United States Eventing Association

The 2014 USEA Young Event Horse East Coast Championships got underway today in Elkton, Maryland at Fair Hill International. The morning started off cool and cloudy, and these young horses were exposed to plenty of atmosphere with flags flying, cross-country jumps placed nearby, and the CCI2* horses competing on the opposite side of the main arena. Twenty-four five-year-olds and 13 four-year-olds performed a dressage test, and then their saddles were stripped and they were judged on their conformation and jogged on a concrete strip.

Rule of Thumb (Royal Appearance x Nadia VT), the 2013 Future Event Horse Overall Champion, is leading the Four-Year-Old Championship division, scoring the highest of both the four- and five-year-olds with a 43.26. In the young horse divisions, the higher score is better, and Rule of Thumb was the only horse to score above 30 in dressage.

“He’s a horse that likes to be the center of attention,” said his rider Melissa Hunsberger, of Lovettsville, Va. “I believe he’s an upper-level event horse type. He loves to jump, he’s a great mover on the flat, and he’s very cocky.”

Rule of Thumb was bred by Virginia Tech and purchased by Steplin Sporthorses before he was acquired by his current owner Dawn Erdman. His first YEH competition this year qualified him for the championships, and he has been competing successfully at Novice Horse Trials since then.

“He can get to playing in the jumping, so I’ll be applying extra Sit-Tite to my saddle!”

Eileen Kenney, of Gordonsville, Virginia, has three young horses competing in the championships, and all three are in the top five in their respective divisions. Riot Gear, an Oldenburg gelding by Confetti and bred by Beth Vanderplough, leads the large Five-Year-Old division with a 40.89, and his full sister Curiosity Fuerst is in second in the Four-Year-Old division.

“With the babies it’s always a journey,” Kelley said. “Riot was unrideable when I got him. He has come 180 degrees around. He’s got a lot of spice, and you need that edge, but he’s a kind soul.”

Curiosity Fuerst is a completely different type than her big brother. She’s small and compact but has a powerful jump. Kim Severson and Will Coleman have helped Eileen in guiding her training of these babies.

“I have a wonderful dressage coach, Gerd Reuter, so today is for him,” Eileen said. “If you don’t have the flat work you don’t have anything. You need it as a base for the jumping.”

Courtney Cooper, of Nottingham, Penn., is third in the Four-Year-Old division with an off-the-track Thoroughbred named Valley of Knowledge (Midnight Lute x Jessi Take Charge) bred by the Elkstone Group, LLC. Steve Berkowitz, DVM found the horse in Harrisburg, Penn.

“I had seen his pictures on the CANTER website,” Cooper said. “It was the beginning of January, and the ground was thawed enough that you could slide on the top half-inch of the ground. He was a nice enough type, had a good walk, he was sound, so we decided to take a chance. He’s matured into a very nice individual.”

Cooper did not come for the ring familiarization yesterday due to the rain, but she said she wished that she had. Valley of Knowledge was “very bright, especially in the K corner near the jumps.”

“It’s hard for the young horses. They have green moments when you don’t want them to.”

Lauren Kieffer and the Dutch Warmblood/Irish Sport Horse mare Landmark’s Jungle ROC (ROC USA x Jungle Tale) are second in the Five-Year-Old division after the first two sections of competition.

“He’s bred by Jacqueline Mars and is out of one of the original homebreds,” Kieffer said. “He’s a lovely type and has been great coming up.”

In fact, the gelding has won three Training level competitions this year.

Incidentally, all but one horse in the top three in each division was bred in the United States.

“The gems are out there if you can just find him,” Kelley said. “I’m learning more about the program in Europe and we have a lot to get done with breeding in the States, but we’re getting there.”

Vagabon de Champdoux, one of William Coleman’s three rides in the Five-Year-Old division, is currently third. The French Thoroughbred was imported this summer before Coleman ever sat on him; he watched a video and then purchased him in partnership with the KBLB Event Horses, LLC.

“He’s an elastic mover, a good athlete, and he looked tough. I would have kicked myself if I let him get away, so I nabbed him,” Coleman said. “Most of the credit of his training goes to my fiancé, Katie Thornton,” Coleman said. “His performance shows off her good work. Thoroughbred blood is a premium in our sport still. He’s a lovely mover, a really good jumper, and I think very highly of him.”

Coleman and two partners in KBLB Event Horses have set forth a plan to import a few nice horses to bring along each year and build up a supply of nice horses for his program. “You have to produce them, and these fine people have signed on to help.”

Tomorrow the young horses will take on the jumping section of the competition, navigating a course with both show jumping and cross-country jumps, including a water complex, and finishing with a strong gallop.

“There are good questions to sort them out,” Cooper said. “It will make the good ones look good, and the ones still needing education will still get around but not be quite as impressive.”

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About the Young Event Horse Series: The USEA Young Event Horse Series may be best described as an equine talent search. The Series gives owners and breeders the opportunity to showcase the potential of their four- and five-year-old horses while encouraging them to produce top-level event horses for the future. Young Event Horse classes focus on education and preparation of the event horse in a correct and progressive manner. We thank our Series sponsors Standlee Hay, Fleeceworks, and Weatherbeeta for their support.

Learn more at www.useventing.com/competitions/yeh.