United States Eventing Association

USEA Horse of the Month: Luxury Mail

This year, The Dutta Corp. USEA Young Event Horse (YEH) West Coast Championships took place at Twin Rivers Ranch in Paso Robles, California on October 24-25, 2020 alongside the 2020 USEA Future Event Horse (FEH) West Coast Championships. Judged by Peter Gray and Debbie Adams, the YEH West Coast Championships had over double the number of entries from last year’s YEH West Coast Championships.

The highest jumping score out of any horse competing at The Dutta Corp. USEA YEH West Coast Championships was given to Adrienne Hillas's 5-year-old Selle Francias gelding Luxury Mail (Jaguar Mail x Aquidam) as he earned a 65.5 (out of 70) in the jumping phase. Luxury Mail was in 10^th place after the dressage and conformation phases but the 65.5 moved him up to first to secure the title of The Dutta Corp. USEA YEH West Coast 5-year-old Champion. He finished with a final score of 88.6 - the highest score given to any horse on the West Coast during the 2020 YEH and FEH Championships.

In addition, this is the highest final score seen in the YEH West Coast 5-year-old Championships in over three years. Last year, Mucho Me Gusto earned an 88.47 to be named the 2019 YEH West Coast 5-year-old Champion, and in 2018, MVP Madburn earned an 82.40 to be named the 2018 YEH West Coast 5-year-old Champion.

On both coasts, Luxury Mail was the only 2020 YEH Champion to be a graduate of the USEA FEH Program (FEH). Luxury Mail competed in the FEH West Coast Championships as a 3-year-old and last year as a 4-year-old, placing in the top five both times.

With this impressive result, Luxury Mail is the USEA November Horse of the Month!

Get to know more about this record-setting West Coast Champion from his owner/rider, Adrianne Hillas.

• Barn name?

“Remy.”

• Favorite treat

“Carrots and my fiancé Brett loves to feed him the occasional handful of Fruit Loops.”

• Personality traits?

“[He is] definitely an extrovert! He loves attention and he knows he’s handsome.”

• Likes?

“He loves massages, back scratches, and all his treats! He also loves when I mist water in his face.”

• Dislikes?

“Dressage, but we’re working on that!”

• Future plans?

“I would love to [earn] the [Holekamp/Turner] Grant to go to France to compete him in the 7-year-old Championship [at Mondial du Lion in Le Lion d’Angers, France]. And also going to the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event!

• Any other facts that you’d like to add?

“He’s just the biggest bundle of love and kindness - a total gentle giant. He also has vitiligo! So if you look closely, he has speckles on his nose that change depending on the time of year and how much sun he gets. Plus, he has polka-dotted soles on his hooves."

Miss any of the previous 2020 horses of the month? Find out about the USEA January Horse of the Month, USEA February Horse of the Month, USEA March Horse of the Month, USEA April Horse of the Month, USEA May Horse of the Month, USEA June Horse of the Month, USEA July Horse of the Month, USEA August Horse of the Month, USEA September Horse of the Month, and the USEA October Horse of the Month.

About the USEA Horse of the Month

The USEA is recognizing an event horse each month on the USEA website and social media. The USEA Horse of the Month is determined based on performance and event results and announced at the beginning of every month. The November Horse of the Month was determined by the performance at The Dutta Corp. USEA YEH West Coast Championships at Twin Rivers Ranch in Paso Robles, California.