Marsha Spencer kindly sent us a short piece about going to Fair Hill in the YEH Championship. With all the excitement of the CCI2* and 3*, the Young Event Horse Championship gets a little overshadowed. Here’s a recap of the competition, where homebred Thoroughbred Salute The Captain finished 10th in a very competitive division. Thanks to Marsha for writing, and thank you for reading.
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From Marsha:
First thing that comes to mind about the YEH championship was what a truly fun time we had. Fair Hill is a beautiful venue and being there in October during a two- and three-star event is very, very special.
The young horses that competed were all well-prepared for the event and absolutely beautiful! Something about that much potential is so exciting. We arrived on Wednesday and the riders of the young horses were able to familiarize their mounts with the dressage ring for a short period. They had a brief block of time to walk and trot around the outside of the actual test ring and give the young ones the best chance to perform well on Thursday.
Captain and Erin went up and pranced with the 2* and 3* riders that were also doing some last minute tuning. A ring steward made the remark that she could tell the young horses because they moved so fluidly. Hummm, makes one think. Captain was doing some of his nicest dressage work with the infused energy of the new venue, wish we could bottle that!
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Thursday, the five-year-olds began dressage in a standard arena and first in were Kelli Temple on Scirocco. Going first is always a quandary but did she ever set the bar on a truly exceptional young horse! He was stunning in his movement and presence and was trying very hard to cap that electric performance with being obedient. I’m glad we didn’t have to follow him, but there were many very good tests and it looked to be a real competition. The four-year-olds went in the afternoon and Captain and Erin warmed up great. The wind picked up and the flags were popping but Captain held it together to put in his best dressage to date. The dressage judge underlined an encouraging “upper level” in the comments but still needs to work on his uphill balance.
We then removed tack outside the arena and presented for the in hand inspection. This is where Captain usually stands like he just put in a long day at the ranch, so Erin had to work to keep his attention. It made for great photos. Our score for Thursday was 6th after conformation and type and 8th after dressage.
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Friday, the weather was a big factor and as the first two five-year-olds were on course the skies opened up. Scirocco, with Kelli Temple up, was so energized because of the wind and rain that he almost jumped her out of her rain-soaked tack. Her experience and skill soon got him back to put in a beautiful jump and cross country test. Thunder and lighting then put the competition on hold for over an hour. After the competition resumed, stadium fences were first, (then continues without stopping to cross country) and there were quite a few with rails down. I was able to watch more horses and riders have a go and it was interesting how a few pros went off course or even left a fence out all together! Sometimes even the best riders have those moments.
Erin and Captain put in a clean, rhythmic stadium round and jumped cross country without a glitch. Along with a brush, ditch, and some training level jumps, there were two water questions with a ledge out to a jump and later a jump back to the water. When Captain went through the second water, he was so excited he let out a big buck and kicks in the air. The last jump ended with a very forward gallop to show off the stride of our future four star youngsters. All the babies thought that was as good as Christmas morning and a few were hard to pull up. What a fun competition!
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Erin and Captain finished 10th in a very competitive four year old division. He so exceeded our expectations and I am proud that a home bred American thoroughbred can hold a place at such a lovely showcase of the best young horses on the East Coast. Well done Erin!
