United States Eventing Association

Road to the AEC: Eden Miller Makes the Switch to Eventing with a Special Partner

I’d like to preface my story by saying that I have been a 30-year hunter/jumper rider and trainer. I run a large training and lesson farm in Monroe, Georgia, and up until April of 2024, I would have considered myself a hunter/jumper through and through, and let me just say my world has been flipped upside down in the best way possible!

My AEC story begins with my best friend, Ariah Transmeier. She and I met because she started taking lessons with me roughly 15 years ago, and we have been inseparable ever since. She came to me as an eventing rider. I tried so hard to convert her into a hunter, but it was never going to happen. She, too, tried to convince me over and over to “come to the dark side,” but I was so far down the hunter/jumper rabbit hole, it was going to take something big and awesome to get me out of it.

Well, 10-ish years later, it happened. Something big and awesome caught my attention—the 2023 USEA American Eventing Championships in Kentucky. My bestie qualified, and I was going along for the ride!

It was my first time ever to Kentucky, and I spent the entire week there. I was in complete awe of the competition. The energy was so different from hunter land. Things were happening that I’d never experienced before. People were so friendly and kind and were wishing each other good luck and “have a great trip!” I know this is a competition and may the best rider win type of thing, and this might sound cheesy, but the comradery was unlike anything I’d ever seen before. I felt like I was in a totally different world and the dreaded saying “hurry up and wait” didn’t exist.

I spent the week oo-ing and ah-ing and kept thinking to myself “I could do this.”

Ariah went in for her dressage test on Friday, and I was in tears as she came out of the arena because I was so incredibly proud of her. I watched her and her horse Bold Remark dominate the cross-country course and have a clear ride in stadium. She ended up 12^th out of 49 in the Beginner Novice Amateur championship, and this could probably go without saying, but I sobbed in awe watching her gallop around with the top 12 riders in a very competitive division. To say she was an inspiration is an understatement.

I was so sad that Sunday had gotten here so quickly, and it was time to pack up and go home. Not before the weekend was over though, I told anyone who would listen to me, “I’m going to do this. I’m going to qualify for 2024 AEC.” I must have told every person I knew there, and I’m sure I got some eye rolls, rightfully so.

Here’s the kicker—I didn’t have a horse or a trainer, and I’d taken one dressage lesson back when I was 12, and I was so mad at my mom at the time for making me do it. I was just a kid who wanted to jump high and run fast!

So, at this point it’s mid-October, and I’m still without a horse or a trainer, and I’ve got a pipedream of qualifying for the AEC.

Coincidentally and quite randomly, a friend of mine reached out to me telling me she had found this awesome eventing trainer, Angelika Beutel, and that I needed to hook up with her because she just had this feeling great things would come of this. So, I bit the bullet, and as scared as I was, I had my first lesson with Angelika in October on my friend’s horse, Phoebe. Her and I mostly talked about goals and just shared experiences as farm and business owners, but I did slip in there at one point that I wanted to qualify for the AEC. Her response, “Have you ever schooled cross-country?”

“No,” I replied, and that was just about the last of that conversation, understandably.

There was still a huge piece of this puzzle missing—the horse. I desperately needed a horse. Again, randomly, my friend suggested I reach out to some old clients of mine, German and Stephanie Berrada, to see what was going on with their guy, Tom. And yet again, I was scared to death to send that text, but I did.

“Hi German and Stephanie! I was just curious as to what Tom is up to these days. I am wanting to qualify for the AEC, and I need a horse to borrow, and Tom is just such a cool dude. I know he could help me get there.” Or something like that. I know they didn’t have a clue what I was talking about, but they replied! So, I went and rode Tom and discussed what I needed, and they thought about it for a week or two, and I got the go ahead to lease Tom. I picked him up at the beginning of November.

Let me tell you a bit about Tom, or Cupido T. He is a 15-hand Quarter Horse/Holsteiner import from Mexico who can jump the moon. He is an adorable little buckskin with two blue eyes and the kindest soul I’ve ever met. I was so incredibly grateful for this opportunity with such an amazing horse, even if we didn’t make it to AEC, I was just excited to ride something so cool.

So the two main pieces of the puzzle that were missing were found; I had a trainer, and I had a horse BUT I didn’t have the confidence. I stalled all winter with taking Tom to Angelika’s, and I even contemplated several times taking Tom home. I kept telling myself this was a bad idea, that there was no way I was going to qualify for the AEC and that I was a hunter/jumper, and I just needed to accept that and move on.

Finally, I got brave, and I took a very fuzzy with an overgrown mane, dirt colored horse to Angelika’s in January. Tom stepped off the trailer, and I could tell Angelika was like “What has this girl brought to me?” And I did say to her, “Wait until you see him go. He’s really freaking cool!” And she did exactly what I thought would happen; she fell in love with him like I did.

Towards the end of January, I was out at Angelika’s for a lesson, and at the end of the ride she said, “Do you want to go to Ocala next weekend?” I immediately tried to think of every excuse I could as to why I couldn’t go, and she could see me stalling, and she said, “You can’t qualify for AEC if you don’t show.” So, with hesitation I said yes.

February 4th rolls around, and I’m in Ocala—mind you, I’ve never been to Ocala—and I’m doing my first-ever Beginner Novice three-phase. Heck, it was my first ever eventing anything. I am out of shape, and Tom was out of shape. I had never plated a mane before, but I winged it, and somehow those suckers stayed in. It was my first time in white breeches, and I had learned my dressage test days before this. I was very ill-prepared to say the least.

Tom and I survived our first three-phase! And while I sucked and Tom was awesome, I had so much fun. More fun than I can remember having in a very long time, and I knew a fire had been lit!

After Ocala we went to Bouckaert Equestrian [Fairburn, Georgia] sometime in March and had a very funny dressage test where we just went around like little hunters. I wasn’t even mad because at this point, qualifying for AEC would be the cherry on top of an already awesome cake, and I was just glad to be competing and having fun. Somehow, we ended up third out of six, which was exciting considering we were 9^th out of 12 in Ocala.

Sometime is April we went to FENCE [Tryon, North Carolina], and a week or two prior to the show I had a lesson, and I remember my trainer saying, “Ride the horse, not the test.” And that I did. I went into the dressage arena cool, calm, and collected and rode a very solid test. I still wasn’t convinced it was a winning test, but it was the best I’d ridden, and that was enough for me to be excited.

As it turns out, I went into cross-country in first place with a 24.3 from dressage and completed an almost clear cround round (I had two time faults) but I was still in first place heading into show jumping Sunday. Let me just say, I didn’t sleep at all Saturday night. I was stressed out! Y’all know that feeling. I was so close to qualifying for AEC I could taste it!

Here I am, last to go in senior Beginner Novice, and I was so nervous. I hadn’t eaten anything; I was exhausted from not getting any sleep the night before because my pea brain wouldn’t shut off, and all I had to do was get over 12 jumps. Seems so simple, doesn’t it?

I went into the arena and rode completely backwards to jump one. I was probably going slower than a turtle at its fastest speed. I completely buried Tom to the first fence and like the saint he is, he didn’t touch the jump. I landed on the backside of that jump, and I literally said out loud to myself, “Eden, don’t choke. Ride like you know how to.”

Somehow, I did just that, and Tom and I completed show jumping double-clear, and I knew in that moment this wannabe eventer, 30-year hunter/jumper rider, was going to the AEC!

I am a very competitive rider. It just comes naturally. Now that the pressure of qualifying is off my shoulders, the pressure of the AEC is bigger than I imagined, and I must keep reminding myself that I’ve only been doing this for less than six months, and I’ve competed only four times. I know, with that alone I should be proud of myself, and I am, but I’m working hard to bring the competition, otherwise, what’s all this for?

See you at the American Eventing Championships!

Are you planning on attending the AEC this year and have a cool story? Let us know by emailing Lindsay at [email protected] for a chance to be featured on useventing.com

About the USEA American Eventing Championships (AEC)

The USEA American Eventing Championships (AEC) presented by Nutrena Feeds is the pinnacle of the sport at the national levels. Held annually, the best junior, adult amateur, and professional competitors gather to vie for national championship titles at every level from Starter to Advanced. This ultimate test of horse and rider draws hundreds of combinations from around the country to compete for fabulous prizes, a piece of the substantial prize money, and the chance to be named the National Champion at their respective levels. In fact, the 2021 AEC garnered over 1,000 entries and now stands as the largest eventing competition in North American history. The 2024 USEA American Eventing Championships presented by Nutrena Feeds will be held Aug. 27—Sept. 1 at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Kentucky. Click here to learn more about the USEA American Eventing Championships.

The USEA would like to thank Presenting Sponsor: Nutrena Feeds; Advanced Final Title Sponsor: Adequan; Platinum Level Sponsor: Bates Saddles, Horse & Country; Gold Level Sponsors: ARMA, Parker Equine Insurance, PulseVet, Schneiders Saddlery, Smartpak, Standlee; Silver Level Sponsors: Auburn Labs, Canter Culture Riding Apparel, Kerrits, The Jockey Club, Rood & Riddle; Bronze Level Sponsor: 70 Degrees, Athletux, The Chronicle of the Horse, D.G. Stackhouse & Ellis, Dubarry of Ireland, Equestrian Team Apparel, Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation, Kraft Horse Walkers, Retired Racehorses Project, Ride EquiSafe, Santa Cruz Animal Health; Contributing Level Sponsors: Cross Country App, Georgetown – Scott County Tourism, Lexmark, L.V. Harkness, #WeRideTogether; and Prize Level Sponsors: BEMER, Ecogold, EquiFit, Equilab, FarmVet, FLAIR Equine Nasal Strips, Horses 4 Your Consideration, I Love My Horse Eventing Boutique, Jack’s Favorites, Jane Heart Jewelry, Kentucky Equine Research, LeMieux, Mare Goods, Neighborly Tack, Outlaw Nutrition, Palmera Polo, Parkmore Supplements, Practical Horseman / Equine Network, Rachel Dory Equine Fine Art, Remond Minerals, Secretariat Center, Shapley’s, Sidelines Magazine, Strides for Equality Equestrians, and VTO Saddlery.