United States Eventing Association

This is the 26th entry in the USEA’s Member Story Series. Help us reach our goal of over 300 stories – email your story to Leslie.

My name is Allegra Aiuto, and I am a high school senior/ nomadic eventer who started off in California, now goes to school in Virginia and has found my self in South Carolina for the last few months.

It all began with my best friend Taylor and I in the first grade telling stories of our magical ponies that we “owned” (Unfortunately these ponies never actually existed. Sigh.) We were, however, lucky enough to have parents that gave into our pleas for riding lessons and at some point that year, we began together at a local Eventing barn. Taylor and I rode together for a few years and I have to say I was jealous that she could canter a fence while I was having trouble cantering at all (that darn Pentrick was rather lazy if I do say so myself). A few years went by and for my eleventh birthday my non-horsey parents gave in and bought me my first horse. Harley was a 14-year-old, 15.3, anglo-arab/quarter horse cross who had evented through Preliminary and had a heart of gold. We did everything from Halloween dress-up with the Pony Club to Eventing through the CCI* classic format. Did I mention that being 13-years-old at a long format I held on for dear life while Harley trucked my butt around the course? We will just put it that I owe everything to that horse. In 2007, Harley suffered a minor foreleg fracture while on steeplechase and his prognosis for returning to competition was low. I am happy to say however, that after a year and a half rest, Harley is now a happy, 21-year-old lesson horse showing the ropes of Eventing to kids up through Training level.

Everything happens for a reason and, as it was, enter Spot Me One (aka Billee) about three weeks after Harley’s injury. Billee was an eight-year-old English Thoroughbred who had evented through the 2* level. Billee and I spent a year together at Preliminary and then when I was 15, he helped me around my first few Intermediate horse trials. In 2009, Billee and I made the trek to NAYRC and came back with two bronze medals. Just after Young Riders, Billee was diagnosed with EPM and though he was expected to have a full recovery (as full as an EPM horse can recover) and hopefully continue Eventing but he told us otherwise. After about a year of rest and then an attempt at a Training level come-back, Billee told me that he “just couldn’t do it mom”. Billee now resides in New York and I am told he is rocking the cross-rail jumpers with a very lucky adult amateur rider. So where does that leave me? I am sitting in Aiken, in pursuit of my next horse. Luckily, I have a great trainer, Mara DePuy and some wonderful friends who have kept me riding since retiring Billee in August. I look forward to finding my partner for the next leg of my riding carrier and making a return to the show world.