United States Eventing Association

The Race to Lion: MBF Cooley Permission To Land is the 2021 Recipient of the Holekamp/Turner Grant and The Dutta Corp. Prize

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: The United States Eventing Association (USEA) is pleased to announce that Cole Horn’s MBF Permission To Land is the 2021 recipient of the Holekamp/Turner Grant and The Dutta Corp. prize! MBF Cooley Permission To Land (Cobra x Deeply Dippy K) is a 7-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding ridden and owned by Cole Horn and bred by Knightfield Stud. The pair will represent the U.S. at the 2021 FEI Eventing World Breeding Championships for Young Horses in the 7-year-old CCIYH3*-L Championship. The Championship will take place at Mondial du Lion in Le Lion d’Angers, France on October 21-24, 2021.

The intention of the Holekamp/Turner Grant is to further develop an upward pathway for U.S. team horses in the sport of eventing. The grant recipients who are North American bred are awarded the full cash grant of $17,500. If the winner is an imported horse, he will be awarded $8,000. Since MBF Cooley Permission To Land was imported from Ireland in 2018, he will be awarded $8,000. He will also receive The Dutta Corp. prize which is one round-trip flight to Europe.

The horse that has the highest score from the 2019 USEA Young Event Horse (YEH) Championships that is also qualified to compete in the 7-year-old Championship receives the Holekamp/Turner Grant. If the highest-scoring YEH horse from the 2019 YEH Championships does not qualify or is unable to attend, the grant is then awarded to the next highest scorer who is qualified and able to go.

The last day to qualify for the 7-year-old CCIYH3*-L Championship was on Tuesday, Sept. 20, and to qualify, a horse must complete the Minimum Eligibility Requirements (MER) which is one CCI2*-L and one CCI3*-S both with zero jump penalties on cross-country and a maximum of four jump penalties in the show jumping.

MBF Cooley Permission To Land obtained his qualifications at Ocala International CCI2*-L in April 2021 and at River Glen H.T. CCI3*-S in August 2021. Since the pair has moved up to the Intermediate level, they have won every Intermediate level event they’ve entered including the CCI3*-S at River Glen, the Intermediate at the Horse Park of New Jersey H.T., and the Intermediate at Stable View Summer H.T.

This year there was a large field of eligible horses and five total that obtained full qualifications including Camarillo (Chicardo x Rehobeth) an American-bred German Sport Horse, owned and ridden by Doug Payne and bred by Elizabeth Callihan who would have received the grant but passed due to travel concerns and D’Luxe Steel (Up To Date x Nicola D) a Dutch Warmblood gelding owned by Jeanne Shigo and ridden by Andrew McConnon is unable to compete due to a rider injury. Cerafino D (Cayado 3 x Serafina II), a Holsteiner gelding ridden by Buck Davidson and owned by Carl Segal and Kathleen Cuca was also fully qualified but opted not to enter in the CCIYH3* Championship.

DHI Showman (Elvis Ter Putte x Bubertha) a Warmblood gelding owned by Sami Crandell and ridden by Buck Davidson, and MBF Cooley Permission To Land (Cobra x Deeply Dippy K) an Irish Sport Horse gelding ridden and owned by Cole Horn will both be competing in the 7-year-old CCIYH3* Championship at Mondial du Lion. These two horses also both competed in the 2019 USEA YEH 5-year-old Championships. Since MBF Cooley Permission To Land received a higher score than DHI Showman at the 2019 USEA YEH Championships, the Holekamp/Turner Grant and The Dutta Corp. prize is awarded to MBF Cooley Permission to Land.

The USEA would like to wish the best of luck to the pairs representing the U.S. at Mondial du Lion! Stay tuned to the USEA website to follow along for updates and information.

About the Holekamp/Turner Grant

The Holekamp/Turner Grant was founded in 2015 by Timothy and Cheryl Holekamp of New Spring Farm and Christine and T.J. Turner of Indian Creek Farm. The grant awards the highest scorer of the USEA Young Event Horse 5-year-old Championships, both East and West Coast Championships combined, with a cash prize that enables them to travel to Mondial du Lion in Le Lion d’Angers, France to compete in the 2021 FEI Eventing World Breeding Championships for Young Horses in the 7-year-old CCIYH3*-L Championship. The eligibility of the grant remains with the horse, regardless of change of rider after the YEH 5-year-old Championships, but for the Holekamp/Turner Grant, only USEF-sponsored 7-year-old entries will qualify. Thus, only horses ridden by United States citizens will be eligible. Click here for more information about the grant.

About The Dutta Corp. Prize

As a title sponsor of the USEA YEH Championships, The Dutta Corporation will generously provide one round trip flight from the east coast of the United States to travel to Europe for the Mondial du Lion. This prize will be awarded to the Holekamp/Turner Grant recipient and will commence in 2021.

The Dutta Corporation is an international and domestic horse shipping company founded by J. Tim Dutta. The leading company in horse transport has been rapidly expanding since its inception in 1988 and particularly so in the last twenty years. Click here for more information on The Dutta Corporation.

About the USEA Young Event Horse 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 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 Bates Saddles, SmartPak, Standlee Premium Western Forage, Parker Equine Insurance, Etalon Diagnostics, and Saratoga Horseworks 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.

The USEA would also like to thank Timothy Holekamp of New Spring Farm and his family and Christine Turner of Indian Creek Farm and her family for spearheading this grant and raising funds to support it.