United States Eventing Association

Lexington, Ky.—April 26—Time was the deciding factor in today’s show jumping for the Cosequin Lexington, CCI4*-S at the Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event, and Tamie Smith was able to keep her place at the top of the podium with Lillet 3 after producing the only double-clear round of 31 pairs to jump Guilherme Jorge’s course.

The top 3 remained unchanged, with Will Coleman and Very Dignified adding 1.6 time penalties to finish second, and Mia Farley and Invictus adding .4 on the clock to finish third.

Smith was thrilled with "Lillet," a 10-year-old Holsteiner mare (Livello x Princess L) owned by Molly Duda. “She was super. I couldn't have asked her to be better,” she said. “She came up just enough to rise to the occasion, and didn't get too tense or tight, and just jumped amazing. She just keeps going from strength to strength. She just was so rideable and just tried her heart out. I don't even think she touched a rail.

“The time was very influential in the show jumping, even just watching,” she added. “I didn't think there was any way it was going to be achievable,” she said. “Good riding was happening, and they were still not making the time. So, I just went in there and rode the plan of me and my coach, Scott Keach, and it worked out. It was really rewarding to be the only double-clear today.”

“I felt like her and I had a great partnership, kind of leading into last summer,” she said. “The results are just showing this this season. It’s really cool—we think for each other, we think the same, and it's tricky when you're on sensitive mares because you have to figure out how much and how little to do, and she taught me well, so I've been listening, and it's paying off.”

Smith also earned a special accolade during the awards ceremony—the Liz Halliday Award to the top placed American in the four-star, given in honor of five-star rider and Olympian Liz Halliday, who incurred a brain injury in a fall in the summer of 2024. Halliday was on hand all weekend to watch Boyd Martin ride her horse, her 2024 Paris Olympics partner Cooley Nutcracker, and she came into the ring to give Smith the award.

“That accident was really hard on me—Liz and I are friends, and we did a lot of team stuff together and traveled a lot,” said Smith. “I would always kind of give her a hard time because she had this really intense, competitive approach. And I'd always go, come on, loosen up girl! We always had this thing that we were going to win medals together on teams, so it's hard to see her, but it's also really awesome to see how far she's come. It’s virtually a miracle that she's as good as she is, and she understands what you're saying, and you can talk to her.

“I know she's going to continue to be better, and if anybody's going to be doing amazing things again, it's her,” she continued. “I think what was so emotional for me is that my mare just stood there like she knew. It was so crazy, because she's hot, and she paused, and it was just really cool that she soaked in the moment. And it's good to see Liz out here again.”

In addition to winning his first five-star on debutante Diabolo, Coleman had a great weekend in the four-star, finishing second on Very Dignified, an 11-year-old Irish Sport Horse mare (Dignified Van't Zorgvliet x Katy’s Gem) owned by Jerome Broussard, Beth Lendrum, and Gloria Callen.

“She's awesome. I love this mare,” he said. “She's very opinionated. She's kind of an alpha female, but she's really classy. I thought she was great all weekend. We didn't maybe have quite the dressage we I think she's capable of, but the rest of the weekend, I thought she was pure class.”

This was the mare’s first Advanced run of the year, and Coleman isn’t sure what she’ll do next, but he’s happy to have a good run under her belt. “Just try to keep chipping away,” he said. “It's getting a little better—that's kind of what we do. It's a slow process. But get out there with our chisel and chip away.”

Mia Farley was thrilled with her weekend aboard Invictus, a 10-year-old American Warmblood gelding (Diarado x Sunset Paradise) owned by Karen O’Connor. She admitted yesterday that she’s still learning how to keep her nerves in check on Sunday, having a more difficult time in the show jumping with her five-star horse Phelps, but she rode her plan today on “Sammy,” who’s a bit more careful.

“I felt normal today, but going into Sundays with my other horse is a little bit tough,” she said. “So today I just decided that I wanted to ride the best I could. And Sammy and I together, he answered everything, and he jumped really well and high. It felt good. I was I was impressed with him, and it was nice to feel myself also answer those questions.”

She added a special thanks to O’Connor and her husband, David O’Connor, who own the horse and help her at home.

“We all couldn't do it without so many people, and that's also the owners,” she said. “For Karen and David to trust me with their horses is a really special feeling, especially them and their history competing. I couldn't do it without them between the coaching and supporting, and they've been very open minded when I make mistakes, which I'm thankful for because I've made quite a few mistakes, but I'm learning, and I'm sure I'll keep making them, and hopefully they will stay open minded!”

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