John Lennon famously said that life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans. Rebecca Barber Tyler probably would agree.
After an impressive showing at the 2024 Ocala Horse Properties USEA Young Event Horse (YEH) Symposium in February, the USEA caught up with Ariel Grald to chat about her upcoming plans for Annie Eldridge's coming 5-year-old Holsteiner mare, Melypsa (Barcley x Elypsa), whom she expertly piloted around the Symposium course to become one of the panelists’ favorite demonstrations.
When Alexa Thompson (née Ehlers) looks back at her eventing career, she can without a doubt trace where she is now back to a little Thoroughbred mare she got when she was just 10 years old named Crystal Clear (Far Out Wadleigh x Rollem Katrina).
While not an eventer himself, Jim Moyer has been involved in the eventing community for five decades through his late wife, instructor Jean Moyer. When Jean died in 2020, Jim continued volunteering in the sport to stay busy in retirement and stay connected to the community he loves.
There aren’t many riders who can say they competed at five of the world’s seven five-star events in 2023, but the 2023 World Equestrian Brands USEA Rider of the Year Boyd Martin can. With nine starts across the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event, Longines Luhmühlen Horse Trials (Germany), Defender Burghley Horse Trials (England), MARS Maryland 5 Star, and Pau (France), Martin earned five top-5 finishes.
Bethany Hutchins-Kristen headed into 2023 with hopes of earning the SmartPak USEA Stallion of the Year award for a second year in a row on her homebred Geluk HVF, and after a stellar season, including a top-10 finish at the TerraNova CCI2*-L (Myakka City, Florida), she took home the top prize with an 18-point lead.
Attendees of the 2024 Ocala Horse Properties USEA Young Event Horse (YEH) Symposium yesterday were treated to a day of thought-provoking discussion and quick-witted entertainment from a star-studded list of some of the sport’s top players. With a morning session centered around the evaluation of young prospects for their future upper-level potential and an evening session that left the crowd laughing and learning about jumping exercises to help positively progress training, it was a valuable opportunity to grow one’s knowledge on the foundations of working with young horses the from start to finish.
Spend the day immersing yourself in the intricacies of producing Young Event Horses at the 2024 Ocala Horse Properties USEA Young Event Horse (YEH) Symposium tomorrow, Feb. 20, in Ocala, Florida. A star-studded list of presenters and demonstrators will be on-hand to educate the audience on the proper training and evaluation of the next generation of 4- and 5-star horses. Click here to register!
Katie Crowley didn’t have intentions of breeding horses, but when her Hosteiner mare Travita proved to have a bit too much fire to handle, it was suggested that breeding her might settle her some.
Next week, young horse trainers, riders, breeders, judges, and enthusiasts will converge on Ocala, Florida, for the 2024 Ocala Horse Properties USEA Young Event Horse (YEH) Symposium. On Tuesday, Feb. 20, attendees will be treated to two educational sessions on the proper training and evaluation of young eventing prospects, with a morning session on evaluation jumping, galloping, and conformation hosted at Majestic Oaks Ocala and a YEH Masterclass in the evening at Redtail Ridge Farm South. Click here to register!
The little gray Connemara cross gelding Delilah’s Boy has made quite a big name for himself in eventing. Since starting his eventing career in 2019, the now 13-year-old pony has celebrated 11 wins and countless top-3 finishes at the Novice and Beginner Novice levels, including a win at the U.S. Pony Club Championships in 2019 with former owner/rider Macie Sykes. It was his fabulous 2023 season, however, that earned Delilah’s Boy the title of the 2023 SmartPak USEA Pony of the Year with young rider Kendal Fansler of Clarksville, Maryland, in the irons.