United States Eventing Association

No Longer Dreaming: Claire Allen's Goal of Qualifying for USEF Eventing Young Rider Championship is Now Reality

Claire Allen remembers when she was 11 years old, having just made the switch from the hunter/jumper ring to three-day eventing. She told her new eventing trainer that her goal was to one day compete in the United States Equestrian Federation’s Eventing Young Rider Championships.

That day is here.

“It’s my very first time, and it’s my dream. It’s very exciting,” said Allen, 16, a rising Junior at Highland School in Warrenton, Virginia, who’ll represent Area II. She and Crazy Choice (Philanthropist x  Hasta Pronto), her 15-year-old Canadian Thoroughbred mare, will do their introductory horse inspection on Thursday, July 4 at the 2024 championships, which runs July 5-7 at The Maryland International + Horse Trials at Loch Moy Farm in Adamstown, Maryland.

The duo has also qualified for the Junior Preliminary division at the 2024 USEA American Eventing Championships (AEC) presented by Nutrena Feeds, which will take place August 27-September 1 at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington.

Allen and “Cici”, a 16-2 bay with a white “C” on her forehead, partnered in November 2022, after Allen purchased Cici from Dr. Kathryn Surasky, a veterinarian with Piedmont Equine Practice in The Plains, Virginia. She’d campaigned Cici through the CCI2*-L level. Once Claire and Cici got together, they began competing at the Training level, moving quickly into the Modified division and then into Preliminary this spring.

Highlights of their partnership include winning the Junior Open Training division in April 2023 at the Loudoun Hunt Pony Club Spring Horse Trials at Morven Park in Leesburg, Virginia with a 34.6 final score; finishing second with a score of 29.9 in their first Open Modified outing at the Virginia Horse Center Eventing Horse Trials in May 2023; and finishing fourth in July 2023 at The Maryland International + Horse Trials in their first CCI1*-S. After scoring a 40.4 in dressage at Maryland, which landed them in 10th place, they posted clear cross-country and stadium rounds, except for 1.6 cross-country time faults, to finish fourth overall.

“She was feral,” said Allen with a laugh about that dressage test, explaining that sometimes their dressage tests aren’t ideal. “When she cooperates, she can be such an amazing horse. When she’s good, she’s great, but she’s not a fan (of dressage).”

However, Cici is a fan of the jumping phases, Allen said, particularly cross-country. The mare gets so excited by cross-country that she’ll often jig for several minutes after she’s done her round, because she’s looking to do more.

“She’s so fun. She loves it more than anything,” Allen said. “She hunts the flags. She’s such a superstar and is game for anything.”

Erin Murphy, Allen's trainer, said they’ve been working on improving the duo’s dressage scores. However, some of the issues are just intrinsic to Cici, who raced as a youngster, and Thoroughbreds in general.

“I think that, especially when you get toward the upper levels, the more fit you try and get your horse, they can be, particularly for a Thoroughbred, a little excitable in the dressage phase,” Murphy said. “We’ve been working on ways to get them to put in a nice, relaxed test. Dressage is definitely something we’re going to continue to work on, but it’s difficult sometimes with a fit, spicy little mare.”

Dealing with a “spicy” mount isn’t necessarily new to Allen. Murphy remembers when Allen and her mom, Lauren, who also rides, first arrived at Morningside Training Farm in The Plains, home to Morningside Eventing, the training operation that Murphy and upper-level eventer Skyeler Voss run. The Allens had both competed in the hunter/jumper ring, but an eventer friend encouraged them to try the discipline.

“She came with this little pony that was a bit of a spitfire,” Murphy recalls. “But Claire was so brave and rode the pony so well. We started introducing her to little logs and cross-country jumps, and you could tell from the start that Claire was really into riding outside of a ring and galloping and jumping cross-country type of fences. Even if the pony didn’t want to do it, Claire was going to do it.”

Eventually deciding that Claire needed a new partner to rise through the divisions, Murphy hooked her up with Stella, a now-12-year-old warmblood with whom Allen competed in Beginner Novice and Novice.

“She’s a ‘been there, done that’ mare, and she introduced Claire to the ropes of eventing,” Murphy said of Stella. Allen then progressed to riding Get Serious (Metall x Pebbles), a now-12-year-old Dutch warmblood Pinto, competing in Novice through the Training level, before buying Cici. Murphy said she’s excited for Allen to experience Young Riders.

“I think it’s so important to be involved in a team-like camaraderie that teaches you to support other people, and it’s a fun way to compete with other people in the area,” said Murphy.

“At the end of the day, it’s about putting the best three phases together that you can,” Murphy said. “This is a little bit of a new partnership, but it will be fun to see her climb up the levels and develop a really special partnership.”

Allen, who plans to juggle her equestrian pursuits with taking honors classes and playing for her high school’s volleyball team, is already looking ahead to perhaps riding for a college equestrian team. She’s not sure where, and she’s not sure that Cici will go with her if she does.

“It’s all in the air right now. She’ll be 18, so I’ve just got to see,” Claire says, as her mom quickly pipes up.

“You can leave her,” says Lauren Allen, 50, as they both laugh across the phone line. Allen hasn’t been able to compete with her mount, FGF Bob’s Wired (Congaree x Pico Da Neblina), an 11-year-old off-track Thoroughbred, since November 2022 due to him rehabbing from injuries. Lauren said her daughter has already mapped out her return to the competition realm, tentatively scheduled for the Old Tavern Horse Trials Sept. 23-25 at the Great Meadow Field Events Center in The Plains.

“It’s so fun to compete together,” said Lauren, who said having that connection with Claire reminds of her own relationship with her mother.

“I grew up riding with my mom, and I lost my mom, so I get emotional,” Lauren said, as she became choked up. “I get more nervous when she rides than when I ride. But you watch your kid out there, and it’s beautiful.

“Eventing challenges you not just physically,” Lauren added. “What eventing has taught me is that it makes your synapses fire differently. It’s teaching her adversity and life skills, and organization and partnership and team skills that are carrying her through life.”

Not just mom and daughter attend shows. The whole Allen clan comes along. Claire’s little brother, William, 14, isn’t into horses, preferring to play baseball instead. But he can be spotted cruising around show grounds on his bike. And Claire’s dad, and Lauren’s husband, Bill, is “always there at the shows, and he always gives Cici a carrot after cross-country,” Claire said. It was Bill who accompanied Claire to the 2023 USEA Annual Meeting and Convention in St. Louis, Missouri, last year where she was named the 2023 Modified Interscholastic Eventing League Rider of the Year. Coming from a tight-knit family, Claire said that the supportive environment of eventing is what made her fall in love with the sport.

“I think it’s such an incredible community, almost like family,” Claire said. “Some of my best friends are young riders, and almost everyone always has a smile on their face and are willing to help. Everyone is there to help you and support you.”

Last fall and this spring, Claire and Cici had strong outings as they galloped toward Claire’s goal of competing at Young Riders. Last November, they finished third in their first CCI 1*L, with a 30.7, at the Virginia Horse Center Eventing Fall Horse Trials. In March of this year, they also finished third in their move up to Open Preliminary at the Morven Park Spring Horse Trials, finishing with a 38.5; and in May, Claire said Cici “was a superstar” as they finished second at the Virginia Horse Center Eventing Horse Trials in Preliminary with a 38.1.

Claire said she’s excited to get to the championship and jump right in. As a ramp-up to the competition, she spent June 25-28 at the Area II 2024 Summer WoW Camp at Morven Park. The annual camp for Area II riders sees them taking lessons with different trainers, logging two rides per day, and participating in other equine activities.

“She’s been excellent recently, and I feel quite good,” Claire said. “She’s nice and fit, and I’m really, really excited. It’s going to be so fun.

“She’s got a heart of gold,” added Claire. “She does everything she can to do her best, but she’s not afraid to tell you her opinion. She’s sassy, but she just tries so hard to please you and do the best she can. She’s my heart horse, and there’s no other horse I want to sit on.”