Bribery can get you far, but for young Allison Springer, it led to a lifetime of horse-crazy pursuits at the highest level of the eventing sport. Raised in the outskirts of Chicago in Barrington, Illinois, Allison and her city-grown parents were enjoying their new life in the country when she had the opportunity to ride a neighbor’s pony one day after school—and, as she describes it, “that’s how the disease begins for a little girl.”
Allison Springer and No May Moon may have taken the eventing world by storm with their recent victory at the MARS Bromont CCI4*-L (Quebec, Canada), but the journey began with a dream decades ago. Owned and bred by longtime eventing supporter, Nancy Hamill Winter, the 10-year-old Connemara Sport Horse mare had only just stepped up to the Advanced level this spring.
Allison Springer has been a constant presence on the international eventing circuit for decades, as a rider, trainer, coach and trailblazer. She was the first competitor to don an approved riding helmet instead of a top hat in the dressage phase of an eventing competition at the Kentucky Three-Day Event. She has multiple CCI4*-S wins to her credit, but until today, she had yet to add CCI4*-L winner to her resume.