United States Eventing Association

'Lucky to Be Here': Meet the First-Time Five-Star Riders of Kentucky

Whether you've brought your horse up from Novice or took on the ride later in their career, getting to your first five-star on a special partner is a huge accomplishment. There are six first-time five-star riders in the field at this year's Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event, and we chatted with all of them to learn more about their journeys and their goals for the week.

Arden Wildasin and Sunday Times

Arden Wildasin first met the now 18-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding Sunday Times (Cult Hero x Lackagher Crest) as a 5-year-old at the Goresbridge Going for Gold Sale in Ireland.

“They quoted him as being a good kids’ pony,” she recalled. “He was essentially a fun horse who I have always enjoyed all of the ups and downs with. He’s been with me ever since.”

At just 18-years-old herself at the time, Wildasin never quite knew what to expect of “Mumbles” as his career progressed. She just decided to listen to him every step of the way, and if he told her he was out of his comfort zone, she was going to honor it. They never got to that point.

“When we did decide to go and put our heart into Advanced, he tackled that first one and kind of surprised both [my trainer] Heidi White and myself. So, we thought, OK, we will do a second Advanced and see if that first one was just a one-off, but it never felt that way to me. During the second one, I truly felt like he was having so much fun. He’s never been a dressage horse, and in a sense that is where I struggle with all of my horses, but he kept on showing up in cross-country and taught me the ropes. We learned that we could do it together.”

The pair finished fourth at the MARS Bromont CCI4*-L (Quebec, Canada) last summer and then decided to try their hand at the Morven Park CCI4*-L (Leesburg, Virginia) this past fall, where they also finished fourth.

“We knew that was going to be a tough one, but he shocked us all,” said Wildasin. “I think at this point, it wasn’t that he kept on shocking us—it was that we just kept on building on this unbelievable partnership where we could read each other inside and out, even when things weren’t going as smoothly as we might have wanted. It has been such a privilege. He might be 18, but he doesn’t act his age at all. So, we decided to put ourselves out there and try the five-star at Kentucky.”

Wildasin’s plan is simple: take the competition day-by-day.

“In a sense, I’ve already won because I have put my entry in for a five-star,” she shared. “That’s huge and not a lot of people can say they have done that. I am going to have daily goals, but of course, I want to finish. Day 1, my goal will be to stay in the sandbox and maybe enjoy that. Then I want to go around cross-country and say, ‘Wow... I just did that. I just jumped around Kentucky, and I got through the flags.’ And then on the final day, you want to have a very sound and fit horse who maybe feels like they want to go and do cross-country again, but then the goal will just be to jump around and get through the flags, maybe with one or two or three rails, but again, then I can say I have finished a five-star.

“I think I'm really lucky to be able to have entered, but then I'm going to be so lucky if I'm able to finish,” she continued. “I know my horse inside and out, and if things do go wrong, my plan will be to just use my knowledge and my relationship with my horse to always put him first.”

Cassie Sanger and Redfield Fyre

Like Wildasin, Cassie Sanger and Redfield Fyre have also grown up together.

“I’ve had ‘Yogi’ since I was 15 and brought him up myself from his first Novice,” Sanger said of the now 12-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding (Canabis x Tiona). “Because of that, our dynamic is kind of like siblings where we have had our highs and lows together, but we have such a deep bond and know each other so well.”

Sanger earned a spot in the 2024 USEF Eventing Development 25 Program, and she and Yogi made their way to England where they had a fourth-place finish together at the Defender Bramham International CCIU254*-L, which was Yogi’s CCI4*-L debut. With Yogi’s help, Sanger was later selected as the youngest athlete in the field on the U.S. Eventing Team at the FEI Nations Cup at Boekelo (the Netherlands).

“I’m really excited for this next step and to be able to do it with such a loyal partner,” Sanger continued. “It goes without saying that having the opportunity to compete at the Kentucky Horse Park is always special, and to compete at the five-star level is a dream. He had such a positive experience last year in the [CCI4*-S at Kentucky], and we hope it’s a course that will suit him. He’s a big, strong horse so doing a course like Kentucky which requires bold riding will hopefully be helpful to him as that’s the style that suits him.”

The 20-year-old rider is keeping her goals for the weekend simple.

“I want to come out of the weekend with a relaxed and confident horse and feeling that way with myself as well,” she noted. “I’m a perfectionist, so I will always want to get better and do better, but I’m going to try to embrace the moment, be present, and learn as much as I can from the experience.”

Brooke Burchianti and Cooley Space Grey

Throughout her 6-year partnership with Cooley Space Grey, Brooke Burchianti has always made her motto, “let’s just see how it goes.” Though she laughs when she remembers falling off at “Astro’s” first event, things kept getting better as they ticked off each level. When they made it to Advanced in 2023, Burchianti was thrilled, but didn’t have her sights dead-set on a five-star.

“I just didn't know that if the stars would ever even align, and if I would ever even have a horse at the right time that would be able to get me to this level,” she said. “I feel just very lucky that we're even here, you know? I always knew I wanted to do this, but I just wasn't sure if it was ever going to actually happen.”

Astro, a 12-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding (Harley x Zaylanda) owned by Burchianti’s mother, Karin Burchianti, finds dressage tough, but has had a good jumping record at the Advanced level. They completed the MARS Bromont CCI4*-L (Quebec, Canada) and the TerraNova CCI4*-L (Myakka City, Florida) in 2024 as their leadup to their five-star debut. This spring, they had top 10 placings at the SRF Carolina International CCI4*-S (Raeford, North Carolina) and at the TerraNova CCI4*-S.

Brooke, 25, describes Astro as a bit quirky, but she’ll be relying on her partnership and the trust she’s built with him to get her through their biggest challenge at Kentucky.

“I think we're very close. He's definitely like a friend of mine,” she said. He’s mistrusting of people and things at first. He was bred to be a show jumper, and he's very spooky and quite careful. It took a long time for me to get him to really trust me. But once he did, he knows me. Anytime I come into the barn and he sees me, he whinnies to me.”

Brooke, who’s based in Washington, Pennsylvania, near Pittsburgh, says while it sounds simple, her goal for Kentucky is just to finish. “I'm sure that if something goes wrong, I'm gonna be kicking myself,” she said. “I did the four-short at Kentucky last year, and I made a mistake at the coffin. I'm still kicking myself about that! But I just want to finish. I would be thrilled to just finish all three phases.”

Mary Bess Davis and Imperio Magic

Mary Bess Davis, 46, made a return to the Advanced level in the fall of 2022 after a 10-year break to start a family and find the right horse, which turned out to be Imperio Magic.

For the last two years, they’ve been putting in consistent performances at the four-star level, and Davis, Mansfield, Georgia, feels ready for her five-star debut. She and “McCall” completed the CCI4*-S last year at Kentucky, so they know the intense atmosphere that comes with the event.

“He was such a good boy the whole weekend; so professional,” she recalled. “And that really set me up well, because I applied to go to Boekelo for the Nation's Cup, and he got That was a wonderful first team experience for both of us, and we really enjoyed that and learned so much.”

She describes the 11-year-old warmblood gelding (Cassander C x Khadija des Hayettes) as very brave with “scope for days,” which gives her tons of confidence in the jumping phases. In fact, McCall hasn’t had a show jump fence in the past year at the four-star level, and very rarely does at any level.

While they had a “silly 20” in one of their prep runs this spring, Davis is feeling confident heading into Kentucky. She’ll have her family and most of her clients in attendance to cheer her on as well as her longtime coach Karen O’Connor, who adores McCall.

“I feel really lucky, to be honest, because I had a handful of Advanced horses, and I've never gotten to go to a five-star, just from just bad luck,” she said. "I'm not too excited until I get there, but I feel very confident that it's going to happen for this little horse. He just has all the right things. I'm very nervous. We're trying to keep him in bubble wrap. My kids are excited, my husband, my mom, everybody that's been on this trip with me or been a client of mine for 20 years; they've all experienced the ups and the downs, and so I think everybody's just really excited to finally, hopefully see the dream come to fruition. I think my biggest goal is to have a nice, relaxing dressage test, and then for me to step up and be the rider I know I need to be for him on the cross-country.”

Shannon Lilley and Eindhoven Garette

After a major injury set Shannon Lilley's riding goals back, finally having the opportunity to compete at the legendary five-star at Kentucky means even more to the now 45-year-old rider from Pennsylvania.

"Riding at Kentucky is something that we all dream of doing since we were kids riding and watching all the greats riding at Kentucky," she reflected. "I think it means more to me now after have a major injury setting me back five years or so. The road to come back was long, but well worth it considering the progress made and now having the opportunity to ride at the Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event, especially on this horse."

That horse is Eindhoven Garette, an 11-year-old Selle Français gelding (Iowa 960 x Rose Rouge Garette), who Lilley has had for nearly five years. She says "Garrett's" work ethic is unlike any other and over the years, they've truly built a partnership together which she hopes will show its strength at Kentucky.

"He will do anything you ask, so it is up to me to ask the right questions," said Lilley. "He is definitely a work horse—the harder it is, the more he shows up. He is a love in the barn. He can be a bit sharp under saddle but has settled over the years and his antics are minimal. The horse is very special, and I am very lucky to be able to ride him."

The pair have had a solid prep run leading up to their five-star debut and haven't placed outside of the top 10 since last fall, including a sixth-place finish in the always challenging CCI4*-L at Morven Park in October. For Lilley, her goals for their Kentucky experience keep where they are now and the future in mind.

"The goal is to stay true to my skills and keep perspective of where we are in our training," she shared. "It is our first five-star, so finishing is a goal. Managing expectations is key in these experiences, and I cannot expect for us to be more than we are right now."

Lucienne Bellissimo and Dyri

"I am under no illusion. Horses like him don't come around twice in a lifetime," said Lucienne Bellissimo of Horse Scout Eventing, LLC's Dyri (Diarado x La Calera).

Bellissimo sourced Dyri from Germany almost five years ago, and she has known from day 1 that he had that special factor most riders dream of. Because of that, she's been willing to give the horse all the time he needs in the progression of his career up until this point.

"He's always given me 100% when he understands and when he's confident, and the only time I've ever had blips with him is sincerely when he just gets spooked," she noted. "He is a horse that's always thinking the world is a little bit out to get him, and he's quite introverted, so we've had to really take our time at the four-star level with him."

After three years at the four-star level building up Dyri's confidence, Bellissimo thinks the 13-year-old Holsteiner gelding is ready to make his first five-star appearance.

"We absolutely adore him," she said. "He's a very, very sweet horse to have around the barn, and I believe he's actually still improving a lot; although he's 13, his miles are low. He didn't start eventing until he was an 8-year-old, so he's almost in his brain and body more like a sort of 11-year-old to sit on. He owes me nothing. I had my first four-star win with this gelding. He's had a couple of very good results at the four-long level. He was second in the four-star long at Morven, and I think it was that track that, to me, ticked the box that he felt like a five-star horse."

Getting to experience their first five-star together at Kentucky feels extra special for Bellissimo, who "adores the venue" at the Kentucky Horse Park.

"I feel very, very fortunate to finally, after 20 years of trying to get there, hopefully have a chance in just over a week now to do the five-star at Kentucky," she said. "It's got such a beautiful atmosphere. I've been there a few times now for the four-star short, and there's something about getting down into that main arena where it really does light you up. But, I'm gonna stay pragmatic and not get ahead of my skis, until we're doing the trot-up and until we're out on course. It's never a done deal, is it? So I'm just gonna try and keep my mouth shut and my head down and do my best to just get him there and keep him confident and bring him back home safely before we start to try and put any pressure on them at this level."

With that pragmatic mindset at the forefront of her plan for Kentucky, Bellissimo has prioritized her goals for the long weekend.

"In sort of order of priority for me, my first goal is to try and make sure we give him a safe, confident run cross-country," she said. "Historically, every time I've upgraded him, I've always given him plenty of time at his first long-format. I did that at his first three and his first four, and I'll attempt to do the same for his first five. Another goal would be to continue with a sub-30 dressage. I think I've been trending somewhere between 25 and 27 his last few four-stars, and I would like to try and stay in that area. And then, finally, to have a happy sound horse for Sunday morning. So that's this goal for this event. And then after that, we'll regroup, have a think, and he'll tell me what he needs next."