Thursday News & Notes

One Big Thing: Annie Goodwin Rising Star Mid-Year Update

Sophie Miller, 2026 Annie Goodwin Rising Star Grant recipient, competing Bon Fleur at Bruce’s Field. Photo by Christine Quinn.

The Annie Goodwin Rising Star Committee & the Aiken Horse Park Foundation thoroughly enjoy following along with the successes of the Annie Goodwin Rising Star Grant recipients. Sophie Miller has been putting her grant funding to good use since being named one of the 2026 recipients.

The Aiken Horse Park Foundation caught up with Miller to ask her about all she’s been up to so far:

Since being awarded the 2026 Annie Goodwin Rising Star Grant, did your plans for the year change or evolve?

After being awarded the 2026 Annie Goodwin Rising Star Grant, I planned to use the funds to focus on training and showing my personal horses. The year has been off to a bit of a slower start than anticipated with one of my horses picking up an injury early in January. While this setback has been incredibly disappointing, I have still been focused on my second horse and have been taking a lot of lessons! This funding has really allowed me to stay focused on improving my riding while navigating this setback.

Fill us in on your horses. Where are they at in their training?

Bon Fleur “Flora” is my eight-year-old Oldenburg mare who primarily competes in dressage and has been my focus this year. Thanks to the grant funding, I have been able to take many dressage lessons and work with different instructors in Aiken. This fresh insight has dramatically improved both Flora and I this year and I am so excited about the progress she is making. She is currently showing Second Level and confidently schooling all the Third Level work. Flora is for sale, but I am thrilled with how she is developing and will continue to campaign her and learn from her until she finds her perfect home.

Coronet’s Inspiration “Pepper” is another one of my personal horses who I have been producing as a show jumper. She was showing in the 1.10m classes last fall but unfortunately was injured early in January, putting our goals on pause for the first part of the year. She is now back in full work and feeling great, so I am excited to get back to lessons and competing this fall once she is ready to go!

ET’s Portafortuna “Murphy” is an exciting new horse in my barn who I found on a trip to Florida this winter. He is an 8-year-old Thoroughbred gelding, and I think he has all the pieces to make an upper-level event horse. We had a great first outing together in May, finishing second in the Open Novice division at Stable View’s Local Charities Horse Trials. As with all new horses, building a partnership takes time. This summer we are focusing on getting to know each other and developing the best program for him. The goal will be to compete in more horse trials later this year!

Sophie Miller (C) was formally recognized at the 2026 Aiken Charity Horse Shows joined by (L-R) Joanie Morris, Cat Stumberg, Tara Bostwick, and Kate Boggan. Photo courtesy of the Aiken Horse Park Foundation.

What has been the highlight of your 2026 season so far?

The highlight of the 2026 season so far has been Flora’s results at the recognized dressage show at Bruce’s Field in June! She won all three of her Second Level tests with all scores above 70% and was Second Level High Point Champion. I have been developing Flora since she was 3 years old and while she has always had the talent, it has taken a lot of time to develop her confidence and rideability. This show was the most relaxed and connected she has ever been and I am so excited that we were able to show off her talent! Without the grant funding, I do not think I would have reached out to new instructors and taken as many lessons as I have this year. This training and fresh insight has not only improved Flora dramatically but has also been a huge help to my riding and how I teach my students.

What are your plans for the rest of 2026?

The plan for the rest of the 2026 season is more horse shows and fewer vet appointments! I am excited to have Pepper back in action for the second half of the year and she will be heading to jumper shows at Stable View and Bruce’s Field when she is ready. Flora is qualified for the USDF Regional Championships at Second Level, and I will plan to compete with her there. My goal is also to move her up to Third Level by the end of the year if she has not found her new home yet! Murphy and I will continue to get to know each other and look towards some Training level horse trials in the fall. I am looking forward to continuing to take lessons and learn from all three horses this year, this funding has really given me a huge opportunity to just focus on developing my riding.

If you could give one piece of advice to future applicants, what would it be?

My advice to future applicants would be to still apply for this grant even if you haven’t had the best year or aren’t where you want to be in your career. I nearly did not apply this year because I did not feel I was producing big competition results at the time. I was focused on developing my young horses and figuring out my path forward rather than consistently competing at the upper levels. So many grants for young riders are only available to those who already have horses competing at the top levels of their respective disciplines. This grant is really focused on supporting young professionals in our Aiken community and for many of us, the reality of achieving our goals involves producing young horses from the beginning and going through phases that are less glamorous on paper than others. I am so thankful that I did apply this year and have had the financial support from this grant to focus on myself and developing my riding.

[Click here to learn more about and apply for the 2027 Annie Goodwin Rising Star Grant]

US Events This Weekend

GMHA Festival of Eventing August HT (VT): [Website] [Entries/Ride Times] [Scoring] [Volunteer]

Otter Creek Summer HT (WI): [Website] [Entries/Ride Times] [Scoring] [Volunteer]

WindRidge Farm Summer HT (NC): [Website] [Entries/Ride Times] [Scoring] [Volunteer] [CrossCountry App XC Map]

Fair Hill International Recognized HT (MD): [Website] [Entries/Ride Times] [Scoring] [Volunteer] [CrossCountry App XC Map]

Woodside Summer HT (CA): [Website] [Entries/Ride Times] [Scoring] [Volunteer]

Masterson Equestrian Trust YEH/OEH Qualifier (KY): [Website] [Entries/Ride Times/Scoring] [Volunteer]

Stone Gate Farm Summer Mini Trials (OH): [Website] [Entries/Ride Times] [Scoring] [Volunteer] [CrossCountry App XC Map]