Mackenna Shea and Landioso at Plantation Field. Photo by Jenni Autry.
Land Rover grant recipient Mackenna Shea is withdrawing Landioso from Boekelo CCIO3* in the Netherlands after their final prep run at Plantation Field didn’t go quite as planned, she announced on her blog last night. Mackenna and “Landi” had a lovely dressage test and a double clear show jumping round before picking up a runout on the Advanced cross-country course.
“About halfway through the course, I made a big error that resulted in a runout and a new plan for my fall season. Landi and I will be rerouting to the Fair Hill International CCI3* and withdrawing from Boekelo. Although the change in plans was disappointing, and it was hard not to feel as though I had let my horse down by making a silly mistake, I am already focused on the road ahead.
“Fair Hill is a top class event, and not to mention one of the toughest CCI3* tracks in the U.S. I am thoroughly looking forward to competing there! All of the support and encouragement that Landioso and I have received means the world to me. I feel so lucky to be surrounded by wonderful people on this journey, wherever it may take me. At the end of the day, my horse is in good form, and I have learned yet another lesson that I will take with me for the rest of my career.”
Those two paragraphs should tell you everything you need to know about Mackenna. She’s one of the most exciting up-and-coming riders we have right now in the U.S., and we’ll be cheering her on as she looks for redemption at Fair Hill. Click here to read the rest of Mackenna’s blog post announcing her new fall plans.
Team USA at Boekelo will now be Kurt Martin and Anna Bella — a mare we talent spotted on EN last year — Sharon White and Under Suspection, and Liz Halliday-Sharp and Fernhill By Night, who had a runout on cross country at this event last year and are poised for a good CCI3* finish to wrap up their season.
