Nov 29, 2022

Crabo, Keyser, and Martin Conclude 2022 Season with Area X Championship Honors

By Meagan DeLisle - USEA Staff
Left to right (all photos courtesy of riders): Barb Crabo, Anastasia Keyser, and Meghan Martin.

Concluding the 2022 Area Championships season was the Area X Championships held during the SAzEA H.T. which took place November 19-20 in Tucson, Arizona. Three Championship divisions were offered, allowing three horse and rider pairs the opportunity to conclude their 2022 eventing season by being crowned champion!

Training Champions: Barbara Crabo & I.M. Over It | 26.7

Barbara Crabo’s 6-year-old Swedish Warmblood mare I.M. Over It (Irco Meno x Over Easy) is a homebred out of Crabo’s Advanced mare and by the sire who sired her former five-star eventer Eveready. Crabo introduced “Kiwi” to competition life in the fall of 2021 and has brought her up from the Beginner Novice level to the Training level over the course of the 2022 season. Their win in the Area X Championships is their first win together.

“At the championships at SAzEA Kiwi was fantastic in all three phases,” Crabo commented. “She is still struggling to focus with whatever she does and she was the most focused she has ever been.” And that focus paid off with the pair kicking off the weekend in a tie for second on a dressage score of 26.7. Fault-free performances across both jumping phases would move the pair up from second to first to claim the victory.

Novice Champions: Anastasia Keyser & Samson | 23.5

The win in the Area X Novice Championships was a sweet one for Anastasia Keyser and her 19-year-old Appaloosa gelding Samson (All Hands on Zip x Feature Me Bigtime). “I had decided that this was going to be our last year eventing together which means the Championship was our last show,” shared Keyser. “I need to focus on my younger horses, and he earned the right to have an easier time. We started eventing back in 2019 and that first year was a rocky one. We did manage to get all the pieces together to win the 2019 Area X Beginner Novice Championships so to come full circle and win at our last show was perfect!”

The pair led their division from start to finish on their dressage score of 23.1 and just added 0.4 time penalties on cross-country to secure their win on a total score of 23.5 with a five-point lead over the second-place pair.

“Samson is not a fancy mover, but he is a great dressage horse. Show jumping is his weakness as he is built more downhill. It is more common to get a rail than be clean so when we finished show jumping double clear, I knew the win was possible! Generally, he loves cross-country and this time was no exception. Samson may return to showing but at a lower level with a different rider. He is retiring from Novice as a Champion!”

Beginner Novice Champions: Meghan Martin & LBA Otis | 27.4

Jill Breckner’s 7-year-old Clydesdale cross LBA Otis may have just kicked off his career as an event horse, but that didn’t stop the young horse from rising to the top of the Area X Beginner Novice Championship with Meghan Martin in the tack in only his third event ever.

“Otis had a fabulous dressage and a decent show jumping as he is still green. Cross country is his biggest challenge not because of the jumps, but because he is a bit spooky with all the jump judges and things around the jumps. SAzEA put on a lovely Area X Championship and I look forward to next year.”

Martin and LBA Otis started the competition in first on a score of 23.4 and only added one rail to their dressage score to solidify their win with a total score of 27.4.

Jul 02, 2024 Educational Activities

USEA Educational Activity Highlight: Sherwood Forest Hunter Pace | Sherwood Oregon | July 13, 2024

What’s a Hunter Pace? The Sherwood Forest Equestrian Center's Hunter Pace is a cross-country-style course around Sherwood Forest over various natural obstacles/terrain. The course ends with a final treat for riders to take in stunning views of Mt. Hood with a loop through the old Far Hill Farms field. The beginning of the course will first start with a warm-up loop around show jumping obstacles in the outdoor ring at Sherwood Forest and then riders will continue directly onto the course. Sign up as a solo rider, pair, or team.

Jul 02, 2024 Profile

No Longer Dreaming: Claire Allen's Goal of Qualifying for USEF Eventing Young Rider Championship is Now Reality

Claire Allen remembers when she was 11 years old, having just made the switch from the hunter/jumper ring to three-day eventing. She told her new eventing trainer that her goal was to one day compete in the United States Equestrian Federation’s Eventing Young Rider Championships.

Jul 01, 2024 Competitions

Alliston’s Busy Weekend, Braitling’s Reuniting with Five-Star Mount, & Kalkman’s Advanced Victory Highlight Twin Rivers Summer H.T.

As he was finishing tacking up his horse in preparation to navigate the cross-country course at the 2024 Twin Rivers Summer Horse Trials, James Alliston expressed concern about navigating the 101 Freeway. That’s because as soon as he crossed the finish line aboard Intermediate level winner Addyson (Ampere x Nickerbocker) at 10:38 a.m. on Saturday—his fifth cross-country round of the morning with three at Preliminary and two at Intermediate—the West Coast-based five-star rider had to drive 185 miles on the 101 Freeway from Twin Rivers Ranch in Paso Robles, California, to San Francisco International Airport to catch a 4:35 p.m. flight to Frankfurt, Germany.

Jul 01, 2024 Education

USEA Podcast #364: All Your Grooming Questions Answered

There is so much more to proper grooming than keeping your horse picture-perfect for the horse inspection. Good grooming practices are critical to proper horse management, no matter if you are planning for your next FEI appearance or your Starter level debut. To help you maximize your knowledge of grooming practices, we opened up the opportunity for USEA members to submit any questions they might have on our Instagram and Facebook stories. In this week's episode, Host Nicole Brown sits down with three of the highest-regarded grooms in this industry, Max Corcoran, Emma Ford, and Stephanie Simpson, and asks them all of your questions and more to help you perfect the art of grooming.

Official Corporate Sponsors of the USEA

Official Joint Therapy Treatment of the USEA

Official Feed of the USEA

Official Saddle of the USEA

Official Equine Insurance of the USEA

Official Forage of the USEA

Official Supplement Feeding System of the USEA

Official Competition & Training Apparel of the USEA

Official Horse Boot of the USEA

Official Shockwave of the USEA

Official Horse Wear of the USEA