Nestled among the Wasatch Mountain Range in Ogden, Utah lies the Golden Spike Event Center, home of the Golden Spike Horse Trials. For the past 32 years, the Wasatch Pony Club has organized the Golden Spike Horse Trials, welcoming riders from all over the West to experience the beauty of Utah and one of two USEA recognized events in the state. The USEA was on site this year at Golden Spike to witness the event, and now we're taking a look back through the lens. To read up on the Charles Owen Technical Merit award at Golden Spike, click here.
When Will Coleman, the overnight leader in the Cosequin Lexington CCI4*-S division at the Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event, walked Derek di Grazia’s cross-country track, he knew time was going to play a major factor in how the results would shake out upon the completion of the second phase.
“I really love riding the horses,” said Michael Jung. “I do it every day— riding the horses, training the horses, going to many, many competitions. I am really into the sport and with horses. I know it can go wrong all the time. So I try to go out, do my best, take care of the horse; if it went wrong, OK. It can happen, now you just be prepared for the next day.”
The time was tough to make in the Cosequin Lexington CCI4*-S this morning at the Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event, and cross-country course designer Derek di Grazia made it just as tough in the CCI5*-L as well with just one rider making the optimum time of 11 minutes and 20 seconds—and somehow managing to do it twice on both of his entries!
In Derek di Grazia’s CCI4*-S cross-country course this morning at the Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event, there were two obvious challenges: the time and the Mighty Moguls question early on in the course at fence 4.