United States Eventing Association

On a sunny Thursday afternoon the USEA Future Event Horse (FEH) West Coast Championship presented by Priefert was held at The Horse Park at Woodside in Northern California. In all 13 yearlings, 2-year olds, and 3-year-olds were presented to judges Faith Fessenden and Samantha Allen. The judging panel had a clear favorite in the group, a 3-year-old half-brother to the well-known Eventer Gin and Juice named Cheers. The gelding was bred by and is owned by Terry and Linda Paine and was handled in the Championship by Chloe Smyth.

Cheers, a Thoroughbred/Holsteiner by Blauer Vogel out of Qtrapastree, had the highest score of the competition with an 82.85. A score of 68 is considered a Championship qualifying score so clearly Cheers deserved to be in the competition. It was the second year in a row for the gelding to earn the highest score of the competition and to take home the Born In America Award as the highest scoring American bred.

The 2014 Championship ended with the impressive young gelding coming just short of winning the overall Championship, but 2015 was another story. “He gets kind of tired standing around” said Linda Paine. “[In 2014] when it was time for the Championship class he just wouldn’t trot out.” The judges recognized the gelding’s laid back approach to the competition noting that he could have “shown more” and “could have had a higher score on the trot” while both judges noted that he was a “lovely type” and that he had a “great type for fulfilling the requirements” of the upper levels of the sport.

The Paine’s trailered the gelding for the first time to come to this year's Championship. Despite the eight hour trip to Woodside, the gelding managed to perform as well or better than his 2014 showing. In 2014 the competition was held at Galway Downs in Southern California which just happens to be across the street from the Paine’s farm. Paine joked “He may not want to get back on the trailer to go home!”

The gelding has already been broken and is being ridden by his handler Chloe Smyth. Paine noted that their intention is to compete the gelding in the USEA Young Event Horse Program in his 4-year-old year. So perhaps Cheers will replicate the success of the 2014 USEA Young Event Horse East Coast 4-year-old Champion Rule of Thumb who made the successful transition from winning the 2013 USEA FEH East Coast Championship.

The Reserve Champion of the competition was Soul Twain DF a Thoroughbred gelding by The Twain and out of Lady’s Comet. The yearling was bred by Dragonfire Farm, is owned by Natalie Jensen and was handled by Jennifer and Earl McFall. The yearling was also recognized by the Thoroughbred Incentive Program. While obviously Soul Twain DF has not raced being only a yearling, the Jockey Club stepped up in 2015 to support the recognition of all Thoroughbreds competing in the Future Event Horse Championships. Soul Twain DF proved that Thoroughbreds still have what it takes to be recognized as promising young Eventing prospects and to hold their own against all other breeds.

Final standings:

Grand Champion – Cheers (Blaur Vogel out of Qtrpastre), Thoroughbred/Holsteiner, Gelding, 3 years old, Bred by Terry and Linda Paine, Owned by Terry and Linda Paine

Reserve Champion – Soul Twain DF (The Twain out of Lady’s Comet), Thoroughbred, Gelding, yearling, Bred by Dragonfire Farm, Owned by Natalie Jensen

3rd Place – Tropic Delight (E.H. Lehndorff’s out of Tigerlily), Trakehner, Mare, 3 years old, Bred by Nancy Dein, Owned by Caroline Dein

4th Place – Sirocco (Sir Gregory out of Furst Lady), Hanoverian, Mare, 2 years old, Bred by Kate Gillespie, Owned by Kate Gillespie

5th Place – Simple Dreams DF (Dragonfire Kirin out of Highland Empress), AWS, Mare, 2 years old, Bred by Dragonfire Farm, Owned by Dragonfire Farm

6th Place – Wall Street (Worthy Opponent out of Clareen), ISH/Hanoverian, Mare, yearling, Bred by Connie Arthur, Owned by Alta Thompson

About the USEA Future Event Horse Series presented by Priefert

The USEA Future Event Horse Series (FEH) was introduced in 2007 as a precursor to the already popular USEA Young Event Horse Series. The FEH program evaluates the potential of yearlings, two-year-olds, and three-year-olds to become successful upper level event horses. Each age group is judged separately, and genders within the age group are judged separately when the number of entries allows.

Horses must earn a minimum qualifying score of 68% to be eligible to compete in the FEH Championships. The West Coast Championship will be held on Thursday, October 1, 2015 at Woodside International (CA), and the East Coast Championship is scheduled for Thursday, October 8, 2015 at Loch Moy Farm (MD).

The USEA would also like to thank all of the generous FEH Sponsors: Presenting Sponsor:Priefert; Standlee Hay, Merck Animal Health, SmartPak, Pyranha Fly and Insect Control, and Professional’s Choice.