Miks Master C and Martin Make Magic at Inaugural US Equestrian Open of Eventing Final
Leesburg, Va.— Oct. 12—It was Miks Master C’s time to shine on Sunday when a double-clear show jumping round with rider Boyd Martin saw them moving up the leaderboard from second place to be crowned the inaugural champions of the US Equestrian Open of Eventing Final CCI4*-L.
“I am very grateful that the owners of some of Liz [Halliday]’s top horses sent them towards me, and Miks Master C is obviously a legend horse–he was probably Liz's first choice to hopefully go to the Olympic Games [in 2024], but he was a bit dinged up. So this whole year, I've just been getting to know him as I'm getting him back on the road. We been focused on getting this one [the Open Final] done all year.”
It was a rail down by the leading pair, Will Coleman and Off The Record, that allowed Martin and the 13-year-old U.S.-bred Swedish Warmblood gelding (Mighty Magic x Qui Luma CBF) to move up from second to first.
“To be honest, it's a bit of an awkward way to win,” reflected Martin. “Will Coleman’s horse, Timmy [Off the Record] is a legend. We've been on teams together through the World Championships and Olympic Games. I didn't actually see his rail come down, and it's hard to know how to react sometimes when you win by default. It's a legend horse, Off The Record, and he's been going strong for years. I suppose Miks Master C is similar— they're veterans of the sport and really looking at the field, the top horses were the sort of the season campaigners. They're both five-star horses, and then it was good to see a strong list of four-star horses coming through for the country. I’m just very honored and proud to win this beautiful US Equestrian Open trophy.”
Martin’s partnership with Miki began earlier this year after his owners, Ocala Horse Properties, LLC, and Deborah Palmer, sent the horse to Martin’s barn while Halliday continues to recover following an injury during the 2024 season.
“To be honest, I don't know him that well, but I've always admired the horse,” said Martin. “When Liz bought him, I was extremely jealous, just because it's my type of horse. It's a lot of Thoroughbred. He's by a stallion called Mighty Magic, and he’s one of those horses that moves like a warmblood but thinks like a Thoroughbred— a true, true, three-day event type. He’s got an amazing gallop, the right amount of crazy, huge grit, a beautiful mover in the dressage, and a resilient horse—sort of tough. Coming into this show, I really only did one four-star short, which was at Tryon, and I just sort of canted around that. So I was banking, basically, on Liz's training and his experience that Liz put into him over the years. I had this feeling that I just had to try and give him a good ride, and he'd zip around.”
Martin noted that the fall season is extremely hectic for his team and that results like this one aren’t possible without the strong team he has developed in the barn led by groom Stephanie Simpson.
“I've got the most relentless groom,” he said with a chuckle. “She used to work on a dairy farm, and I've never seen someone that works so hard. It's embarrassing, and I beg her to take time off. She's so committed to the horses. She'll drive home from a show, get home at four in the morning, and she'll be the first one at the barn at seven in the morning. And she's competitive—more competitive than me, and relentless. She's more than a groom, she's sort of a manager. The next three or four weeks for us are relentless. We've got this three-day event, and then the Maryland 5 Star, and then the five-star at Pau, and she probably still won't take a day off. I'm very, very blessed to have her, and I'm going to burst into tears when she leaves me.”
With the one rail down, Coleman and the 16-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding (VDL Arkansas x Drumagoland Bay), owned by the Off The Record Syndicate, finished in second place on a score of 29.1 after leading from Friday’s dressage.
“I think Boyd is a incredibly worthy and deserved winner,” said Coleman. “I appreciate what he says, and [the rail] doesn't change how I feel about Off The Record. He is an amazing horse, but Boyd absolutely won the weekend, and deserves to be on the trophy there.”
Both Coleman and Martin spoke highly of how the championship drew a lot of top competition and spectator eyes to the sport. Coleman noted that the environment this weekend at Morven felt one that Timmy is often most at home in, though the gelding has never actually competed at the venue before this weekend.
“Timmy has been to a lot of big events around the world, and I think he does his best at ones that have a big atmosphere and a bit of a crowd. I think he thrives on them. I think you got a little taste of that here at Morven,” said Coleman.
Coleman also finished the weekend in third on his second entry, Very Dignified (Dignified Van’t Zorgvliet x Katey’s Gem) owned by the Very Dignified Group. The 10-year-old Irish Sport Horse mare is a new ride for Coleman, having competed to the four-star level with Irish rider Robbie Kearns before making her way stateside to join Coleman’s string.
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