United States Eventing Association

Paso Robles, Ca.—Oct. 24— Continuing the tone set by the USEA Young Event Horse (YEH) East Coast Championships, James Alliston swept the top spots in both the USEA YEH West Coast 4-year-old and 5-year-old divisions at Twin Rivers Ranch in Paso Robles, California.

“Whether you win it or not, [the YEH program] is wonderful to do and know someone’s opinion, that they like your horse as much as you do,” he said. “I’d never done the 4-Year-Olds before. I’d always done the 5-Year-Olds.”

In the 5-year-old championship, Alliston had a full-circle moment. His mount, the 5-year-old Hanoverian gelding Viodor (Vidar x Hauptstutbuch Sibrensil), is owned by his mother, Petey Alliston, who hasn’t owned a horse for her son since he was a kid competing in gymkhanas. Five generations back in Viodor’s pedigree, however, is a familiar name.

“Voltaire was one of the first fancy warmbloods in England,” he explained. “I’ve had a few horses from those lines and really like them. It’s kind of old, but I’m old. If you had a Voltaire horse [then], it was like wow.”

Viodor had a lighter year, with only three competitions prior to the Last Chance Qualifier held at Twin Rivers the day before the West Coast Championships.

“Typically with the 5-year-olds, I do the Qualifier on Thursday and it’s a nice school for them on the other side of the property. They go in the course, jump the water and ditches. Then when they do the championship, it’s a whole other part of the cross-country so they see a different water jump, different ditches, and so I think it’s just a wonderful education. To do over the three days a little cross-country school, then a dressage day in a fancy dressed-up course, then another cross country on a different course; I think it sets them up to be relaxed on a stiffer course.”

Having won at the Training level in his most recent appearance before coming to the championships, the future looks bright for Viodor. He earned an overall score of 89.35, the highest score across both the East and West Coast Championships, putting him in the running for the 2028 Holekamp/Turner Grant and Dutta Corp. prize.

In the 4-year-old championship, Alliston rode Wizmo Warrior OMR (Sandro Boy x Chacunna Matata), a 4-year-old Belgian Warmblood gelding bred and owned by Oak Meadow Ranch LLC in Woodside, California, earning an overall score of 82.46. Originally bred to be a show jumper by Fentress Hall, with Chacco Blue on the dam's side and Sandro Boy on the sire's side, Wizmo has proven that ability is ability, no matter the breeding.

“He’s definitely an elegant, warmblood horse who’s a blood type,” he said of the gelding. “If you looked at him stood up, you would think he were a Thoroughbred and he kind of goes that way. He has a lot of energy, very forward horse, but obviously with a sensational jump. I feel like the eventing breeding is getting more towards the show jumping breeding with what you want in a championship horse and the show jumpers are breeding lighter, less heavy, and powerful but sporty horses.”

As the first horse in Hall's breeding program to pursue eventing, Alliston thought that bringing Wizmo to the YEH West Coast Championships was a way to bring recognition to Hall, who has been a big supporter behind the scenes. Regardless of the results, Alliston felt the education gained would put the horse in good stead for the future.

For the 4-year-old reserve champion, the results of this weekend were a bit surreal. Washington-based Anna Stein-Copner and her own Dutch Warmblood mare Synergy (L Primo x Abkaers Feel Good), bred by Danita Benson in Somis, California, were on their way to train with Robyn Fisher for a month in Southern California and stopped at the YEH West Coast Championships as an educational pit stop.

“I was like, you know what? That would be perfect timing. It’s going to go how it’s going to go and then I’ll go to Robyn’s afterwards. One way or another, I’m heading that direction, so why not?” Stein-Copner said of her decision. “She really is very green. But it’s been really rewarding because when I [first] sat on her, she was green broke in a round pen. As the year went on, this was something I [thought] would be really cool to do this fall but also that’s a stretch. Then I just started checking boxes. We went to a dressage show: check. Went cross-country schooling a couple times: check. Went to a jumper schooling show: check. She’s not done any recognized events so finally I was like, I think she’s ready for Spokane’s Young Event Horse and she was so good that I was like, I think we could go to champs!”

Stein-Copner had been based at Fisher’s last year when a new sales horse everyone called Cupcake was arriving at the barn. When she caught sight of the mare, she knew Cupcake was a horse she had to make her own. With no financial support beyond what she could provide herself, Stein-Copner sold her old truck after a recall issue left her with two vehicles, using the proceeds to purchase Cupcake.

“In some ways, I felt like I was learning a new language,” she said of the start of her and Cupcake’s relationship. “I come from the land of mutts and ponies and Thoroughbreds. So riding of something of such quality and the warmblood breed specifically is new to me. There have been some days where I just can’t stop smiling and then some days where I’m like at the walk, I want to pull my hair out because I don’t know what to do.”

Not only did they finish second with an overall score of 81.38, but the combination also earned the 2026 Don Trotter “Go Get Em” Award for the best gallop in the YEH 4-year-old division, with a gallop score of 12.4. With those accolades under their belt, Stein-Copner is hopeful about next year’s 5-year-old championship but remains realistic about her expectations.

“She has already done more than I could have thought she’d do in such a short amount of time so I’m just along for the ride! I don’t have any other expectations than to keep her sound and healthy.”

The reserve champion in the 5-year-old championship similarly had no illusions about what her horse was capable of. Katherine Robinson rode Linda Paine’s Nite Cap (Contendra x Happy Hour), a 5-year-old Hanoverian gelding bred in Temecula, California, by Paine, to an overall score of 87.04. She has only had the ride since the spring and has only competed the gelding since September.

“He was born and raised at Kingsway Farm and I ride his half-sister at the farm already,” she said. “He was a bit on the back burner. He’d been developed, started under saddle, and was going a bit but no one had a lot of dedicated time for him. This spring I got asked if I had time to get him going and see what he could be. It was a humble start. He was really sweet and had a very willing attitude. When I started working with him, his owner Linda asked me, ‘Do you think Young Event Horse is something we might aim for?’ I didn’t know. He started very shy. He was a little bit emotionally not quite as far along as some of his age mates, kind of reserved and guarded about new things. So we just plugged away at it.”

Nite Cap has gone from strength to strength and demonstrated how his early foundation, combined with Robinson’s work, helped him develop into a confident and calm horse. With a win in his first YEH qualifier at Twin Rivers Fall International in September and another win at Woodside Fall International three weeks ago, Robinson’s fellow riders and friends began asking not whether she planned to attend the championships, but whether she had submitted her entry. Amber Birtcil, a YEH regular, was particularly influential and helpful in getting Robinson to the event.

“I’ve done a lot of young horses but not necessarily horses who were eligible for the program or who it made sense for them to do it. I had some familiarity with it and the owner was like keep it on your radar! But I’ve never done a championship before. I had to study up to make sure I knew what I was doing. We went home [after Woodside] and I go, ‘Well, you’re getting a promotion. It’s time to jump the big boy jumps!’ He’s got all the scope so he didn’t care. There’s some horses that you may be a little concerned you were overfacing them but he never gave me that sense so I felt good coming.”

It was hard to believe that the calm, relaxed, and fluid mover entering the dressage ring had only two competitions under his belt. But that composure has become one of Nite Cap’s defining qualities.

“He just has this ease about him from nose to tail. He exudes this calmness in his mind and his body. Everything is loose and fluid, it’s so natural to him. He’s so focused and for his age and his lack of experience, he’s really incredible. I give him all the credit. He’s like a fish to water for sure!”

The final award presented was the Safe Harbor Award, given to the horse who consistently exhibits the most graceful and rider-friendly performance throughout the competition. Ramino 7 (Comme il Faut x Texana II), a 5-year-old Oldenburg gelding, bred by Michael Heitmann, owned by the Cellar Farm Corporation, and ridden by Amber Birtcil, received the accolade for his relaxed jumping round. Birtcil jokingly calls him the prettiest horse in the barn, noting that he seems to stay incredibly shiny 12 months out of the year.

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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 4- and 5-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 Platinum Sponsor, The Dutta Corp., as well as Contributing Sponsors ARMA, Bates Saddles, CrossCountry App, FLAIR Equine Nasal Strips, Gallagher's Water, Gorsebridge Go For Gold, The Jockey Club, Kerrits, Marshall+Sterling, Schneiders Saddlery, SmartPak, WeRideTogether and Standlee, and Prize Sponsor 100xEquine for sponsoring the USEA Young Event Horse Program.

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 $10,000 flight credit from the Eastern United States to Europe.