California eventer Tamie Smith had a big victory on home turf at the 2020 Galway Downs International on Halloween weekend, winning the USEF CCI3*-L Eventing National Championship with Elliot-V, an 11-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding owned by Smith’s student, Luisa Southworth.
Smith took over the ride on Elliot-V when Southworth left for college, and he’s become an exceptional horse at the Intermediate level.
“We did our first Intermediate here last fall,” said Smith. “I did my second Intermediate at the CCI3*-S at Woodside three weeks ago to get him qualified for this weekend. He was great there and then he was just super here this weekend.”
Smith and Elliot-V took a narrow early lead with a 29.8 in dressage, putting them just barely ahead of Asia Vedder and Isi, who scored a 29.9. But Smith held her lead with a double clear cross-country and just 0.4 time faults in show jumping.
For 2020, Clayton Fredericks took over the task of designing the cross-country course at Galway, and it suited Elliot-V well.
“It was an awesome, super galloping course,” said Smith. “A little bit twisty here and there, but it was great. Clayton and [course builder] Bert Wood did a great job on the design. I was first out, so we weren’t sure how the time was going to be, but that horse has such a ginormous gallop stride that it was great.”
Vedder and Isi, her own 10-year-old Thoroughbred/Holsteiner gelding, maintained their second-place standing through all three phases, with only 1.2 time penalties from cross-country day and 4 jumping and 0.4 time penalties in show jumping.
Andrea Baxter and her 10-year-old Holsteiner/Thoroughbred gelding, Laguna Seca, rounded out the top three in the USEF CCI3*-L National Championship, finishing fifth overall in the division with a score of 44.0.
The National Young Riders Championship for the John H. Fritz Trophy is awarded to the highest placed U.S. citizen in the USEF National Young Rider Eventing Championships, which is open to riders ages 16 through 21. For 2020, Charlotte Babbitt took home the John H. Fritz Trophy with her own Dutch Warmblood gelding, 2 A.M. Sophie Click was Reserve Champion with her own and Amy Click’s 9-year-old Holsteiner gelding, Quidproquo.
This year’s event marked the first time that the USEF CCI3* National Championship has been held on the West Coast, and after a challenging 2020 season marked by event cancellations and unexpected changes, a successful event was a welcome occurrence.
“Galway Downs really pulled out all the stops to make it an amazing National Championship,” said Smith. “We’re grateful that they really stepped up to the plate. I can see the competition growing into a great event. It was really fun because it’s my hometown and it’s the West Coast, and I really wanted it to run the way it did for the east coasters coming out here to show that we have great events out here. It was super to have the support.”
Being spontaneous has paid off for Kevin Keane and Sportsfield Candy. “I bought him on a Wednesday and showed him on a Thursday,” Keane recalls about his first event with his Irish Sport Horse gelding, then 9 years old, at Plantation Field Horse Trials (Unionville, Pennsylvania) in September 2016. “I owned him for part of a day, and the next morning I showed up at a CCI and jogged him up for a two-star, and we went clean and clean and clean.”
THANK YOU to everyone who has already entered the USEF/USEA Recognized CDCTA Spring Horse Trials scheduled for Sunday, April 9 in Berryville, VA. We will continue to take late entries through Friday, March 24 using USEA’s Xentry system. If you still want to come compete, please enter! The late fee has been waived through Friday, March 24.
The U.S. Equestrian Federation announces the appointment of long-term US Equestrian employee Hallye Griffin as Director of FEI Sport. Griffin will assume the duties of former Director of FEI/High-Performance Sport, Graeme Thom, who has chosen to step away from his role to attend to personal matters.
The United States Eventing Association, Inc. (USEA) is thrilled to announce that Sidelines Magazine will not only be returning as a “Media Partner of U.S. Eventing,” but they will also be supporting the Association as a “Contributing Level Sponsor of the USEA Emerging Athletes U21 Program” and a “Prize Level Sponsor of the USEA American Eventing Championships.” Sidelines Magazine will give the USEA additional promotion and exposure through their printed and digital media products, while also providing prizes for participants at the AEC and EA21 clinics.