United States Eventing Association

Which YEH Graduates are entered in the 2022 LRK3DE?

The 2022 Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event will take place April 27 to May 1, and this year has a star-studded entry list. The entries consist of the only two Rolex Grand Slam winners (Pippa Funnell and Michael Jung), the full U.S. Tokyo Olympic team riders, and 10 USEA Young Event Horse (YEH) graduate horses.

William Coleman and Tamra Smith will both be riding two horses that have graduated from the YEH program. There are two YEH graduates who were the recipients of the Holekamp/Turner Lion d’Angers Grant, and there are two YEH graduates making their five-star debut. The 10 YEH graduate horses include Dondante, Let It Be Lee, Fleeceworks Royal, Emporium, Covert Rights, Tsetserleg, Off The Record, Quantum Leap, Mai Baum, and PFun.

#2 - Dondante is an Irish Sport Horse gelding (Pacino x Muckno Clover) owned by Team Rebecca LLC and ridden by William Coleman. As a 5-year-old, Dondante finished third with a score of 81.96 in the 2015 USEA YEH East Coast 5-year-old Championship with Coleman in the irons. The now 12-year-old gelding completed his first five-star competition at the 2021 Maryland 5 Star where he finished within the top 15. Dondante’s last two outings he won – he was the winner of the CCI4*-S at the Carolina International Horse Trials in March, and he was the winner of the Advanced division at The Fork at TIEC in April.

#16 - Let It Be Lee (Bernstein x Sugaree) a 14-year-old Thoroughbred gelding owned by Donna Biggs and ridden by Elisa Wallace will be making his five-star debut. One of his first eventing competitions was at Rebecca Farm in 2013 where he competed in the YEH 5-year-old division with Suzy Elliott as the rider. The now 14-year-old gelding has collected many top placings including 11 top-three finishes.

#17 – Fleeceworks Royal (Riverman x Marisol) is a 13-year-old American bred Holsteiner mare owned by Judith McSwain, ridden by Tamra Smith, bred by Charlotte Wrather, and graduated from the YEH program in 2014. She was Reserve Champion at the 2013 USEA YEH 4-year-old West Coast Championship and the following year, in 2014, she was the Champion at the USEA YEH 5-year-old West Coast Championship. Two years later, she was the 2016 Holekamp/Turner Lion d’Angers Grant recipient where she and Smith represented the U.S. at the FEI World Breeding Eventing 7-year-old Championship at La Mondial du Lion in Le Lion d’Angers, France. Smith and Fleeceworks Royal jumped double clear on cross-country and finished 24th in the 7-year-old Championship.

Since then, Fleeceworks Royal has collected top placings at every level. In 2018, Fleeceworks Royal and Smith took another trip overseas to compete at Boekelo CCI4*-L where they finished 9th out of 77 starters. Fleeceworks Royal has finished in the top three an impressive 27 times with 15 wins. In 2021, Smith and Fleeceworks Royal never finished outside of the top three, they finished second in the CCI4*-L at Galway Downs International and third in the CCI4*-S at Twin Rivers International. Fleeceworks Royal will be making her five-star debut at this year’s Kentucky Three-Day Event.

#25 – Emporium (Cartano x UPANA) is a Dutch Warmblood gelding owned by Ashley Creek Stables and ridden by Ashlynn Meuchel. The 13-year-old gelding was first ridden by Tamra Smith and graduated from the YEH program in 2014. Now, climbing up the levels with Meuchel, Emporium and Meuchel both made their first five-star debut at the 2021 Maryland 5 Star and will be looking to complete their second five-star competition at the Kentucky Three-Day Event.

#26 - Covert Rights (BFF Incognito x Let's Get It Right) is a 16-year-old gelding ridden, owned, and bred by Colleen Rutledge. Covert Rights is a 2011 YEH graduate and finished seventh in the 2011 USEA YEH East Coast 5-year-old Championship and fifth at the 2010 USEA YEH East Coast 4-year-old Championship. Since graduating from the YEH program, Covert Rights and Rutledge have competed at Kentucky multiple times and Burghley. This year’s Kentucky Three-Day Event will be the pair's sixth competition at the five-star level.

#33 - The 2012 YEH graduate Tsetserleg (Windfall x Thabana) is a 15-year-old Trakehner gelding owned by Christine Turner, bred by Timothy Holekamp, and ridden by Boyd Martin. Tsetserleg, a 2012 YEH graduate competed in the USEA YEH program as a 5-year-old in 2012 with rider Cristin Stoop. Six years later, Tsetserleg completed his first five-star event in 2018 at the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event where he and Martin finished 11^th. Since then, he and Martin have represented the U.S. at the 2018 Tryon World Equestrians Games, the 2019 Lima Pan American Games, and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. The pair took home double gold at the 2019 Lima Pan American Games - individual gold and team gold. Martin and Tsetserleg also finished second at the 2019 Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event and were the highest-placed American pair. Both the breeder and the owner of Tsetserleg are generous supporters of the YEH program and are responsible for the Holekamp/Turner Lion d’Angers Grant.

Fun fact: Windfall, the Trakehner stallion owned by Timothy Holekamp, has two offspring competing at the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event (LRK3DE) this year: Tsetserleg and Vandiver (Windfall x Visions of Grandeur), a Trakehner gelding owned by Debi Crowley and ridden by Doug Payne. In 2019, these two horses both finished within the top five at LRK3DE.

#40 – Off the Record (VDL Arkansas x Drumagoland Bay) is a 14-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding ridden by William Coleman and owned by August Vettorino and William Coleman. As a 5-year-old, he finished second in the YEH 5-year-old division at Waredaca and ninth at the 2014 USEA YEH East Coast 5-year-old Championship with Coleman as the rider.

The now 14-year-old gelding has an impressive resume as he has finished in the top three in 14 CCI events including a third-place finish at the CCI4*-L at Tattersalls in Ireland, a second-place finish at the 2021 and 2020 Great Meadow International CCI4*-S and a recent third-place finish in the CCI4*-S at the 2022 The Fork at TIEC. The pair also made history as the first American pair to ever win the prestigious CCI4*-S at Aachen. This pair will be looking to complete their second five-star competition at this year's Kentucky Three-Day Event.

#45 - The 2016 YEH graduate, Quantum Leap (Quite Capitol x Report to Sloopy) is a 2011 Holsteiner gelding bred by Elizabeth Callahan and owned by Doug Payne. The 11-year-old gelding competed in the 2015 USEA YEH East Coast Championships as a 4-year-old where he finished third and again as a 5-year-old in 2016 where he finished seventh. Two years later, Quantum Leap was the 2018 Holekamp/Turner Lion d’Angers Grant recipient where he and Payne represented the U.S. at the FEI World Breeding Eventing 7-year-old Championships at La Mondial du Lion in Le Lion d’Angers, France.

Since then, Payne and Quantum Leap have finished in the top five at an Advanced/CCI4* level event eight times. In 2019 they won the Advanced at Blue Ridge Mountain H.T., in 2020 they finished third at Stable View CCI4*-S, in 2021 they finished fifth at The Fork H.T. CCI4*-S, fifth at the Carolina International CCI4*-S, and third at the Stable View CCI4*-S. Also in 2021, Quantum Leap made his successful five-star debut at the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event in April, where he was the Reserve Champion in the $60,000 Adequan USEA Advanced Final at the USEA American Eventing Championships (AEC), and he finished ninth at the Maryland 5 Star in October.

#47 –Ridden by Tamra Smith, Mai Baum (Loredano x Ramira) a 16-year-old German Sport Horse gelding owned by Alexandra Ahearn, Ellen Ahearn, and Eric Markell, went to his first event in 2010 as a 4-year-old, and finished 4th in the YEH 4-year-old division at Rebecca Farm. The following year, Mai Baum finished 5th in the YEH 5-year-old division at Rebecca Farm both years he was ridden by Michele Pestl. The now 16-year-old gelding has racked up an impressive record over the past 10 years and has earned 11 international wins.

He completed his first five-star event at last year’s Kentucky Three-Day Event where he finished ninth. He was selected as the traveling reserve for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, and he finished 10^th in the prestigious CCI4*-S at Aachen in Germany. Smith and Mai Baum will be looking to complete their second five-star competition at this year’s LRK3DE.

#55 - Previously known as Fernhill Teddy Two Two, PFun (Tadmus x Celerina) is a 14-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding owned by Jennifer Mosing, ridden by Will Faudree, and bred by Tracy Priest of Ireland. Pfunwas first introduced to U.S. eventing in 2012 where he competed in the YEH 5-year-old competition with Bobby Costello at the Spring Horse Trials at the Ark. In 2013, Will Faudree started competing Pfun and together they have over 16 top-three finishes on their USEA record. Faudree and Teddy competed at the Kentucky Three-Day Event in 2017 and 2019. The pair also completed the 2021 Maryland 5 Star. This year’s Kentucky will be their fourth competition at the five-star level.

The USEA would like to wish the best of luck to all YEH graduates competing at Kentucky!

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 Products, Parker Equine Insurance, Saratoga Horseworks, Capital Square, Kerrits, and The Jockey Club for sponsoring the Young Event Horse Program. Additionally, the USEA would like to thank The Dutta Corp., Title Sponsor of the Young Event Horse Championship