USEA/Spalding Labs Young Event Horse Series Events Run at Winona and MCTA Horse Trials

The Spalding Labs/USEA Young Event Horse Series is well under way, with many lovely up-and-coming event prospects heading out to the cross-country course to strut their stuff.

A YEH event held at the Winona Horse Trials in Winona, Ohio on May 11 welcomed a group of youngsters including Anne Kaufman’s palomino Thoroughbred stallion Pegasus Pure Gold (Billionair—Pontenise), who came back to defend his title and win the five-year-old division with a score of 83.60 after winning the four-year-old division last year. In a close second with 79.64 was Pam Kimmel’s Something Special, who is by Mark Todd’s Advanced level stallion Aberjack.

In the four-year-old division, Marjory Berkache and Kathy Peterson’s Warmblood stallion Tailered Fortune blew the competition out of the water, scoring an 82.1 and earning an incredible 10 for jumping ability. Sired by the Holsteiner stallion Titan, the colt is proving himself to be a competitive partner for Berkache after only a few months under saddle. “We’re working towards the Young Event Horse Championships at the end of the year and we’re really trying to help promote him as a stallion. Nobody ever knows he’s a stallion, he’s such a puppy dog! He’s 16.3 and I’m about five feet tall and about ninety-five pounds on a good day, and luckily he’s so easy to handle,” Berkache said with a laugh.

Berkache is excited about the young stallion's prospects and hopes to show him at the YEH events held at Maui Jim in July and Richland Park in August. “I work for his breeder, Kathy Peterson, and I think it’s great that this program rewards the efforts of trainers who sometimes never get the credit for training these talented young horses,” Berkache said.

For more information on Winona Horse Trials, go to http://www.stonegatefarm.org/winona/index.htm.

MCTA Horse Trials at Shawan Downs held their Young Event Horse event on May 4 in Cockeysville, Maryland and drew large numbers of enthusiastic sport horse breeders and owners thrilled to be promoting their young stock.

Elyse DeVries’ 15.3-hand Oldenburg mare, Really Rosie (Ruthian—First Luck), won the five-year-old division with a score of 79.11. “She’s a little powerhouse! She has a huge jump and literally trots over the 3’6” jumps. She really loves the challenge,” said DeVries, who bought the gray filly as a yearling. The little mare moved up to novice and showed well at MCTA last year; DeVries plans to compete her in the YEH event at Waredaca in June.

Nipping at Rosie’s heels was Phyllis Dawson’s Fantasy Impromptu, a 16.3 Hanoverian gelding by Anhatiner who finished the event in second with a score of 76.48. Dawson also showed her flashy chestnut filly Angel Unaware in the four-year-old division, winning with a score of 74.99. Bred by Susanne Quarles, Dawson purchased the prospects as three-year-olds. “I was really pleased with them. They both performed well and were well behaved. I like the format of this type of event and I like the emphasis on potential,” noted Dawson, a well-known international eventer.

For more information on the MCTA Horse Trials at Shawan Downs, visit www.mdcta.com.

New Events Added

Plantation Field in Unionville, Pennsylvania has recently added a Young Event Horse division to their schedule for their event on June 9, so if you’re in the Area and considering taking part in the Series, it will be a great starter event for your youngster!

Colorado Horse Park (CO), Indiana Horse Trials (IN), Waredaca (MD), and Hill ‘N’ Hound Horse Trials (IL) have all signed up to host YEH events in June, and with more events across the country considering adding the YEH Series classes to their events, more events will be added to the calendar, so stay tuned!

A Little About the Series

The USEA/Spalding Labs Young Event Horse Series could best be described as an equine talent search. The Series gives owners and breeders the opportunity to showcase the potential of their four- and five-year-olds, encouraging them to produce top-level event horses for the future—the next Winsome Adante, Custom Made, or Primmore´s Pride, perhaps.

The divisions are based on age, with one division for four-year-old horses and the other for five-year-olds. The classes at each event offer four sections: dressage, jumping, conformation and type, and suitability and potential. While the judges look for horses with strong abilities in dressage and show jumping, they also look for a horse with correct, elastic gaits, scope and athleticism over fences, and those that with the correct training will have the speed, soundness, and stamina necessary at the top levels of the sport.

Winners of each event take home a six-month supply of fly predators from Spalding Labs as well as a Fleeceworks saddle pad set.

The ultimate goal? Earn two qualifying scores of 70 or higher to qualify for the Championships, which this year will be held September 12 in conjunction with the Wellpride American Eventing Championships at Lamplight Equestrian Center in Wayne, Illinois . USEA CEO Jo Whitehouse, who spearheaded the launch of the YEH Series, summed up the Series´ philosophy best: "Eventers in the U.S. are used to buying horses that are already competing, or finding them off the track and re-training them. Hopefully programs like the Young Event Horse Series will encourage more people to consider purchasing a young prospect bred specifically for the sport, or even better, to try their luck by pairing up a mare and stallion that could produce a future Rolex winner!"

In addition to their trophy, the year-end champions will take home another supply of Spalding Labs fly predators, a Fleeceworks saddle pad, and a Stackhouse saddle worth approximately $4,500.

A Word About Our Sponsors

The USEA/Spalding Labs Young Event Horse Series is made possible through the generous support of Title Sponsor, Spalding Labs; Legacy Sponsors Stackhouse Saddles and Fleeceworks; and Contributing Sponsor, Acorn Hill Farm.

Click on the YEH logo on the USEA homepage, www.useventing.com, to find out more about the Series, including the complete 2007 calendar.