For the first of three days for the Heart of the Carolinas Three-Day Event, taking place at Southern Eighths Farm in Chesterfield, SC, April 29-May 1, three divisions were featured: Beginner Novice Three-Day, Novice Three-Day and a SmartPak/USEA Training Three-Day. In the Dressage, Jim Baker and Wings are leading the way in Beginner Novice with a score of 42.3. Anne Lane Maunder and Penny Lane are leading in Novice on a score of 29.3 and Sarah Morton and Conference Call head up the Training level riders with a score of 29.6.
Sarah Morton and Conference Call
"I felt like I had a really good test,” commented Sarah after her ride. “I was a little mad with myself because I forgot a halt but even with the atmosphere out there he put his head down and went to work and stayed right there.”
Conference Call, an 8-year-old American Thoroughbred, is owned by Diane Lemmon, who is also his farrier. “She bought him as a two-year-old off the track,” explained Sarah. “I got the opportunity to break him. She and I have both competed with him and I was lucky to get him this weekend.
“He is still a little green but he’s got a really good head on his shoulders. When he is relaxed he is floating on air. He’s got a beautiful huge stride but it is very adjustable. It’s taken a while to get it together because he is so big but when he relaxes he is very eye catching.”
When asked about her plan for the rest of the weekend, especially the Cross Country, Sarah was quick to comment, “I plan to keep flippin kickin. He’s not as brave as I would like yet but hopefully we’ll get a good run this weekend. We did a Steeplechase school today and that helped and hopefully that will carry him for the Cross Country.”
Anne Lane Maunder and Penny Lane
Anne, originally from England, now lives in Tryon, NC. Penny Lane is a 15-year-old, chestnut, Holsteiner, mare owned by Alice Vaughan.
“I am thrilled but very surprised,” remarked Anne. “She was super in the Dressage. I was not so super but she was. She never lets me down. She can dump me in the warm-up but she will never let me down when it matters and she will not even trot for anyone else. When I put my students on she won’t even move. The two redheads have an understanding.”
In order to maintain her lead Annie plans to “close my eyes, kick and pray, which is my usual strategy. My biggest fear is that I might get lost on Roads & Tracks.”
This isn’t the first time Annie is at Southern Eighths. “I came here last fall for a clinic with Becky Holder and I think it is absolutely super,” she remarked “What Brad is doing for this sport is super. The sport is changing and he is helping it get back to where it used to be.”
Anne chuckled when she thought about the “used to be.” Now in her 50s, she’s been riding since she was five years old and her first event was when she was 8 years old which was 50 years ago, but she still has fond memories of those earlier years.
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Jim Baker and Wings
Jim Baker and Wings are leading in the Beginner Novice with a score of 41.5. Despite the fact that they are the sole competitors in that division, it’s clear that Wings has got what it takes to have a future in Eventing, but for this event Jim is watching him with care.
“He lost a shoe and so I’m a little concerned about the rest of the weekend but I’ve changed his care program to adapt to that."
Wings is just 7-years-old and an Irish Thoroughbred, who was pastured until he was five and never handled. “He’s only been under saddle for a year,” explained Jim. “All of this is very new to him. He’s got an amazing head about him and an amazing attitude so if I don’t screw it up we’ll do fine. After a year now working with him we are just now bonding.”
Jim’s first priority is his horse’s soundness, which means he’ll take both his height and his feet into consideration. “He is over 18 hands. He has a huge stride. He could trot phase A and be fast. So the strategy on A and C is to mix the gaits - walk, trot and canter - so you use all the muscle groups. A strategy of picking and choosing so I don’t overuse or over exert his energy. A and C are the phases where you want to conserve energy.”
Heart of the Carolinas is being run in the Long Format, which means the Endurance phase will include both Roads & Tracks and Steeplechase in addition to the Cross Country. At the Beginner Novice level they won’t be jumping any fences, but the Novice and Training level riders will. Instead they will be galloping a figure-8.
“The Steeplechase as a figure 8 is tough on a young horse because they have to change leads four times,” explained Jim. “Young horses don’t always know how to change leads plus the curves are tighter so that slows them down. So that takes more effort than the actual Steeplechase where they gallop around twice in the same direction and jump a total of four fences.”
Jim, Sarah and Anne along with the other competitors are all looking forward to an incredible Cross Country day. They are all in awe of the Southern Eighths facilities which will give them a true challenge at each of their respective levels.
RESULTS
BEGINNER-NOVICE
1-Wings, James Baker, 42.3
NOVICE
1-Penny Lane, Anne Lane-Maunder, 29.3
2-Orkney HP, Lisa Gerdon, 35
3-Emily Bug, Jeannette Ford, 39.3
4-A Splash of Henry, Briana Timmerman, 42.6
TRAINING
1-Conference Call, Sarah Morton, 29.6
2-EZ, Becky Brown, 32.9
3-Cor de Chasse, Jennifer Davis, 34.6
4-Lily B, Risa Moon, 35.4
5-AFW Ami Fidele, Linda Dahlgren, 39.5
The CCI5*-L field was narrowed by one this afternoon following the first horse inspection on High Hope Inspection Lane at the 2025 Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event. Horse and rider pairs were looking their best, with a few horses demonstrating their readiness for the upcoming competition through their flamboyant behavior (we're looking at you Bronte Beach Z and Dyri).
The man, the myth, the legend himself, Derek di Grazia is back in his typical fashion at this year's Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event and he has designed some beautiful tracks for both the CCI5*-L and CCI4*-S competitions this year. You can get a first look at these amazing courses as well as some insider interviews with di Grazia himself thanks to our friends at the CrossCountry App!
It's the most wonderful time of the year—and we aren't talking about the holiday season. Welcome to 2025 Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event (K3DE) week! This week the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Kentucky, will be crawling with eventing lovers from all across the globe for the first five-star of the 2025 season and the USEA is excited to once again be onsite for all of the action.
The USEA is saddened to hear of the sudden passing of Dr. Timothy “Tim” Holekamp on April 19. He was 79.