for where the mare was in her training.

RSH Goliath, who is owned by Michelle Cameron Donaldson and handled by Chloe Smyth, captured the 3-year-old West Coast championship following Friday’s conformation and Saturday’s free jump. The chestnut Hanoverian gelding was also the 2-year-old West Coast champion in 2020.

Trilogy, a grey Belgian Warmblood/Thoroughbred filly bred and owned by Janine Jaro and handled by Homan‑Taylor, was 2-year-old West Coast champion based on Friday’s conformation evaluation after also winning as a yearling in 2020.

Megan Bittle’s bay American Warmblood gelding Charmander BDF was West Coast champion yearling.

 

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Super Second Year

With 2020 being the first year that the YEH and FEH West Coast Championships were run as a standalone event at Twin Rivers, 2021 saw the event grow in popularity.

“We’re year two into it, and it was impressive how many more people traveled from a far distance to come here,” organizer Connie Baxter said.

The weekend gave young horses their own special-event experience. In addition to several hundred in attendance, the livestream produced by Ride On Video attracted approximately 1,000 viewers.

“For as quiet as a show that it is with it being a standalone event, it still has a ton of atmosphere which is great exposure for the young horses,” Birtcil said. “If they are going to move forward in this sport, I think it’s a great opportunity for them. It’s fun to do with the young horses and really builds their confidence.”

It also gave the riders a chance to appreciate their rising stars.

“You ride your upper-level horses, and you know them really well, and then the young horses, it’s like, ‘I wonder what they’re going to do,’” Braitling said about the camaraderie among riders. “Coming out, you feel like you’re ready to go to the Olympics.”