United States Eventing Association

Yelm, Wash.—June 14—Over 300 horse and rider combinations from the Pacific Northwest and beyond converged on Aspen Farms to kick off day 1 of three-day competition with dressage.

This year, Aspen Farm's second-ever CCI4*-S—the only competition of its level offered in Washington State—is a qualifier for the prestigious US Equestrian Open of Eventing Series, which will award $25,000 to the top ranked rider at the end of thesSeries and culminate in an exciting, prize-filled CCI4*-L competition at Morven Park in Leesburg, Virginia, in October. US Equestrian Open compiled an Aspen Farms Fan Guide, here, detailing the four competitors in the CCI4*-S and projections for the results this weekend.

The man at the top of the leaderboard after the first day of competition at Aspen Farms is Tommy Greengard from California. Thanks to consistent and convincing dressage performances, Greengard is the overnight leader in the CCI4*-S with his own Joshuay MBF, the CCI3*-S with Balladeer Kilbrickens Lad, owned by Patricia Culleton, the Open Intermediate with That's Me Z, owned by Andrea Pfeiffer (tied with Mickayla Howard and HH Ontario), and the Open Preliminary with his own and Pfeiffer’s MBF Google.

In the CCI4*-S, Greengard secured the lead with a score of 26.9. Last year they competed in the CCI3*-S at Aspen Farms.

"Joshuay is such a professional," said Greengard. "It's always a privilege to ride him. He's tried-and-true in the dressage ring; he always tries his best for me."

With regards to the possibilities offered by the US Equestrian Open of Eventing Series, Greengard shares that the final at "Morven is in the back of our minds!"

Greengard is followed closely in the CCI4*-S by last year's winners of the division at Aspen Farms, Karen O'Neal and Clooney 14, owned by Annika Asling. They are ready to defend their title and sit just 1.1 points behind Greengard after dressage.

"Our test was really good," O'Neal said. "We're working on more engagement and getting even more consistent. I didn't have the spark he sometimes gives me—he was very obedient and calm—I think I had to push a little more for more pizazz. He's starting to understand the movements at this level."

Rounding out the CCI4*-S are two Canadian pairs: Renee Kalkman and Flame Eternal with a score of 38.1 in third, and Cristina Rennie and Flight Of The Arabesque close behind in fourth with a score of 38.8.

The CCI4*-S competitors will attract a large crowd as the final division to compete over Chris Barnard's show jumping course on Saturday, coinciding with Aspen Farms' Evening Reception taking place for spectators and competitors in the hospitality tent above the show jumping arena.

Greengard and Balladeer Kilbrickens Lad lead the CCI3*-S after a strong dressage performance. They scored 26.0, 8 points higher than Balladeer Kilbrickens Lad's current three-star dressage score average.

"We focused a lot on his dressage the past couple of weeks," Greengard said. "Andrea Pfeiffer has spearheaded that effort and has ridden him quite a bit for me the past few weeks. It has highlighted a few areas for him to grow. He improved tenfold today; we couldn't be happier with his progress."

Kendra Mitchell and Calcourt Legend are second in the CCI3*-S with 28.2, and Stephanie Goodman and Elwenda DP, owned by Deanna Briggs, are third in a field of 14 starters.

Hanni Sreenan and Ebenholtz, owned by Amy Haugen, secured the top spot overnight in the CCI2*-S, on a dressage score of 25.5. Reese Blinks and I'M Jaguar are second, and Paige Beauchamp Crandon and Fyfin Ramiro, owned by Melissa Beauchamp, are third.

In the Open Intermediate, Greengard and That's Me Z are tied with Mickayla Howard and HH Ontario on a score of 30.6. Jordan Linstedt and LS Cowboy Casanova, owned by Lovas Partners LLC, are third on 33.6.

Greengard also currently leads a highly competitive Open Preliminary division aboard MBF Google on a score of 24.0.

"He has gone from strength to strength," reflected Greengard after dressage. "He wasn't the best in the sandbox when we first got him, so we are extra proud of the consistency he's starting to show in his tests at the Prelim level."

They are just .2 points ahead of Alexis Helffrich and Casanova and Marc Grandia and Obligado VD Watermolen, who are tied for second on 24.2. Less than 8 points (or two show jumping rails) separates the first and last place scorers in the division. It's likely clean and inside-the-time jumping efforts will be required to hold the lead.

"I'm looking forward to jumping all the horses tomorrow," shared Greengard, who traveled with his Chocolate Horse Farm team from California to compete this weekend. "We brought a strong group of horses; and we're very excited to have them here at Aspen Farms."

In Preliminary Rider, Chloe Racle and Fine Dutch Chocolate sit first on the leaderboard overnight just in front of Caterina Ritson and Tiz Franklin. Less than one rail separates the top 5 scorers in this division going into show jumping on Saturday.

The lower levels at Aspen Farms Horse Trials also showcased talented dressage pairs today. In Open Training, Patience O'Neal and Viva Las Vegas, owned by Betsy Kunert, took the lead in their division on a score of 21.9—a personal best dressage score for Viva Las Vegas to date. Stephanie Goodman and Cord Johnson, owned by Deanna Briggs, are second in Open Training, and Jen Moody and Kay-O, owned by Sarah Broussard, are third.

"We've very steadily been improving his dressage work," O'Neal reflected after Viva Las Vegas' test today. "We actually had a breakthrough moment yesterday in our dressage lesson that changed the whole picture of our dressage,” she said. “He's always been such a good dressage horse, but he has so much more potential that we haven't fully tapped into yet. It's been fun to finally tap into that a bit more and play with that!"

Honorable mention goes to the lowest-scoring pair of the day after dressage: Dorothy Voute and her own horse, Tycooly Fletcher, who scored 20.6 in Novice Amateur. They, along with other Amateur Rider division leaders, can be excited by the prospect of finding themselves in contention for The Arion Challenge, which awards a brand-new custom Arion saddle to a horse/rider pair that can win their Amateur division at both the June and September Aspen Farms Horse Trials in 2025.

See up-to-date scores from Aspen Farms Horse Trials online at Show Connect, here. Follow along with show coverage on Aspen Farms Horse Trials Facebook Page, or on Instagram @AspenFarmsHorseTrials. Or join in the spirit of competition in person this weekend at Aspen Farms--spectators are welcome!