United States Eventing Association

Some familiar faces stood in the winners circle at this year's East Coast Spalding Labs USEA Young Event Horse Championship at the Fair Hill International Three-Day Event, as well as some new blood. In his first appearance in a YEH competition, distinguished rider Will Coleman showed last year's West Coast 4-Year-Old YEH Champion, Artesian, to victory in the 5-year-old division, while Matt Flynn, who won the 5-Year-Old East Coast Championship last year, brought a new mount, Boateng, to this year's 4-year-old victory.

Artesian (Judgement x Shannondoah), a 16.3-hand Dutch Warmblood gelding now owned by Lucia Strini and Plain Dealing Farm, was shown last year with much success by west coast rider, Robyn Fisher. While Strini, 23, of Scottsville, Virginia, will ultimately become Artesian's primary rider, Coleman has recently managed the reins to help develop the young horse, with future international potential for Strini, who is recently out of college and riding in the CCI2* division at Fair Hill this year.

"He's very talented and will hopefully be a good horse for Lucia," Coleman said. "He's definitely a talented horse; scopey, powerful, and careful. He's got all of the raw ingredients but is still a little green. He doesn't quite know what to do with all that power yet."

The Young Event Horse classes are composed of three phases: Conformation and Type, which is worth 15% of a pair's overall score; Dressage, worth 35%; and Jumping, worth 50%. Artesian scored 12.80, 29.75, and 41.25, respectively. Their Conformation and Dressage marks where the highest of the division.

While Coleman commented that a solid training program at home is the key to bringing along a gifted young horse like Artesian, he said after experiencing the YEH program first hand, "I think the program is wonderful and aims to do the right things. It's a showcase for young horses and a great way to test yourself and see where your horse is compared to other young horses coming up the ranks."

While Coleman is not certain how much longer he'll ride Artesian, he is planning to compete him at the Virginia Horse Trials at the end of this month. But in the near future, "you'll be seeing Lucia on him for sure," he said.

Meanwhile, Flynn, who said last year's 5-year-old YEH Championship helped him start a new program for importing and bringing young horses along, has proven with Tyler and Bess Abell's 4-year-old, Boateng, that his program is yielding positive results.

"He's part of a sales program," Flynn explained of the Dutch Warmblood gelding he imported in April from England. "But I want to bring him along further; he's pretty special. He's a fantastic mover and an awesome jumper, but, of course, he's still figuring everything out."

The pair earned the second highest dressage score of the division with a 27.65 in less than ideal conditions, as Thursday mimicked the relentless rain of last year. But this year, competitors performed in the main arena, instead of a grass ring.

"There's definitely a lot for a young horse to look at in there," he said. "But it's a good setting for this class."

On Friday, the competition moved across the road to the Gallaher course, and the clouds cleared for sunny, if not slightly chilly, conditions. "They did a good job laying [the jumping course] out. It was really nice and flowing," he said. Judges awarded him and Boateng a 38.75 in that phase. Their final score was 78.55, only half a point ahead of Reserve Champions Mara Dean and Orlando.

Flynn also imported three other young horses this year for his program with the help of the Abells, who he met through boarding at their barn. "They really enjoyed coming and watching," Flynn said. "They are awesome owners."

Another familiar face to gain much deserved recognition at this year's Championship was Lisa Samoylenko's Rhicochet, a 5-year-old Irish Sport Horse/Oldenburg Mare by Resonanz and out of Rhyme, who received her second consecutive Safe Harbor Award.

Ridden once again by Stephanie Baer, the Safe Harbor Award is presented to the young horse who consistently exhibits the most graceful and rider friendly performance throughout the competition. The pair finished in fifth place in the 5-year-old division with a score of 78.41, and posted the highest score in the jumping phase, a 41.75.

The Young Event Horse Series made possible by the generosity of title sponsor Spalding Labs as well as our legacy sponsors: Fleeceworks, Stackhouse Saddles, Smart Pak Equine and Succeed.

For more information on the Spalding Labs/USEA Young Event Horse series or the USEA Future Event Horse series, please contact Wendy Weinstein at (703) 669-9996 or [email protected], or go to the calendar pages for more updates on new venues and upcoming competitions.