Feb 05, 2022

‘Goody’ is More Than Good Enough to Take Home SmartPak USEA Stallion of the Year Award for 2021

Photo courtesy of Alex Green.

In the sport of eventing, it is not often common to see a stallion present among the hustle and bustle typically characteristic of an event. Upon first sight, you might never realize that Isselhook’s First Sight TSF, also affectionately referred to as Goody, is a stallion based on his demeanor. The 7-year-old Trakehner stallion (Lossow x Fuenflinden) thinks he is just another one of the guys, according to rider Alex Green, who says she is constantly impressed with his demeanor. After putting in consistent performances during the 2021 season, Goody earned the title of the 2021 SmartPak USEA Stallion of the Year.

“There are not many horses that can continue to be stallions and competition horses,” Green confessed. “He is actually the first stallion I have had to work with and it is pretty exceptional in my mind. He goes on the trailer with mares and he is able to stand tied to the trailer at events and just do things like a normal horse.”

The young stallion, originally produced by Sophie Lube, was imported from Germany in November of 2020 by Janine Shoffner of Flying Horse Farm after being approved by both the German Trakehner Verband and the American Trakehner Association. He was just one rail away from being the reserve winner at the 6-year-old World Young Horse Eventing Championships at Le Lion D’Angers in October 2020 but still easily landed in the top 10.

“My friend in Germany called me about him and said that he was simply amazing and I absolutely must buy him,” Shoffner recalls. “I took Alex [Green] with me and it was essentially love at first sight for us both. I knew I wanted a stallion and something that would produce high performance horses in the future, but I also wanted something that was manageable and nice to deal with, and he checked all of the boxes.”

The pair have joked that with his laid-back temperament, the stallion should be competing in hunter derbies instead of eventing, but he has proven himself a successful competitor as he effortlessly moves up the eventing ranks.

“I would have to say he is probably one of the best-produced horses I’ve ever had the honor of sitting on, and more than that is he has a good character to boot,” Green explained.

Green recalls their first Intermediate competition together as a tipping point in the pair’s career where she knew this was no ordinary horse.

“I had only been riding him for about four months and he hadn’t competed at this level yet seeing as we had only done a couple of events,” she detailed. “He just cruised around and as I came off the last jump I got a bit choked up because I realized what a special horse he was and how much heart he had.”

While the Trakehner is known for having the physical conformation and desired look of an upper-level dressage horse, they are a lighter warmblood breed and therefore possess both the endurance athletic ability and jumping ability desired for the cross-country and show jumping phases. Goody, especially seems to be fit for the job as Green describes him as bred for dressage but with an incredible jump, and brave on the cross-country field.

“I think it is very special that Goody is a Trakehner stallion because the Trakehner society in particular are exceptional advocates of their breed, and they truly love their horses,” Green commented. “He is a fantastic stallion to have come to the United States to improve their breeding program and It gives them a very unique opportunity to have an incredible representation of the breed stateside available for fresh semen.”

As for his competition career, Green and Shoffner look forward to continuing to advance him to the top levels of eventing while he also stands for stud at Flying Horse Farm. Now that the two are more familiar and Goody has become accustomed to living across the pond, Green can not wait to see what the next year has in store.

"I am very excited to get him out this year because he just feels incredible right now,” she confirmed. “We are all ecstatic to have him over here with us to continue his career and hopefully his legacy.”

Dec 22, 2024 USEA Foundation

Top Tips for Applying for a USEA Foundation Grant

Did you know that the USEA Foundation awards over 150 grants each year to deserving individuals who are involved in the sport of eventing? With grants that assist riders with accomplishing their competition goals, grants geared toward licensed officials, grants that are specific to continuing education for coaches, grants that assist competitions with obtaining frangible technology, and so much more, there really is a grant opportunity available to almost anyone!

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With the start of the New Year just days away, now is the time to consider how your actions can have a positive impact on the sport of eventing in 2025. Each and every member of the eventing community has an important role to play in ensuring the sport continues to grow and thrive. From fostering educational opportunities to supporting grassroots initiatives and participating at all levels of the sport, there are so many ways to get involved.

Dec 20, 2024 Sponsor

“Happy Horse Equals Happy Judge”: Ask An Expert with Dressage Judge Peter Gray, Brought to You by Ride iQ

Ride iQ’s popular “Ask An Expert” series features professional advice and tips from all areas of the horse industry. One of the most-downloaded episodes is an expert session with Peter Gray, an accomplished dressage judge and Olympic eventer. He has recently judged at events like the five-star at the Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event, and he served on the ground jury at the 2022 FEI World Eventing Championships in Pratoni, Italy. His background as a competitor in the Olympic Games riding for Bermuda and as a coach and selector for the Canadian eventing team adds depth to his understanding of the sport.

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The VIP Volunteer: Cathy Hale Has A Thirst for Adventure and a Love for Volunteering

With a total of 382 volunteer hours in 2024, Catherine “Cathy” Hale not only topped the USEA Area III VIP Volunteer leaderboard, but she also ranked fourth out of all eventing volunteers across the country. Hale (The Villages, Florida) has worked as a travel agent for over 30 years, a career that suits her love of travel nicely. At the time of being interviewed for this article, Hale was passing the equator on a cruise to Tahiti, New Zealand, and Australia.

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