United States Eventing Association

International Success for Young Event Horse Graduates in 2024

The USEA Young Event Horse (YEH) Program was created with the mission of identifying young horses that possess the talent and disposition to excel in the uppermost levels of eventing. In 2024, YEH graduates participated in major events around the world, including the Paris Olympics, the FEI Eventing Nations Cups in Millstreet (Ireland) and Aachen (Germany), five-star events in the U.S. and England, and the FEI WBFSH Eventing World Championships (France). Several graduates also rose to the top of the USEA year-end leaderboards, proving once again that the YEH Program continues to identify some of the country’s next rising stars.

2024 Paris Olympics

The Summer Olympics in Paris, France, was a major milestone for YEH Graduate HSH Blake (Tolan R x Doughiska Lass) and his rider Caroline Pamukcu. Competing for owners Sherrie Martin and Molly Hoff, in addition to Pamukcu herself, and breeder Justin Burke, the Irish Sport Horse gelding was one of only two 9-year-old horses entered out of the 81 horses set to compete, making him one of the youngest horses in the competition. In addition, the event marked Pamukcu’s first Olympic appearance at just 29-years-old, which meant they were one of the youngest duos in the field in terms of combined age as well.

What the pair lacked in seniority, they more than made up in impressive results. After winning all three of their YEH appearances in 2020, including the champion title at The Dutta Corp. USEA YEH East Coast 5-Year-Old Championship, Blake and Pamucku went on to finish in the top-10 at the FEI WBFSH Eventing World Championships for Young Horses at Mondial du Lion as a 7-year-old, receiving the Holekamp/Turner grant to participate, and win individual gold and team silver at the Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile, later that year. Their Olympic debut was a fantastic learning experience and showed that they continue to be ones to watch as their partnership progresses.

CCI5*-L Results

Two YEH Graduates added five-star completions to their repertoire in 2024. Twilightslastgleam (National Anthem x Royal Child), the 15-year-old Thoroughbred gelding owned and bred Nina Gardner, successfully completed two CCI5*-L events last year, with his career-best result coming at the MARS Maryland 5 Star at Fair Hill. “Comic” and long-time rider, Jennie Brannigan, were one of just eight combinations to complete this year’s edition of the five-star in Elkton, Maryland, earning themselves a sixth-place ribbon to close out the event. Comic and Brannigan were also the highest placed YEH program graduates at the Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event in April.

Tsetserleg TSF (Windfall x Thabana), the 18-year-old Trakehner gelding ridden by Boyd Martin, owned by Christine, Thomas, and Tommie Turner, and bred by Timothy Holekamp, has become a stalwart of the eventing community, and he added his seventh five-star completion to his resume at the Badminton Horse Trials (England) in the spring. “Thomas” and Martin also found success at the $60,000 Adequan USEA Advanced Final at the USEA American Eventing Championships (AEC) presented by Nutrena Feeds (Lexington, Kentucky), finishing in sixth place.

Defender U.S. Eventing Team Results

The Defender U.S. Eventing Team graced the podium at two international team competitions in 2024, and there was a YEH Graduate that contributed to the results on both occasions. The first triumph came at the FEI Nations Cup CCIO4*-NC-S – Ireland, which was held at the Millstreet International Horse Trials. The team, comprised of Team USA riders that were selected for the European Development Tour, came out victoriously and claimed the silver medal with less than a rail separating them from the Irish home team who took the gold. YEH Graduate, King’s Especiale (Connect x Cha Cha Cha Special), a 10-year-old warmblood gelding also piloted by Pamukcu, anchored the result, finishing in the top 15 with the lowest individual score of the four members.

Owned by the Redfield King’s Hx Group and bred by C.M.L. Delissen-Verstappe, King’s Especiale competed in the 2020 Dutta Corp USEA YEH East Coast Championships at the Virginia Horse Center, where he earned the champion title in the 5-year-old division with an incredible score of 93.52. After returning home from Europe last summer, the duo earned a top 5 finish in the $60,000 Adequan USEA Advanced Final at the AEC alongside fellow YEH grad, Tsetserleg TSF.

In July, the Defender U.S. Eventing Team earned reserve champion in the 2024 SAP-Cup CCIO4*-S at CHIO Aachen for the second year in a row. This time, Shanroe Cooley (Dallas x Shanroe Sapphire), the 10-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding ridden by Liz Halliday and owned by Ocala Horse Properties, carried the flag for the YEH Program. This event marked “Dallas’” first appearance on a U.S. team, which he completed by finishing in the top 20 individually.

FEI WBFSH Eventing World Championships for Young Horses at Mondial du Lion

The FEI WBFSH Eventing World Championships for Young Horses is one of the most prestigious events for young eventing prospects and boasts a fair, but impressive, cross-country track that has a way of setting apart some of the most exciting 6- and 7-year-old horses from their compatriots. Last year, the 2022 Dutta Corp. USEA YEH West Coast 5-Year-Old Champion and highest scoring 5-year-old nationwide in the YEH Program, That’s Me Z (Take a Chance on Me Z x Venetia), successfully completed the 7-year-old CCI3*-L championship hosted at Mondial du Lion. The now 8-year-old Zangersheide gelding ridden by Tommy Greengard, owned by the rider and Andrea Pfieffer, and bred by Simons Roeland, represented the United States as the recipient of the Holekamp/Turner grant and finished in 16^th place with a final score of 37.8 in an incredibly competitive field. Greengard based with Tim and Jonelle Price in the lead up to the championship and explained the whole experience as dream that was three years in the making.

In addition to That’s Me Z, fellow YEH Graduate, Blakeney’s Cruise (FSS Correlli Bravo x Caoimhes Cruising), an Irish Sport Horse gelding ridden and owned by Quidley Kellerman, also completed in the 7yo - CH-M-YH-CCI3*L. The duo finished in 41^st place.

USEA Overall Year-End Leaderboards

As is becoming customary, an abundance of YEH Program graduates found their way to the top of the USEA Year-End Leaderboard in 2024, but perhaps the most accomplished grad was No May Moon (Catherston Dazzler x Ebony Moon). This 11-year-old Connemara mare, who is ridden by Allison Spring and is owned and bred by Nancy Winter, claimed not one, not two, but three champion titles last year. No May Moon left the USEA Annual Meeting & Convention in Seattle, Washington, with winning hardware for the Standlee USEA Horse of the Year, Bates USEA Mare of the Year, and the USEA Advanced Horse of the Year leaderboards.

“Mayzie,” as she’s known around the barn, has been in Springer’s stable for the entirety of her career, and she kicked started her success when the duo earned reserve champion in the YEH qualifier at Surefire Farm (Purcellville, Virginia) in 2019. On their way to topping the USEA leaderboards in 2024, Mayzie and Springer opened the year with two wins in national competition in February, which came in the Advanced/Intermediate division at the Pine Top Intermediate H.T. (Thomson, Georgia) and the Open Intermediate division at Pine Top Advanced H.T. later that month.

The pair then went on to win their CCI4*-L debut at MARS Bromont CCI (Quebec, Canada) in June out of 16 competitors and finished their year at the Morven Park International CCI4*-L (Leesburg Virginia), where they earned third place. Coincidentally, all three YEH graduates that made it onto the Bates USEA Mare of the Year leaderboard were on the podium for the CCI4*-L at the MARS Bromont CCI in June. Check out the other top contenders below.

Bates USEA Mare of the Year

Placing	Horse	Age	Breed	Sire	Dam	Rider	Owner	Breeder	YEH Results	2024 Highlights
1st	No May Moon	11-years-old	Connemara	Catherston Dazzler	Ebony Moon	Allison Springer	Nancy Winter	Nancy Winter	Reserve Champion at Surefire Farm YEH in 2019	Champion in the CCI4*-L at MARS Bromont CCI
7th	OKE Ruby R	12-years-old	Irish Sport Horse	Namelus R	B Termie R 6	Waylon Roberts	Michelle Koppin and John Koppin	Marina McCrory	Completed 2018 YEH East Coast 5YO Championship	Reserve Champion in the CCI4*-L at MARS Bromont CCI
9th	Miss Lulu Herself	12-years-old	Hanoverian	Stolzenfels	Noisette	Boyd Martin	Bonnie Stedt	Sandra Konig	Completed 2018 YEH East Coast 5YO Championship with Michael Pendleton	Third in the CCI4*-L at MARS Bromont CCI

USEA Advanced Horse of the Year

In addition to No May Moon earning the top-spot on the USEA Advanced Horse of the Year leaderboard, two other YEH graduates made it into the top-10.

Placing	Horse	Age	Breed	Gender	Sire	Dam	Rider	Owner	Breeder	YEH Results	2024 Highlights
1st	No May Moon	11-years-old	Connemara	Mare	Catherston Dazzler	Ebony Moon	Allison Springer	Nancy Winter	Owner	Reserve Champion at Surefire Farm YEH in 2019	Champion in the CCI4*-L at MARS Bromont CCI
8th	Off The Record	16-years-old	Irish Sport Horse	Gelding	VDL Arkansas	Drumagoland Bay	Will Coleman	Off the Record Syndicate	Peter Brady	Top-10 in the 2014 YEH East Coast 5YO Championship	Champion in the CCI4*-S at The Fork at Tryon, completed CCI5*-L at Pau
9th	HSH Blake	10-years-old	Irish Sport Horse	Gelding	Tolan R	Doughiska Lass	Caroline Pamukcu	Rider, Sherrie Martin, Mollie Hoff	Justin Burk	Champion in the 2020 YEH East Coast 5YO Championship	Champion in CCI4*-L at Tryon International in May, U.S. Olympian in Paris

USEA Intermediate Horse of the Year

At the Intermediate level, four YEH graduates earned bragging rights within the top 10 of the year end leaderboard, including Cooley Chromatic, Gillou, Kismet, and Briarhill Excel Star Take 2. These horses earned top honors at major competitions in 2024, including the AEC, the MARS Maryland 5 Star at Fair Hill, the MARS Bromont CCI, and more. Check out their stats below!

Placing	Horse	Age	Breed	Gender	Sire	Dam	Rider	Owner	Breeder	YEH Results	2024 Highlights
3rd	Cooley Chromatic	9-years-old	Oldenburg	Gelding	Thorgal	Castrade	Sara Schulman	Rider	-	Fourth Place at VHT YEH in 2020	Third place in Intermediate Championship at AEC, Reserve champion in CCI3*-L at MARS Maryland 5 Star
5th	Gillou	9-year-old	Holsteiner	Gelding	Defeining Gravity	Eowyn	Devin Robel	Rider	-	Top 10 in 2021 YEH West Coast 5YO Championship	Champion in Intermediate divisions at Rocking Horse Winter I and Caber Farm H.T.
6th	Kismet	10-years-old	Warmblood	Gelding	National Anthem	Ularinka	Jennie Brannigan	Nina Gardner	Owner	Reserve Champion in 2020 YEH East Coast 5YO Championship	Third in CCI3*-L at MARS Bromont CCI
8th	Briarhill Excel Star Take 2	9-Years-Old	Irish Sport Horse	Mare	King’s Comet	Briarhill Cruise	Courtney Cooper	Best Group	-	Completed the YEH East Coast 4YO and 5YO Championships in 2020 and 2021	Top 10 in the CCI3*-L at the MARS Maryland 5 Star and Intermediate Championship at the AEC

USEA 7-Year-Old Horse of the Year

The USEA 7-Year-Old Intermediate Horse of the Year leaderboard had the second highest concentration of YEH grads in 2024, with half of the top-10 participating in the program. Monbeg Zebedee (Dignified Van’t Zorgvliet x Bolacreane Dolly), the now 8-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding, is another impressive young horse in Allison Springer’s stable. The gelding, who is owned by The Zebedee Group and was bred by Marti Rudd, first stepped on the scene in 2022 when he and Springer earned a top-12 finish in the Dutta Corp. YEH East Coast 5-Year-Old Championship. In 2024, the pair finished in the top 8 in the CCI3*-L at the MARS Bromont CCI and the top 5 in the CCI3*-L at the MARS Maryland 5 Star.

Close on their tails in the reserve champion spot was Cooley Corraghy Diamond (Diamond Roller x Seoladh), the now 8-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding ridden by Kim Severson, owned by William Johnson and Rosyln Johnson, and bred by Southgate Farm LLC. Much like Monbeg Zebedee’s story, Cooley Corraghy Diamond finished in the top 10 in the 2022 YEH East Coast 5-Year-Old Championship, then in 2024, he went on to win the CCI3*-S at The Maryland International & H.T. at Loch Moy Farm. Spiro P, Zenith Petite Etoile, and Top Carrera round out the YEH Graduates in the top 10 of the 7-Year-Old HOTY leaderboard.

Placing	Horse	Breed	Gender	Sire	Dam	Rider	Owner	Breeder	YEH Results	2024 Highlights
1st	Monbeg Zebedee	Irish Sport Horse	Gelding	Dignified Van’t Zorgvliet	Bolacreane Dolly	Allison Springer	The Zebedee Group	Marti Rudd	Top 12 in the 2022 YEH East Coast 5YO Championship	Top 8 in the CCI3*-L at MARS Bromont CCI and top 5 in the CCI3*-L at MARS Maryland 5 Star
2nd	Cooley Corraghy Diamond	Irish Sport Horse	Gelding	Diamond Roller	Seoladh	Kim Severson	William Johnson and Rosylyn Johnson	Southgate Farm LLC	Top 10 in 2022 YEH East Coast 5YO Championship	Champion in the CCI3*-S at Maryland International
3rd	Spiro P	German Sport Horse	Gelding	Spiros Z	Ugomein	Megan Sykes	Donna Wallace	M.N. van der Pas	Top 15 in the 2022 YEH East Coast 5YO Chapionship	Top 5 in CCI3*-L debut at The Eventing Championships at Galway Downs
4th	Zenith Petite Etoile	Westphalian	Mare	Quebec	Vatavia	Karl Slezak	Molly Adams	EWSV	Completed the YEH East Coast 4YO and 5YO Championships in 2021 and 2022 with Lauren New	Top 5 in CCI3*-L debut at The Event at TerraNova
6th	Top Carrera	Hanoverian	Mare	Carridam PJ	Cecil 16	Gabby Dickerson	Rider, Roland Millican	-	Third place in 2022 YEH East Coast 5YO Championship	Champion in the Intermediate division at The Fork at Tryon and the CCI2*-S at Fair Hill International April CCI-S

USEA Preliminary Horse of the Year

Arden Augustus (Jaguar Mail x Juneau), the now 7-year-old Warmblood gelding ridden by Sharon White and owned and bred by Anita Antenucci, had a record year Preliminary and CCI2* level to earn the top spot on the USEA Preliminary Horse of the Year and the USEA 6-Year-Old Horse of the Year leaderboards. As a recent graduate of the YEH Program, Arden Augustus competed in the 2023 Dutta Corp. USEA YEH East Coast 5-Year-Old Championship, where he finished in the top 10 out of over 50 starters.

Since then, White has been producing the gelding up the levels, and they made their CCI2*-S debut at the Tryon International Three-Day Event (Mill Spring, North Carolina) in May to finish in the top 5. The duo followed up their debut with a win in the CCI2*-S at the Virginia Horse Center Eventing Spring later that month and earned two more wins at the national Preliminary level over the summer. But that’s not all! At the AEC, White and Arden Augustus earned third place in the Preliminary Horse championship, and later that fall, they won the CCI2*-S at the Plantation Field International (Unionville, Pennsylvania) and the CCI2*-L at the Virginia Horse Center Eventing Fall. Other notable YEH grads on the Preliminary Horse of the Year Leaderboard include Fast Forward, Get Wild, and Fernhill Domino.

Placing	Horse	Age	Breed	Gender	Sire	Dam	Rider	Owner	Breeder	YEH Results	2024 Highlights
1st	Arden Augustus	7-Years-Old	Warmblood	Gelding	Jaguar Mail	Juneau	Sharon White	Anita Antenucci	Owner	Top 10 in 2023 YEH East Coast 5YO Championship	Champion in CCI2*-L at VHT Eventing Fall, as well as wins at the CCI2*-S at VHT Eventing Spring and Plantation Field International
3rd	Fast Forward	8-Year-Old	Trakehner	Gelding	Windfal	First Flight Romance	Chris Talley	Patricia Luttgen	Timothy Holekamp	Completed 2022 YEH East Coast 5YO Championship with Boyd Martin	Champion in Preliminary Horse division at the AEC
4th	Get Wild	13-Year-Old	Dutch Warmblood	Gelding	Plot-Blue	Cantana	Gabriella Ringer	Rider	-	Third in 2017 YEH East Coast 5YO Championship	Champion in CCI2*-L at Twin Rivers Spring International and CCI2*-S at Twin Rivers Fall and Woodside Fall International
10th	Fernhill Domino	8-Year-Old	Irish Sport Horse	Gelding	Sligo Candy Boy	Unbelievable Cappolla	Ryan Wood	Fernhill Domino Syndicate	-	Completed YEH East Coast 4YO and 5YO Championships in 2021 and 2022	Top 5 in the Virginia Horse Center Eventing Fall CCI2*-L and champion in the Open Prelim at Loudon Hunt PC Summer H.T.

USEA 6-Year-Old Horse of the Year

Fellow YEH graduate Fernhill Bertus (Balou Peggio x Celine) joined Arden Augustus in the top 2 of the USEA 6-Year-Old Horse of the Year leaderboard. Fernhill Bertus, the now 7-year-old Hanoverian gelding ridden by Madison Temkin, owned by Beth Brown, and bred by Willi Wolters, was reserve champion in the Dutta Corp. USEA YEH East Coast 5-Year-Old Championship in 2023 and has continued to find success since. In 2024 alone, the gelding and Temkin collected three wins in national competition and one in the CCI2*-S at the Stable View Oktoberfest 2/3/4* and Horse Trial (Aiken, South Carolina). The pair finished out their banner year with a top-5 placing in the CCI2*-L at the Virginia Horse Center Eventing Fall.

The USEA 6-Year-Old Horse of the Year Leaderboard had the most YEH graduates represented with seven out of the top 10 competing in the program. Learn more about these up-and-coming stars below.

Placing	Horse	Breed	Gender	Sire	Dam	Rider	Owner	Breeder	YEH Results	2024 Highlights
1st	Arden Augustus	Warmblood	Gelding	Jaguar Mail	Juneau	Sharon White	Anita Antenucci	Owner	Top 10 in 2023 YEH East Coast 5YO Championship	Champion in CCI2*-L debut at VHT Eventing Fall and CCI2*-S VHT Eventing Spring and Plantation Field International, Third in AEC Prelim Horse Championship
2nd	Fernhill Bertus	Hanoverian	Gelding	Balou Peggio	Celine	Madison Temkin	Beth Brown	Willi Wolters	Reserve Champion at 2023 YEH 5YO East Coast Championship	Champion in CCI2*-S at Stable View Oktoberfest and top 5 in CCI2*-L at V.H.T Fall
3rd	Ataviuos	Thoroughbred	Gelding	Hard Spun	Wild Silk	Erin Farrell	Rider	Lynn Schiff	Completed 2022 YEH East Coast 4YO Championship	Champion in CCI2*-L at MARS Bromont CCI and reserve champion in Prelim J/YR division at AEC
6th	Kokoleka	Irish Sport Horse	Mare	Sligo Candy Boy	Castle Pacino	Kate Brown	Rider	Noel Ruane	Completed 2023 YEH East Coast 5YO Championship	Champion in Open Prelim at Poplar Place June H.T.
7th	Redwood Quality	Warmblood	Gelding	-	-	Sarah Ertl	Rider	-	Top 8 in 2023 YEH East Coast 5YO Championship	Champion in CCI2*-L at Hagyard Midsouth Three-Day Event
9th	Quantum Cooley	Irish Sport Horse	Gelding	Dakar VDL	Ming Dynasty	Fylicia Barr	Raise The Barr Syndicate, LLC	Diana Warrington	Completed YEH East Coast 4YO and 5Yo Championships in 2022 and 2023	Champion in the Open Prelim at The Maryland International and the CCI2*-S at GMHA
10th	Camelot PJ	Hanoverian	Gelding	Colman	Hauptstutbuch Evita	Andrea Baxter	Rider	Pferdezucht Dr. Jacobs GbR,	Champion in 2023 YEH West Coast 5YO Championship	Top 5 in the CCI2*-L at The Eventing Championships at Galway Downs

Congratulations to all the impressive program graduates that celebrated success in the past year. Here's to another year of competitive prowess for the graduates of the YEH Program in 2025!

About the USEA Young Event Horse (YEH) Program

The Young Event Horse (YEH) Program was first established in 2004 as an eventing talent search. Much like similar programs in Europe, the YEH program was designed to identify young horses aged four- and five-years-old, that possess the talent and disposition to, with proper training, excel at the uppermost levels of the sport. The ultimate goal of the program is to distinguish horses with the potential to compete at the four- and five-star levels, but many fine horses that excel at the lower levels are also showcased by the program.

The YEH program provides an opportunity for breeders and owners to exhibit the potential of their young horses while encouraging the breeding and development of top event horses for the future. The program rewards horses who are educated and prepared in a correct and progressive manner. At qualifying events, youngsters complete a dressage test and a jumping/galloping/general impression phase. At Championships, young horses are also evaluated on their conformation in addition to the dressage test and jumping/galloping/general impression phase. Click here to learn more about the Young Event Horse Program.

The USEA would like to thank ARMA, Bates Saddles, HorseWeek, The Jockey Club, Kerrits, Parker Equine Insurance, Schneiders Saddlery, SmartPak, and Standlee for sponsoring the Young Event Horse Program. Additionally, the USEA would like to thank The Dutta Corp., Title Sponsor of the Young Event Horse Championships.

About The Holekamp/Turner Grant

Founded in 2015 by Timothy and Cheryl Holekamp of New Spring Farm and Christine and T.J. Turner of Indian Creek Farm, the Holekamp/Turner Grant provides a USEA Young Event Horse (YEH) Championship competitor with the opportunity to represent the United States at the FEI Eventing World Breeding Championships in the 7-year-old CCIYH3*-L Championship at Mondial du Lion in Le Lion d’Angers, France. With the sole purpose of paving a clear pathway for U.S. team horses to progress in the sport of eventing, recipients who are North American-bred will be awarded the full cash grant of $17,500, while imported horses are awarded $8,000. Additionally, The Dutta Corp. offers a prize to the Holekamp/Turner Grant recipient, consisting of a round-trip flight from the Eastern United States to Europe.