James Alliston and Karma secure his third victory in a row at Rebecca Farm. Photo by Shannon Brinkman.
US Equestrian is pleased to acknowledge the 2023 Jacqueline B. Mars National Competition and Training Grant recipients. The national grants are awarded by the United States Equestrian Team (USET) Foundation through the generosity of USET Foundation Honorary Trustee Jacqueline B. Mars, with the aim of supporting preparation and attendance at a competition that is more than 1,500 miles from the athlete’s home base. In 2023, grants were awarded to James Alliston with Nemesis and Karma and Liz Halliday with Cooley Moonshine.
The grants are designed to assist athlete-and-horse combinations’ progression to the Pre-Elite or Elite Program. The goal of the grant is to provide training and competition resources for athletes who have never competed on an Olympic or FEI World Championship eventing senior team.
James Alliston and Nemesis. Photo by Ride On Photo.
James Alliston (San Ramon, Calif.) received a grant for Nemesis, Alliston Equestrian’s 2014 Canadian Warmblood gelding, to come east for the 2023 Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event presented by MARS Equestrian™ CCI5*-L (LRK3DE). Alliston rode Nemesis to the horse’s first CCI5*-L completion in April at the LRK3DE, finishing in 20th place.
Liz Halliday-Sharp and Cooley Moonshine. Photo by Shannon Brinkman.
Liz Halliday (Lexington, Ky.) received a grant for Cooley Moonshine to head west for The Event at Rebecca Farm CCI4*-L back in July. Since finishing second in the seven-year-old division at the 2019 FEI WBFSH Eventing World Breeding Championship, Halliday and the Cooley Moonshine have earned several top-10 results as The Monster Partnership’s 2012 Irish Sport Horse gelding has moved up the levels.
Additionally, Alliston received a grant for Karma, which the USET Foundation graciously approved for an international trip after Alliston’s fall plans changed with being named to the Land Rover U.S. Eventing Team for the FEI Eventing Nations Cup Netherlands CCIO4*-NC-L. After winning the CCI4*-L at The Event at Rebecca Farm, Alliston and the 2014 Oldenburg mare owned by Alliston Equestrian and Ric Plummer head to the Netherlands from October 5-8 for the horse’s first time competing abroad.
Find out more about the Jacqueline B. Mars National Competition and Training Grants here.
