United States Eventing Association

Claire de Lune SE Wins Third YEH Competition This Year

Robyn Fisher had a fantastic day at the Spalding Labs/USEA Young Event Horse competition at The Event at Rebecca Farm in Kalispell, Montana, taking home the top honors in both the four- and five-year-old classes aboard two equally talented young horses.

Fisher, 29, who trains near Los Angeles, California, earned the highest score of the day aboard Rose Sullivan's Claire de Lune SE (Contendor--L'Vienna Z). An 81.3% left them well ahead of second place finishers Sandra Donnelly of Canada, aboard her Canadian Warmblood who scored a 75.9%. Erin Spohr and Jens Richter's Lady Laptop rounded out the top three with a 74.8%.

The young stallion has had a phenomenal career in his short amount of time with Fisher, winning both his YEH classes this spring. "Claire de Lune actually came to me in August of 2008 and he was originally supposed to be doing the four- and five-year-olds for show jumping, but Rose and I both decided it would be good to get him out and get a good start with all three disciplines," said Fisher. "He's just been phenomenal. Every show out he just gets better and better."

Claire de Lune SE has earned the highest score in the U.S. so far this year, posting a remarkable 87.8% at the YEH at Twin Rivers back in April.

'Weebee,' as he's affectionately known, has proven himself to be an all-around prospect in just about any discipline. "He's very steady on the flat, so he always puts in the consistent five-year-old test," added Fisher. "Then he has such good technique and form over the fences and such a nice open, balanced stride so he always scores well on the jumping."

Fisher was thrilled with her double-win, and is excited to have such talented young prospects coming along "I had so much fun today! That's a horse I could jump all day long, every day. I just love riding him, he gives you such a good feel over everything. It doesn't matter what the jump is, it's always the same feel."

The young warmblood will compete in his third career Training event this weekend as well. "We've been doing a lot of schooling during the events. He has a first and second in the horse trials, and then we have a few where we've been schooling for time. He's been fairly consistent overall."

The striking grey stallion seemed nonplussed during the awards ceremony, calmly ignoring the flapping flags and electric atmosphere. "He came from Sullivan Farms, and Rose does such a good job of with starting the young horses. All of them come from her unflappable. He's just a very kind, sweet horse. He can be lying down and you can go sit with him and he goes on hacks with the mares. He definitely knows when it's work time, when it's relax time, and when it's breeding time."

The well-bred youngster already has one foal on the ground this year, and is expecting eight more offspring in 2010.

Artesian Dances to the Head of the Pack

Fisher's own Dutch Warmblood gelding, Artesian, put forth a gallant effort to win the four-year-old YEH class with a 70.5%, a mere tenth of a point ahead of Cathy Rasch's Idle Hour. Noel Clark and Gottevlan earned a 68.7 to take home third.

The possibilities are endless for this promising young gelding, who's bred to excel in show jumping and dressage, but has so far proven his worth in the eventing world as well. "I bought him in November of last year from Willy Arts at DG Bar Ranch and he's a son of Judgment. I kind of got him by default, because he was supposed to be Willy's next big breeding stallion but he was a cryptorchid. He's bred to do the jumping and the dressage, because he has Consul as his grandsire."

The spunky youngster was feeling frisky this afternoon, showing off his scope over the warm-up jumps, but settling down to business when his turn came to jump around the course. "He's a silly guy - he's just turning four, since his birthday was technically a few weeks ago,"explained Fisher. "He's so strong in the dressage in that discipline, but he's still so green and spooky in the jumping and sometimes he over-jumps behind. He's still learning where his body is!"

"He'll be doing Open Novice--this will be his third Novice horse trials. He's actually won his first two events. He's undefeated right now, so hopefully we can maintain it," Fisher added with a laugh.

The Spalding Labs/USEA Young Event Horse winners receive saddle pads from Fleeceworks as well as gorgeous ribbons and other prizes provided by Rebecca Farm. The YEH Series is made possible by Title Sponsor: Spalding Labs; Legacy Sponsors: Stackhouse Saddles, Fleeceworks, and SUCCEED.

Two YEH Championships will take place this fall - one in the East and one out West. The Eastern Championships will be held in conjunction with the Fair Hill CCI2*/CCI3* in Elkton, Maryland on Oct. 14-18. The inaugural Western YEH Championships will be held at the Galway Downs Three-Day Event and Horse Trials on Oct. 29-Nov. 1 in Temecula, California.

To qualify for either Championships, horses must have received one score of 75% or higher at a YEH event, or two scores of 70% or higher. For more information on the YEH Series, visit the YEH page or contact Wendy Weinstein at [email protected].