United States Eventing Association

Growing up as a self-proclaimed “free-range child” on her family’s Dragonfire Farm in California, Taylor McFall beelined her way toward horses from the time she could walk. That idyllic childhood helped cement Taylor’s love for horses at an early age.

Just over a year ago, Arielle Aharoni’s world came crashing down when her long-time partner Dutch Times suffered an injury on cross-country at the MARS Maryland 5 Star within sight of the finish flags. Now, with “Dutch” safely on the mend, she has her sights set on a bright future with his full brother, Notorious, and other up-and-comers.

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.

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.

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.

The Thoroughbred mare Rose Traveler (War Dancer x Nashwan Rose) was the last to be seen in the 2024 Dutta. Corp USEA Young Event Horse (YEH) East Coast 5-Year-Old Championship, and she definitely lived up to the age-old adage, “saved the best for last.” The mare was ranked 31st in the conformation and 22nd in the dressage, but her jumping and galloping efforts absolutely impressed the judges, launching her up the leaderboard to claim the champion title.

A field of 30 promising 4-year-olds completed all phases of the Dutta Corp. USEA Young Event Horse (YEH) East Coast 4-year-old Championship today, and it was Leslie Morse’s homebred Dutch Warmblood mare Prime Star (Kingston x Stradiveria), ridden by Madison Temkin, who rose to the occasion. “Star” held the top spots in both the conformation and dressage phases and second place across the jumping and galloping phases to secure the champion title on a cumulative score of 88.76.

Not to be overshadowed by the epic five-star competition taking place this week at the MARS Maryland 5 Star at Fair Hill, 72 of the country's best and brightest 4- and 5-year-old horses will converge on Elkton, Maryland, for the 2024 Dutta Corp. USEA Young Event Horse (YEH) East Coast Championships, presented by Dubarry of Ireland. On Thursday, Oct. 17 and Friday, Oct. 18, join the USEA in Timber Field as we witness new champions emerge from this exciting crop of potential future four- and five-star horses!

Twenty-three pairs are set to start the MARS Maryland 5 Star on Oct. 16, and four of those are USEA Young Event Horse program graduates. The YEH program serves as a pathway to introduce young horses to the sport of eventing. Founded in 2004, the program’s goal is to identify 4- and 5-year-old horses that possess the talent and disposition that, with proper training, can excel in the four-star and five-star levels of eventing.