United States Eventing Association

Smith and Mai Baum Leap into the Lead at MARS Maryland 5 Star

Elkton, Md.—Oct. 18—Nine years ago, Tamie Smith and Mai Baum traveled from their homebase in California and took the East Coast eventing scene by storm, winning the Dutta Corp. Fair Hill International CCI4*-L.

In the years since, the pair has represented the U.S. at the 2019 Pan American Games (Lima, Peru), completed multiple five-stars, been the traveling reserve for the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, and won the 2023 Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event.

It’s safe to say “Lexus” has become Smith’s horse of a lifetime, and they’ve returned to Fair Hill this year for the MARS Maryland 5 Star, which will be the 18-year-old German Sport Horse gelding’s (Loredano 2 x Ramira) final five-star.

The pair put in their usual polished dressage test today to score a 25.3 in front of judges Christina Klingspor (SWE), Valerie Pride (USA), and Xavier Le Sauce (FRA).

“It was great. I'm really pleased with him,” said Smith. “It was the best five-star test he's done. He feels really strong, and he was right with me and trying every step of the way. He's feeling like a million bucks. I mean, he feels like he's 10 again.”

Watch Smith's leading test via Clipmyhorse.tv:

Smith said she’s been riding on the flat with Ian Stark, who’s designed the cross-country course at Maryland since its inception in 2021 and serves as a cross-country advisor for the U.S. Eventing Team.

“Most people would find that to be odd, but he's quite good on the flat, and he just helped me get the horse really in front of the leg,” she said. “Once they know their job, they know their job, and it's mostly just been keeping him strong and healthy.”

The pair haven’t had the year Smith wanted as the gelding had a minor injury before the Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event which meant they stayed home. They were shortlisted for the Paris Olympics, but Smith opted to withdraw him from consideration after he missed some fitness runs.

“We’ve had bumps in the road our whole career; I think that's just part of eventing, but we had a little blip that ended up really bad timing,” she said. “It just happened to be an Olympic year, which is horrible, and it was dream-crushing, but it's not the end-all. Honestly, I'm really excited to be here at the Maryland 5 Star so I couldn't be more happy. As much as having that setback happen, you’ve just got to take the good with the bad and understand that. Somebody once told me that one bad thing might save you from a worse thing. So, that's the way I look at things.”

Lexus, who’s owned by Alex Ahearn, Ellen Ahearn, and Eric Markell, may be having his final five-star start this weekend, but Smith says he won’t be retired. She’s hoping to do CCI4*-S classes or featured classes like the Aiken Showcase with him in the future.

“It's hard, because at one point we were like, oh, maybe he needs to retire, because he got hurt [this spring], and we're thinking, oh, it might be bad, and then it wasn't,” she said. “I think we want him to go out of the sport feeling the way he feels today and not just running him ragged. Five-stars are hard, and the amount of work and and pressure and all the stuff to get a horse to that level, you always want them to be feeling at their prime. I'll do fun stuff on him, and I'm trying not to focus on the fact that this will be his last five-star. I thought that maybe I would be emotional, but I feel really happy because I'm just taking in every moment, because I may never sit on a horse like this again.”

Great Britain’s Oliver Townend is no stranger to Maryland, and he was on another veteran, the 17-year-old five-star winner Ballaghmor Class, slotting into second place behind Smith on a score of 26.5.

The Irish Sport Horse gelding (Courage II x Kilderry Place), who’s owned by Karyn Shuter, Angela Hislop, and Val Ryan, has never been to Maryland, so Townend thought he’d give it a try.

When asked about the gelding’s longevity, Townend said, “He's pretty much naturally a very fit horse, and he enjoys his job immensely, and sometimes it's keeping the excitement working for you rather than against you, but he's an incredibly tough, incredibly sound horse, and has been throughout his whole career.

“His enthusiasm for his job—I don't quite know what we're going to do with him once his job as an event horse has finished, because I can't see him doing too many other jobs with ease! So, we'll keep him going as long as he's able. He isn't going to be a happy hacker for somebody to go around the roads unfortunately!”

Townend said he likes to come back to support the world’s newest five-star and appreciates the hard work that goes into it.

“I love it here. We've been here every year since there's been a five-star on, and I think that for Maryland and Cecil County to put on a five-star with this incredible facility, unbelievable team behind it, and great prize money—they deserve to get every ounce of support they can from top-level competitors,” he said. “I love the atmosphere. I love the people's enthusiasm behind the event, and I'm a massive, massive fan of the entire venue.”

Great Britain’s Bubby Upton also crossed the pond with her longtime five-star partner Cola, a 14-year-old Holsteiner gelding (Catoki x Vanessa XII) owned by Rachel Upton, and they’re currently in third on 26.7.

Upton recovered from a severe spine injury last year and overcame the odds to compete at Badminton (England) this spring with Cola, where they finished 10^th. He was her young rider horse, so their strong partnership will see them through tomorrow’s track.

“For me, it was what happened in the last year which kind of changed my decision and had a part to play in [coming to Maryland,]” she explained. “I just wanted to make the most of the time I had with Cola and get the most experience possible with him. After Badminton, I had a little plan in my head. I thought, he's done Burghley, he's done Pau, and he was incredible at both. He’s not got that much Thoroughbred in him, so Burghley took quite a lot out of him. I thought we'd try something new. It's an incredible opportunity for me. It’s my first-ever time in America, let alone competing here. It feels incredibly special. Every T is crossed and I is dotted, and it's just the most incredible event. I feel very lucky to be here with such a special horse to me as well.”

Helpful Links

• Maryland 5 Star Website
• USEA Prize List
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• Order of Go
• Schedule of Events
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