United States Eventing Association

The horses in trainer Joe Davis’ barn at Horseshoe Indianapolis don’t just get standard hay in their nets each day. Throughout the afternoon, Davis or one of his employees opens the HayGain machine that sits at the end of his shed row and pulls out a warm, beautiful-smelling bale of freshly-steamed hay to fill their nets.

Bringing along a young horse is such a special process for everyone involved. The USEA is excited to dedicate an episode to celebrating some of the special young horses in the United States that have risen to the occasion. Joining USEA Podcast Host Nicole Brown in this episode are Tommy Greengard, the rider and co-owner of this year's Holekamp/Turner Grant Recipient That's Me Z who represented the U.S. at Le Lion this year, and Kaylawna Smith-Cook, who piloted Bonner Carpenter's Only-Else to the highest national score in the Dutta Corp. USEA Young Event Horse 5-Year-Old Championships.

Every now and then, a video goes viral on social media of a rider heroically going around a show jumping or cross-country course with one, or no, stirrups. There’s a great one of Mark Todd going around Badminton with a broken stirrup, and you just wonder how on earth a course that difficult could be jumped like that—because it’s hard enough with two stirrups!

When That’s Me Z won the USEA Young Event Horse West Coast 5-Year-Old Championship in 2022, his co-owners Tommy Greengard and Andrea Pfeiffer knew that competing at the FEI WBFSH Eventing World Championships for Young Horses at Mondial du Lion in Le Lion d'Angers, France, in two years time was the ultimate goal for the promising young Zangersheide (Take A Chance On Me Z x Venetia) gelding.

The past few years have seen veterinary imaging for horses grow by leaps and bounds. Computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were once rare and expensive luxuries for veterinarians trying to diagnose a horse, only accessible in a few places in the country. These days, more referral clinics are getting ahold of machines to bring advanced imaging closer to more people and horses. Some of these newer machines are faster and don’t require horses to undergo full anesthesia to get images.

Competition at Twin Rivers Ranch did not disappoint today for the Dutta Corp. USEA Young Event Horse (YEH) West Coast Championships. With a friendly galloping course and lots of options for riders to take, each combination was set up for success. Judges Christian Schact (GER) and Sally Ike (USA) had their work cut out for themselves to pick the winners.

The sun was shining, and the young horses came to impress on day 1 of The Dutta Corp. USEA Young Event Horse (YEH) West Coast Championships at Twin Rivers Ranch in Paso Robles, California. Five 4-year-olds and 13 5-year-olds were presented to judges Sally Ike in the dressage ring and Christian Schact in conformation to cap off a short but sweet start to the week.

2020 was a year of extreme change for the world as the COVID-19 pandemic spread. After enduring lockdowns and restrictions, people’s priorities changed. For some, it was a year of transformation. Adult amateur Susan Hamblen was one of those people, ready to quit riding until she met a young pinto crossbred of unknown breeding in rural eastern Pennsylvania who would change her life.

The second event in the two-leg Dutta Corp. USEA Young Event Horse (YEH) Championships starts tomorrow, Friday, Oct. 18 at Twin Rivers Ranch in Paso Robles, California and continues through Saturday, Oct. 19. Today, competitors have one more chance to earn their spot in the Dutta. Corp YEH West Coast Championships this week during Twin Rivers’ Last Chance Qualifier, which will see one 4-year-old and five 5-year-olds attempt to secure a 70% of higher to finalize their qualification.

There are lots of podcasts related to horse sports out there. You can find training advice, stable management tips, and even veterinary recommendations in various podcasts. But the podcast series “Riders Unscripted” from Ride iQ is the first, to my knowledge, that features one-on-one conversations between amateur riders and a sports psychology coach.