United States Eventing Association

Triple 2024 Leadboard Winner No May Moon is on Her Way to the Top of the Sport

Allison Springer has always known that No May Moon was a special horse, but she didn’t quite expect the 2024 season they ended up having. With a big win in the MARS Bromont CCI4*-L (Quebec, Canada), a third-place finish at the Morven Park CCI4*-L (Leesburg, Virginia), and several top 5 placings at the Advanced level, “Mayzie” earned the 2024 Standlee USEA Horse of the Year award, as well as the Bates USEA Mare of the Year award. She also topped the 2024 Advanced Horse of the Year standings.

“I've known her since she was a foal, every step of the way,” said Springer of the mare, bred and owned by Nancy Winter. “I didn't really know what the next step would necessarily be. She was so little as a baby, and she still is little, but I don't think Nancy and I ever dreamt that she'd come this far and still have so much more to go. She was always so cute, and obviously she's pretty well-bred. I just let her cook at every level. I never, ever, thought I’d take her Preliminary, and I did, and then never thought I'd go Intermediate, then never thought I'd go Advanced.”

Mayzie made her first Advanced start at the Setters’ Run Carolina International (Raeford, North Carolina) in March 2024, but a frustrating rider error resulting in a technical elimination on cross-country ended their run. She went on to finish in the top 5 at Stable View (Aiken, South Carolina) and Fair Hill (Elkton, Maryland) in the Advanced divisions before her first CCI4*-S at Tryon International (Mill Spring, North Carolina) where she was fourth.

“I think stepping up to the Advanced level was, weirdly, her best step,” said Springer. “I had some question marks. Some of the horses get impressed by the width of the tables. That's a big change. I spent so much time at the three-star level, which is such an important level for horses to get education at, that when she stepped up to the Advanced level, she just understood and was ready to go. She went from strength to strength and just loved it.”

After those good runs in the spring, Springer knew Bromont could be an option, though she’d originally planned to wait until Rebecca Farm (Kalispell, Montana) to try a four-long.

“Bromont is such a fantastic event, and she just absolutely ate it up,” she said. “I think in the back of my mind I really wanted and knew I could get a top 5 finish at Bromont, if not better. But she was just super.”

After a third-place finish in the Advanced at Millbrook (New York), Springer and the 11-year-old Connemara cross (Catherston Dazzler x Ebony Moon) headed to the USEA American Eventing Championships presented by Nutrena Feeds (Lexington, Kentucky). Springer broke her hand on an Intermediate horse at the first jump on cross-country and was in severe pain the rest of the weekend. She still rode Mayzie and her other Advanced horse Van Dyke in the $60,000 Adequan USEA Advanced Final, but she lacked strength and control and picked up two runouts on cross-country with Mayzie.

“I'm glad they got the run, because it was super educational and a wonderful course, and the footing was excellent, but I was very disappointed to not have a top result there. But it's just how it goes sometimes,” she said.

The pair ended the year with a strong finish at Morven Park, a notoriously tough CCI4*-L track.

Before Morven, Mayzie got a tune-up from Phillip Dutton during a cross-country schooling. Springer, who had to sit out riding for a bit after healing from surgery on her broken hand, found it fun to watch as she’d never had anyone else ride the mare before.

And at Morven, as the first ones out on course, they went double-clear. “She was looking for the flags, and ate it right up, so that was fun,” said Springer. “I'm still learning so much as we go, because there are times where, I don't know, is she going to be able to march down and make this stride and jump all the way across? And she keeps doing it. Morven was great.”

Throughout Mayzie’s career, Springer has enjoyed a close friendship with Winter, who she’s known since she was a young rider growing up in Illinois.

“She’s always just been like family,” said Springer. “She's been just really easy in the sense that she's a true horsewoman, and she's already done this sport to the highest level, so she gets the highs and lows and understands producing horses and what it takes, and she's always just been really supportive of my decisions.”

Springer, Upperville, Virginia, also had a big 2024 personally as she turned 50. She says she feels like she’s only just starting to reach her peak.

“It's crazy. I think the best riders are in their 50s or beyond,” she said. “I love it. I'm going to carry on doing it. My boyfriend and I bought this new farm a year ago, so that's an amazing stage in our life together. I want to continue to carry on with these great horses and still get some young ones. It’s neat to be older. It's neat to be just have those experiences.”

She reflected on her former five-star horse Arthur, who was known to be tricky under saddle. “I always think, ‘Oh, I wish I could have had Arthur after many years of riding. That horse taught me so much. He was very tricky and spooky and all that. He was such a love, but he was a tough horse to compete and produce. But I think everything happens for a reason, and I'm sure he was put in my life to prepare me for horses like Mayzie and all these great horses right now.”

It's been a decade since Springer last competed in Europe and a few years since she had a horse capable of the five-star level. She’s excited for 2025 and isn’t counting out a five-star debut for Mayzie, but she’ll let the diminutive mare let her know the plan.

“She’s pretty extraordinary,” said Springer. “She's not easy at all. She's very, very athletic, but I think her desire to do it—I think there's an enormous amount of trust in me, and I have an enormous amount of trust in her too now. So that's a really good feeling. I want her to tell me every step of the way, and if that means doing more four star, and and potentially going to Europe—I've always been this way. I have a plan of what I think I might like to do, but then you really listen to the horse, and they tell you what they need and what's best for them.”