United States Eventing Association

Connemaras Conquer at GMHA SmartPak Equine/USEA T3D

After venturing out across mountains, valleys, woods, and fields for Endurance Day yesterday, riders returned to the main rings at GMHA today for the conclusion of the 2010 SmartPak Equine/USEA Training Three Day Event with the show jumping. Rails proved costly and shuffled the final results of every division, but the overnight leaders of all three Training divisions were able to execute clear rounds to secure their wins. When the dust settled from the last round, it was a display of Irish-bred domination, as Connemaras took the top honors in two divisions and an Irish Sport Horse claimed the win in the third.

Taking home the first win of the morning was Stacy Taylor and Tower Hills Darby Dun, who finished on their dressage score of 30.8. Taylor has owned the 18 year old Connemara gelding for almost 10 years now, and her experience with him has sold her on the Irish pony breed: "I love him; I love Connemaras. It's the first Connemara my family's owned, and we've just bred another, so we're going to try to stay with the Connemara breed." Taylor had been looking forward to competing in a Training Three Day for a while now, after watching others compete in a Preliminary Three Day. Even though she's successfully made the move up to Prelim herself, she was excited to get to take advantage of GMHA's Training Three Day before resuming her studies at Gettysburg College this fall, where she will be a senior majoring in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. The highlights of the weekend for Taylor were getting to ride in a large arena for the dressage, and of course all parts of Endurance Day on Thursday: "After doing steeplechase training [on Wednesday afternoon] I was so excited to actually get out and do it all." The experience was well worth the wait, as Taylor described her time on Phases A, B, C, and D as "the best 51 minutes of [her] life."

In the Junior division, Sarah Epstein and Insync led the competition from start to finish, clinching the win on a score of 29.8. Though they conquered this challenge with ease, things have not always been so easy for Epstein and the Irish Sport Horse gelding: "last year was a little shaky ... [but] this year I really feel like I've connected with him, and I feel like we're a great pair now." Epstein was excited from the beginning to learn about the different aspects of preparation and execution required for the classic format, and was thrilled to really feel a difference in the way Phases A, B, and C changed her horse for the better on cross country: "I feel like it taught me how cross country is supposed to ride. Steeplechase set me up so well: I felt like I could just ride out of stride and I didn't have to change his canter, and with his gallop I could just sit chilly and he would be right there."

Taking home the last blue ribbon of the day was Allison Springer aboard Gold Dust Moon, who also led from the beginning, finishing on their dressage score of 28.4. Springer has been partnered with the eight year old Connemara gelding, owned by Nancy Winter, for nearly four years now. It was Winter-- herself a veteran of many long format three day events, having been shortlisted for the 1984 Olympics in Eventing-- who initially encouraged Springer to do a Training Three Day with "Dusty," and Springer thoroughly enjoyed not only her own competitive experience but also the opportunity to meet new people and help others in the educational process. Springer praised the educational value of the Training Three Day, especially for young people, and could see the learning aspects of the competition expanding even further in coming years with the continued support of upper level riders, like herself and Bonnie Mosser (10th on Isbond in Training B), who are willing to pass their knowledge on.

In addition to the three divisions of Training, GMHA also hosted three competitive divisions of Novice Three Day riders. It was the first year GMHA offered this level of competition, and after a successful first year organizer Molly Hutchins is already looking forward to next year's event.

Final Results