United States Eventing Association

The Gift of a Lifetime: Greengard Reflects on Le Lion Experience Thanks to Holekamp/Turner Grant and Dutta Corp. Prize

When That’s Me Z won the USEA Young Event Horse West Coast 5-Year-Old Championship in 2022, his co-owners Tommy Greengard and Andrea Pfeiffer knew that competing at the FEI WBFSH Eventing World Championships for Young Horses at Mondial du Lion in Le Lion d'Angers, France, in two years time was the ultimate goal for the promising young Zangersheide (Take A Chance On Me Z x Venetia) gelding.

As the gelding’s 7-year-old year drew closer, Greengard, who has had the ride on “Z” for his entire USEA career, grew more and more excited for the opportunity to not only take his first trip overseas to compete but to also represent the United States and showcase this athletic young horse at the biggest young horse eventing championship in the world.

Earlier this summer, Z was named the recipient of the Holekamp/Turner Grant and Dutta Corp. Prize, which is awarded to the highest-scoring graduate of the USEA 5-Year-Old Championships who also qualified for Le Lion, and Greengard saw that dream become a reality.

“This entire experience was a dream that kind of fell into our lap,” said Greengard. “He took us by surprise when he won the 5-year-olds two years ago, and we just kept working to tick the boxes in hopes that we would receive this grant, because, to be quite frank, without that grant, none of this would have ever happened.”

With their sights set on Le Lion, Greengard and Z packed up in July and made their way overseas to base with legendary five-star eventers Tim and Jonelle Price as they prepared for what many refer to as the Olympics for young horses. Greengard was so appreciative of the opportunity to learn from the Prices in the lead-up and help solidify both his and Z’s education before they trotted their way down the centerline.

“Jonelle really helped make my cross-country riding so much smoother and more efficient,” he noted. “She really helped with some of Z’s confidence cross-country, which was terrific because then he went and skipped around at Le Lion, and everything felt very within his wheelhouse, which was our biggest hope for him—that he would come away from this experience as a very confident horse.”

Neither Z nor Greengard looked like they lacked any confidence all weekend long as they held their own in an impressively competitive 64-horse field, never falling outside of the top-20 following all phases. And in the cross-country phase, the pair only added 3.2 time penalties to their dressage score of 29.4 across a difficult and very atmosphere-filled track.

“He was just fantastic,” remarked Greengard. “We quite literally couldn’t have asked any more of him. He exceeded every expectation and hope we had for him and was a true professional. Lion can be quite tricky, because it's the first time that these young horses have the crowd which can make them a bit sensitive, and for Z to just take all of that in stride bodes really well for his future.”

Greengard is extremely grateful for all of the support that Pfeiffer, and her husband James Pfeiffer, have had in him and Z throughout their entire career together. Z first came to Andrea’s attention in 2022, just a few months prior to the 2022 USEA YEH West Coast Championships, when Matt Flynn, whom she sources several horses overseas from, sent her Z’s details. The horse has done nothing but exceed their expectations with each competition they have completed.

“For me and Andrea, this was a culmination of two years of dreaming and hoping and dotting our I's and crossing our T’s,” said Greengard. “To have the support of the entire barn and the entire West Coast eventing community was so amazing. Everyone was so excited for us and excited for me to go and learn more and take on this opportunity and just get some more experience. When I set off to go to England in July, I just wanted to learn more and get more experience to be better. There wasn't any concrete competition goal other than just to have more understanding, ride more confidently, and just try to learn more. And I think that very much has been the highlight of this trip, and it really culminated with Z going so well and being so confident when he went into show jumping on Sunday morning. It was wonderful that that horse went into the show that came on Sunday as full of confidence in jumping as well as he did at the beginning of the competition.”

And while results like what they had at Le Lion, where they finished in 16th amongst a very strong pack, are rewarding for Greengard, developing young horses like Z is all about the journey for him.

“We just have such a fun time seeing their personalities and strengths come through,” he said. “That is one of the things we love about the Young Event Horse program—while not every single one of them is going to be a five-star horse, the program is such a great platform for them their get their careers started. It's such a crucial step in the development of young horses, regardless of what they go on to do. We have always found it to be a really good milestone in their progression towards being competition horses.”

The allocation of the Holekamp/Turner Grant and Dutta Corp. Prize is just an added bonus to all that the YEH program has to offer.

“The grant gives us all who produce young horses in the States something to get excited for and hope for. I would say that all of us that do the YEH Championships hope for the opportunity to showcase our young horses on a stage like Le Lion, and without that grant funding being there, I don’t think those hopes would be there. I know certainly for me and Andrea, it opened that door for us to even consider that possibility, which was a gift in itself. I am so grateful to the USEA and those who support the Holekamp/Turner Grant and the Dutta Corp. prize for making this available. And, of course, thank you to the very long list of people who have supported me on this journey.”

About the USEA Young Event Horse (YEH) Program

The Young Event Horse (YEH) Program was first established in 2004 as an eventing talent search. Much like similar programs in Europe, the YEH program was designed to identify young horses aged four- and five-years-old, that possess the talent and disposition to, with proper training, excel at the uppermost levels of the sport. The ultimate goal of the program is to distinguish horses with the potential to compete at the four- and five-star levels, but many fine horses that excel at the lower levels are also showcased by the program.

The YEH program provides an opportunity for breeders and owners to exhibit the potential of their young horses while encouraging the breeding and development of top event horses for the future. The program rewards horses who are educated and prepared in a correct and progressive manner. At qualifying events, youngsters complete a dressage test and a jumping/galloping/general impression phase. At Championships, young horses are also evaluated on their conformation in addition to the dressage test and jumping/galloping/general impression phase. Click here to learn more about the Young Event Horse Program.

The USEA would like to thank ARMA, Bates Saddles, Schneiders Saddlery, HorseWeek, Kerrits, Parker Equine Insurance, SmartPak, Standlee, and The Jockey Club for sponsoring the Young Event Horse Program. Additionally, the USEA would like to thank The Dutta Corp., Title Sponsor of the Young Event Horse Championships.

About The Holekamp/Turner Grant

Founded in 2015 by Timothy and Cheryl Holekamp of New Spring Farm and Christine and T.J. Turner of Indian Creek Farm, the Holekamp/Turner Grant provides a USEA Young Event Horse (YEH) Championship competitor with the opportunity to represent the United States at the FEI Eventing World Breeding Championships in the 7-year-old CCIYH3*-L Championship at Mondial du Lion in Le Lion d’Angers, France. With the sole purpose of paving a clear pathway for U.S. team horses to progress in the sport of eventing, recipients who are North American-bred will be awarded the full cash grant of $17,500, while imported horses are awarded $8,000. Additionally, The Dutta Corp. offers a prize to the Holekamp/Turner Grant recipient, consisting of a round trip flight from the Eastern United States to Europe.