United States Eventing Association

The Future Looks Fine at the 2019 USEA FEH Central Championships

The future superstars of eventing competed today at the 2019 USEA Future Event Horse (FEH) Central Championships at Haras Hacienda in Magnolia, Texas. The judges, Peter Gray and Chris Ryan are in the midst of their 2019 USEA FEH Championships tour with three stops on the itinerary - California, Texas, and Maryland. Their second stop took place today, in Texas, and had a total of 18 horses. Out of those 18, Gray and Ryan named four new champions, and much like the 2019 USEA FEH West Coast Championships, all four champions were born in U.S.

“It was a high-quality show run by Jayne Lloyd. She organized a destination event at a superb venue. The prizes and ribbons were beautiful. We saw some really good quality horses and a definite upgrade from last year. [It was] an exciting competition for the program,” said Gray.

The day started at 9:00 a.m. with the youngest age group - the yearlings. Three yearling colts competed in the Championship, and the Thoroughbred colt, At The Moment (Saketini x Shezagreatgal) came out on top. Winning the Championship with a score of 81, Audrea Dyer explains, “I’m very pleased with him. He has an amazing walk and an amazing mind.” Owned and bred by Dyer, the bay Thoroughbred lives in Ocala, Fla. on Dyer’s farm. “We’re from Ocala, so we drove 17 hours to come here. He’s never been in a trailer that long and this is his third time ever off the farm. I’m excited to see what he can do.”

“He’s everyone’s favorite around the barn, he loves to give kisses and is a laid back, easy going guy. I pony him off of his dad, Saketini. It’s really cool to look over and see the same set of ears, one in front of me and one to the side,” said Dyer.

Debbie Fulllove’s Deanfield Dileas (Braveheart x Jaddabreathe) an Irish Sport Horse colt scored a 79.65 to finish second in the Yearling Championship and Lauryn Tevebaugh’s WHR Legend Has It (Legacy Obsidian x Caret) was close behind with a score of 79.03 to finish third. The colts took over the Yearling Championship as there were no fillies entered.

Next in the triangle were the 2-year-old's that had a total of five horses - three colts and two fillies. The highest placed filly was Anna Pierce’s Trakehner filly, AMP Chantilly Lace (Platinum vom Rappenhoff x Cast a Glow) who scored a 75.6.

Taking top honors in the 2-year-old Championship was Cynthia Hall’s 2-year-old Hanoverian colt, Baldhart WS (Callaho’s Benicio x Winessa) that scored an impressive score of 83.08 with Martin Douzant as the handler.

“An April Fools’ baby,” is what Cynthia Hall described of the flashy chestnut colt. Born on April 1, 2017, the Hanoverian colt was specifically bred just for Hall. “I knew that I wanted a foal out of his dam, Winessa. I got to meet his sire in Germany and just fell in love with him. So, [Baldhart WS] was mine before they bred him. He is a custom baby, [bred] just for me.”

“He’s my little giraffe,” said Hall when explaining his barn name. “We’re calling him Baby G because he looked like a giraffe when he was first born. [He was] bred and born in Texas, about twenty minutes down the road at Walkabout Station. He now lives with me, at Live Oaks Lane. He’s the quietest one in the barn. He hasn’t figured out that he’s a stallion yet - I have five mares in my barn and he doesn’t talk to them,” said Hall.

The biggest division of the day was the 3-year-old division with a total of seven horses, and six of them were mares. The Irish Sport Horse gelding, Falconwood’s Glacier (Florianus II x Fire N Ice) owned by Kelley Kays scored a respective 77.44.

The striking bay mare, Dark Shadows d’Avalon (Dracula d Avalon x Chanel d’Avalon) was the judges favorite in both conformation and the jump chute. Known as ‘Ella,’ the Oldenburg mare earned a final score of 81.69 to earn the title of the 2019 USEA FEH Central 3-year-old Champion.

"She is a total sweetheart who always comes out and does her job,” said her owner, Marcella Pinell. Bred by Avalon Equine in Windwood, Oklahoma, Pinell acquired the mare, “when she was six months old. I heard about her breeder and knew that they breed for temperament. That’s something I wanted - a horse that could perform and one that has a good head on their shoulders.”

The last and final division was the 4-year-old division, and it was 5o1 Kiva Han (Soprano x Adelaide) that won with a score of 81.25. Owned by Erin Jameson and Jacob Fletcher, the 4-year-old Oldenburg gelding was bred by a local breeder in Little Rock, Arkansas.

“He's a giant puppy dog. He loves everybody, and he loves his snacks,” said Jameson.

“I work for Jacob Fletcher, and we wanted a young one to start and we found this one. His barn name is Dunkin, like Dunkin Donuts. Kiva Han was the first coffee shop in Istanbul, so I wanted to give him a coffee themed name.”

Congratulations to everyone who competed in the 2019 USEA FEH Central Championships! Stay tuned for the 2019 USEA FEH East Coast Championships at Loch Moy Farm in Adamstown, Md. on Saturday, Sept. 28 and Sunday, Sept. 29.

The 2019 USEA FEH West Coast Championships took place on Sept. 19 in Paso Robles, Calif. at Twin Rivers Ranch. Click here for the USEA coverage.

After the completion of all three Championships, the FEH National Awards presented by Guardian Horse Bedding will be awarded to the highest scoring yearling, 2-year-old, 3-year-old, and 4-year-old. Each National Award winner will be given a $500 prize check as well as an engraved trophy courtesy of Guardian Horse Bedding. Learn more about the awards here. Champions will also earn the chance to win a Minipanel PLUS test from Etalon Diagnostics. Learn more about those prizes here.

For full results of the 2019 USEA FEH Central Championships, please see below.

About the USEA Future Event Horse Program

The USEA introduced the Future Event Horse Program in 2007 in response to the popularity of the already established USEA Young Event Horse Program. Where the YEH program assesses 4- and 5-year-old prospective event horses based on their performance, the FEH program evaluates yearlings, 2-year-olds, 3-year-olds, and 4-year-olds for their potential for the sport based on conformation and type. Yearlings, 2-year-olds, and 3-year-olds are presented in-hand while 4-year-olds are presented under saddle at the walk, trot, and canter before being stripped of their tack and evaluated on their conformation. Divisions are separated by year and gender. At the Championships, 3-year-olds and 4-year-olds are also required to demonstrate their potential over fences in an additional free-jump division. Click here to learn more about the Future Event Horse Program.

The USEA would like to thank Bates Saddles, SmartPak, Standlee Hay Company, C4 Belts, Etalon Diagnostics and Guardian Horse Bedding for sponsoring the Future Event Horse Program.