United States Eventing Association

Four ARMA USEA Training Championships Dance in the Dressage Rings at the #AEC2024

Lexington, Ky.—Aug. 28—It’s only day 2 of the 2024 USEA American Eventing Championships (AEC) presented by Nutrena Feeds, but dreams are already coming true for the riders and horses who have worked so hard to get here. From 16-year-old Tessa Geven, who’s going it alone this week after her father had a horse riding accident, to Jacqueline Cameron, who finally found her perfect eventing partner in a little red mare that “fell out of the sky.” Then there’s Lisa Borgia, who’s back at the same horse park she’s been to every year since 1988, riding the classic underdog, the off-the-track Thoroughbred, every step of the way. Everyone has a story at the AEC.

ARMA USEA Training Junior Championship

Tessa Geven holds first and third place at the end of phase one in the ARMA USEA Training Junior division. She’s leading the way with her own Ameristan (Cosa Vera x Seeking Allie) and bookending the top 3 with Kathelen Amos’ Caheradoo Jack (Jack’s Delight x Caheradoo Echo). Competing at the AEC wasn’t enough for Geven; she had another personal competition going as well, between "Jack," who typically wins, and underdog "Wednesday."

“I really, really wanted to see if I could get [Wednesday] to beat [Jack]. And she did! I was really, really proud of her,” Geven said. “We've been working a lot on dressage recently because she's a Thoroughbred, and normally they don't score too well. She's been really, really great, and I was super happy with our ride. She was super uphill and forward. We had an issue in one of our canter transitions. That was kind of the only thing that I could say that I would want to change if I could go back and change it. But I was so, so happy with her.”

While Wednesday warmed up great, a little extra tension in the ring wound up working in Geven's favor and gave the mare the extra push she needed to take the lead later in the day.

“We went up to the arena, and she got a little tense. So going around the ring, she felt a little stressed out, even though we had schooled the day before. She just wasn’t paying super close attention to her job, and more on what was going on around her,” Geven said. “So going around the ring, I really tried to get her to stretch and focus and relax. When we came to the test she was a little bit more alert. She was really uphill, and her ears were up, she looked really cute. We went down the center line, and I was like, ‘she's just so amazing.’ ”

Wednesday is a 7-year-old off-the-track Thoroughbred purchased by Geven two years ago. Before retiring from her racing career, the mare was a steeplechaser. Directly after the track, she spent some time fox hunting with Mason Lampton before coming to Geven on her birthday. “Every day she just keeps improving and improving. She has so much work ethic. I don't think I know a horse that has as much strive as her. She is just so, so incredible,” Geven said.

It’s been a long and tough road to get here for Geven (Cataula, Georgia) and Wednesday. Geven's father, former five-star eventer Werner Geven, was recently injured. He sustained a broken pelvis, two collapsed lungs, a broken vertebrae in his back, and several cracked ribs after a riding accident while out hacking. His accident meant that Tessa's mother, dressage rider Marjoleine Geven, had to stay home to care for her husband, leaving Tessa to attend the AEC alone. However, with help from other competitors, Geven and her two horses were able to compete.

“Luckily, I have Melanie Smith and Lily Barlow here to help us, and our whole team has been so supportive and helpful,” Geven said. “The Surber family, who have [Piper Surber] riding in the Beginner Novice, came and brought me and my two horses up, along with their pony, which was super, super helpful. I really just would not be able to be here without everyone's help and support along the way. It's been really, really great, and I am so thankful for my parents who are as supportive as they can be from home. I just hope my dad recovers fast."

In second place, very close behind on 26.8 is Julia Pinell and her own 6-year-old Irish Sport Horse/Holsteiner gelding Silver Knight (by Coolkeeran). In third place is Hannah Fatehdin and her own 11-year-old Thoroughbred gelding Things To Ponder (Due Date x The Things You Do.

ARMA USEA Training Amateur Championship

In the ARMA USEA Training Amateur division, Lisa Borgia and Marina Cassou are tied for first place with a score of 28.3. Borgia is riding her own off-the-track Thoroughbred Whisperycrown (Get Stormy x Spankstress). The 8-year-old gelding has spent the spring and summer season coming back into work after a suspensory injury in February, but Borgier is confident he’s ready for the challenge of the AEC.

“I took him to his first horse trial back at Windridge Farms a couple weeks ago. He feels pretty good in his body right now,” Borgia said. “He has lovely gaits, but he can be very reactive, and he was looking at everything, especially at the cross-country warm up, which was right next to ring 3. But he did a very good job of keeping all of his little ducks in a row and paying attention. I was really proud of him for that. I had absolutely no expectation of him scoring that high.”

Borgiia has been coming to the Kentucky Horse Park to compete since 1988. “I’m really excited about trying out the new barns. They're always taking care of stuff here, and you always have a good time,” she said.

Last year, Borgia, of Wadesboro, North Carolina, was leading her division with her second ride of the day, her own Silmarillion (Joey Franco x Lil Mo Rhythm), only to have issues on cross-country that took them out of the running. This year, she’s competing both Silmarillion and Whisperycrown, but isn’t taking anything for granted. “Well, it is not a dressage show, but I'm excited to just see what happens in the heat tomorrow. [Whisperycrown] though, he's a Thoroughbred, and he's really fit," she said. "He didn’t feel it at Windbridge a couple of weeks ago when we went, and it was this hot. He was hardly sweating when he was done. So I'm not too worried about that part. We'll see how he does with some of the more technical questions. I might have to take something off the clock. I just want him to have a really positive ride.”

Tomorrow’s cross-country is particularly high stakes for Borgia, as she’s currently tied for first with Cassou and Cooley Monsoon (Ramiro B x Declans Folly).

“Eddie” is Cassou’s only ride in the Training Amateur division. “I’ve had him for two years, and this is my first AEC with him. I was very happy with how he went. He's a big mover, so it's hard to sit in the saddle, but I’ve been working on it,” Cassou said. “I also usually use a whip, but he was pretty forward and easygoing, which is good. He's very light in the mouth, so I just had to show him the way in a little bit.”

It’s a day of ties for Cassou, who is also tied for 17th place with Annie Jones in the Training Rider division with her second ride of the day, 15-year-old Castleturvin Mungo. Cassou says she’s ready to break those ties in the cross-country phase, particularly after walking the course. “I really like the cross-country course already,” she said. “It’s very different from last year’s course. It looks like a lot of fun, but hard. Both my boys are ready for the challenge.”

In third place is Gordonvile, Virginia, resident Rachael Livermore riding Sharon White's 17-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding Cooley On Show (Ricardo Z x Jogantina).

ARMA USEA Training Rider Championship

Leading the ARMA USEA Training Rider division is Jacqueline “Jackie” Cameron and her own Penny Lane (Sin City x Zantara). “I’m honestly still in happy disbelief,” Cameron said. “I’m so excited; I'm shell-shocked. I was looking further down for my name in the list of scores, because there are so many amazing horses here. And my dad said, ‘look higher!’ And I realized that we were in first. And I was just over the moon. I love that little red mare.”

Cameron and Penny had a rocky start to the week after some mechanical issues with the trailer put them more than three hours behind schedule. Cameron had planned to ride Penny yesterday, but wound up pulling into the Kentucky Horse Park late last night.

“I didn't really have a chance to work her much, and so I brought her out this morning into the warm up, and honestly, just stuck with my game plan of how I wanted to bring her out, which is doing a lot of nice walk and trot stretch, and then lots of trot to canter,” Cameron said. “I gave myself about 30 minutes. I wanted a little bit longer, since we didn't get to do exactly what we wanted the day before, just to get a feel for how she was coming out of the trailer and the haul and all that.”

As it turned out, the chaotic journey to the park didn’t matter to Penny. “She's so cool because she just puffs up a little bit when she goes around. I think she realizes that she's on stage, and she just gets this little bit of ‘extra’ about her. And I knew the minute we went down the centerline, it was going to be a really lovely test,” Cameron said.

Penny simply fell into Cameron’s lap, to hear her tell it. Now 13 years old, the mare had passed through several different sales barns without much success before Cameron started doing some training rides on her for a client. “She's had kind of a tough go,” Cameron said. “She's been to a lot of sales barns over the course of her life, and I think just kind of passed by, because she makes you work for it, but once you work for it, she puts in 110% effort. We had to work really hard in the first year for her to really trust me, but I think we've developed this amazing connection with one another. I allow her to be sensitive and express that she's maybe not quite sure about something, but we've found our own way to communicate. She's my little red queen, I call her, and we have so much fun together.”

Before Penny came along, Cameron, Bozeman, Montana, was uncertain if she’d ever be able to reach her eventing goals. “I had been kind of a little bit of a loss. I wasn't really finding the right horses to event with, and she kind of just presented herself. She has fully exceeded all of my expectations. I mean, she tries so hard, and she's a tough horse,” Cameron said. “It sounds so cliche, I guess, but she has literally made so many of my childhood dreams come through. She brought me here to Kentucky last year. I was just really so pleased with how she performed out there today. She's worked so hard this summer, and this is the pinnacle of what we've worked for.”

Charlotte Carrajat rode her own 14-year-old warmblood gelding As Is into second place on 28.5, while Abby Blackburn and Kaitlyn Samuels’ Ballysimon Cavalier, a 14-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding (by Rahinch) are close behind in third on 28.6

ARMA USEA Training Horse Championship

Another underdog story finds us in the Training Horse division, with Cooley Kaboom (Kraque Boom x Epple D) claiming the lead in the division, as well as the lowest dressage score of the day, 21.9. What makes this even more impressive is that it’s only her fourth time competing at the level. Ridden by Olympian Liz Halliday and owned by Tamy Pollard and Debby Palmer, “Kaboom” is just 7 years old and started eventing this season. She has won the only three Training level events she’s ever competed in, finishing on her dressage score each time.

“She's just a gorgeous mare. I really love her. We've not been together that long,” Halliday, Lexington, Kentucky, said. “She came over in January as a very, very green horse, and then started eventing this season. I have high hopes for her for the future.”

Despite the fact that this is her first championship level event, Halliday wasn’t concerned as to whether or not Kaboom would react in the charged atmosphere. “I got her into the arena familiarization so I had a fairly good idea how she would react. Kaboom really isn’t very spooky,” she said.

Looking ahead to tomorrow, Halliday believes the cross-country course will require precise riding. “It’s a proper track, a proper championship track. I think the time will be extremely influential, like it has been so far,” she said. “It’s very twisty, almost like a go kart track in some places. It's going to be slightly different than what we've seen for a while. I think it'll be good for the riders and for the horses, but certainly it's going to be about being very tidy, because the time will be very, very influential.”

Going into cross-country in second is former USEA Young Event Horse Champion Shmick (Luigi d'Eclipse x Winter Lady), a 6-year-old Zangersheide gelding owned by Anne Hennesey and ridden by Boyd Martin. Sharon White and her 7-year-old Hanoverian mare Quizas (Quantensprung x Seraphina) are in third.

Adams Horse Supply USEA Adult Team Championships

Eleven teams are battling it out for the Training ATC title, and today it's the Training For Los Angeles team in the lead on 93.3. The team riders are Martha Lambert, Ruth Bley, Ruth Flanagan, and Hannah Boyd.

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About the USEA American Eventing Championships (AEC)

The USEA American Eventing Championships (AEC) presented by Nutrena Feeds is the pinnacle of the sport at the national levels. Held annually, the best junior, adult amateur, and professional competitors gather to vie for national championship titles at every level from Starter to Advanced. This ultimate test of horse and rider draws hundreds of combinations from around the country to compete for fabulous prizes, a piece of the substantial prize money, and the chance to be named the National Champion at their respective levels. In fact, the 2021 AEC garnered over 1,000 entries and now stands as the largest eventing competition in North American history. The 2024 USEA American Eventing Championships presented by Nutrena Feeds will be held Aug. 27—Sept. 1 at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Kentucky. Click here to learn more about the USEA American Eventing Championships.

The USEA would like to thank Presenting Sponsor: Nutrena Feeds; Advanced Final Title Sponsor: Adequan; Platinum Level Sponsor: Bates Saddles, Horse & Country; Gold Level Sponsors: ARMA, Parker Equine Insurance, PulseVet, Schneiders Saddlery, Smartpak, Standlee; Silver Level Sponsors: Auburn Labs, Canter Culture Riding Apparel, Kerrits, The Jockey Club, Rood & Riddle; Bronze Level Sponsor: 70 Degrees, Athletux, The Chronicle of the Horse, D.G. Stackhouse & Ellis, Dubarry of Ireland, Equestrian Team Apparel, Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation, Kraft Horse Walkers, Majyk Equipe, Retired Racehorses Project, Ride EquiSafe, Santa Cruz Animal Health; Contributing Level Sponsors: Cross Country App, Georgetown – Scott County Tourism, Lexmark, L.V. Harkness, #WeRideTogether; and Prize Level Sponsors: BEMER, Big Ass Fans, Boyd Martin Fan Shop, Ecogold, EquiFit, Equilab, FarmVet, FLAIR Equine Nasal Strips, Horses 4 Your Consideration, I Love My Horse Eventing Boutique, Jack’s Favorites, Jane Heart Jewelry, Kentucky Equine Research, LeMieux, Mare Goods, Neighborly Tack, Outlaw Nutrition, Palmera Polo, Parkmore Supplements, Practical Horseman / Equine Network, Rachel Dory Equine Fine Art, Remond Minerals, Secretariat Center, Shapley’s, Sidelines Magazine, Strides for Equality Equestrians, and VTO Saddlery.

About the Adams Horse Supply USEA Adult Team Championships

The Adams Horse Supply USEA Adult Team Championships, which debuted in 2014, is the capstone event for the USEA Area Adult Team Challenges, providing adults the chance to compete as a team and represent their Area of the country in a friendly and fun environment. Historically, adult riders had three regional Team Challenges in which to compete with fellow adults in a team environment, with the locations changing each year. In 2013, the USEA Adult Rider Coordinators voted to move to support Adult Team Challenges taking place in all 10 Areas across the country, with the finale being the ATC at the USEA American Eventing Championships presented by Nutrena Feeds. Each Area can send up to eight teams from Beginner Novice through Preliminary level to the ATC. Adult Riders know how to have a good time, and there is no doubt that they bring an increased level of excitement and camaraderie to the AEC! Click here to learn more about the Adams Horse Supply USEA Adult Team Championships.

The USEA would like to thank Title Sponsor, Adams Horse Supply, and ARMA, The Chronicle of the Horse, Equilab, FLAIR Equine Nasal Strips, Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation, Kerrits, Nutrena Feeds, PulseVet, Ride iQ, Santa Cruz Animal Health, Schneiders Saddlery, Sidelines Magazine, and SmartPak for sponsoring the Adult Team Championships.