United States Eventing Association

With the Olympics’ return to the United States in 2028 looming on the horizon, there is no shortage of conversation on the horsepower in our country. As the teams behind top prospects shape their competition schedules in the coming years, the two U.S. five-stars at the Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event and the MARS Maryland 5 Star at Fair Hill Presented by Brown Advisory, along with their highly acclaimed CCI4*-S (KY) and CCI3*-L (MD) divisions, will likely be top mind.

The entries for the CCI5*-L and CCI3*-L at the MARS Maryland 5 Star next week are graced with many top names, setting up for a great display of U.S. talent to come in Elkton, Maryland. The United States Eventing Association, Inc. (USEA) will keep an especially close eye on the graduates of the USEA Young Event Horse (YEH) Program that are entered in this year’s event.

The USEA YEH Program was established in the early 2000’s as an eventing talent search, intended to identify 4- and 5-year-old horses that possess the talent and disposition to excel in the uppermost levels of eventing with proper training. The following equine athletes successfully competed in the YEH Program on their way to upper-level success.

HSH Blake & Vandyke the Flag for YEH Program in the Five-Star

The name HSH Blake has become practically synonymous with the YEH Program since he smashed onto the scene with Caroline Pamukcu in the irons in 2020. From winning his first YEH qualifier, to earning top honors at the 2020 USEA YEH East Coast Championships and then representing our country at the FEI WBFSH Eventing World Championship for Young Horses at Mondial du Lion (France) in 2022 as the Holekamp/Turner Grant recipient, “Blake” (Tolan R x Doughiska Lass) has embodied the mission of the YEH Program and continually demonstrated the doors it can open for talented young prospects that commit to the journey.

Though Blake and Pamukcu have already checked off many “bucket list” competition goals, like competing in the 2023 Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile, the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, and the UBS-Cup CCIO4*-S at CHIO Aachen (Germany) this year, there is still one big step the duo has yet to take. The now 10-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding, who is owned by Sherrie Martin, Mollie Hoff, and Pamukcu and was bred by Justin Burke, is set to tackle his first five-star next week in Maryland. All eyes will be on this impressive duo as they enter the next chapter of their career.

The second YEH Graduate set to compete in the five-star next week is Vandyke (Vancouver x Shannondale Willow), the 11-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding who was bred by Ms. Deborah Palmer and is owned by The Rico Syndicate, LLC. Allison Springer debuted Vandyke at the Surefire Farm H.T. (Purcellville, Virginia) in YEH-5-year-old qualifier, and they’ve been paired ever since. Vandyke has a extensive experience competing at the upper-levels with Springer, including more than 10 four-star completions, and he will be looking to add his first five-star completion to his repertoire at the Maryland 5 Star.

Both geldings may be rookies at the level, but they enter the event with a wealth of knowledge under their belts that they will be looking to capitalize on in their move up to the level. Keep an eye on their performances throughout the week to see if a YEH grad will grace the podium at the top level of the sport.

Endless Talent Entered in CCI3*-L

The list of talented horses entered to contest the CCI3*-L is plentiful. With more than a quarter of the entrants hailing from the USEA YEH Program, there is no shortage of impressive combinations to keep an eye on throughout the competition.

The first YEH Graduate set to contest the CCI3*-L at Maryland is Baymax (Ars Vivendi x Olympics Corner), the 12-year-old Irish Sport Horse owned and ridden by Colin Gaffney. Baymax was originally campaigned by Doug Payne, who piloted him to a fourth-place finish at the 2017 USEA YEH East Coast 4-Year-Old Championship at Fair Hill. Payne continued producing the horse through the three-star level before passing on the ride to Gaffney in 2020. Gaffney and Baymax have had several impressive results in their five-year partnership, including a podium finish in the CCI3*-S division at the Hagyard Midsouth Three-Day Event (Lexington, Kentucky) in 2023 and a top-8 result in the CCI4*-S at Carolina International (Raeford, North Carolina) this March.

Butts Arthur (Graf Top x Heraldik's Angara) is a 9-year-old warmblood gelding bred by Shauna Spurlock. Kaitlin Clasing will pilot the Butts Arthur Group and Danial Clasing’s young prospect in his first attempt at the CCI3*-L level. With Daniel in the irons, the gelding placed in the top three in the 4-year-old division of the 2020 YEH East Coast Championships, then went on to win a qualifier at Hunt Club Farms H.T. (Berryville, Virginia) as a 5-year-old. Kaitlin took over the reins in the spring of 2024, and the pair has successfully campaigned at the Intermediate/3-star level since.

Carsontown Basil (Lougherne Cappuchino x Graf Unique), a 7-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding owned by Sally Cox and bred by Brian Livingstone has been exclusively campaigned by Elinor MacPhail O’Neal since he started eventing in 2023. The pair earned second place in the 32^nd Court YEH 5-Year-Old Qualifier (Reddick, Florida) in August of 2023, then went on to complete the YEH East Coast 5-Year-Old Championship that fall. Since then, the pair has quickly risen up the ranks. This May, they earned fourth place at the CCI2*-L at Tryon (Mill Spring, North Carolina), and then they stepped up to the CCI3*-S at The Fork at Tryon in September.

In addition to “Basil,” O’Neal Eventing will also field Creative Genuis (Creative Cause x Bonnie Rose), the 9-year-old Thoroughbred gelding owned by Elinor MacPhail O’Neal and ridden by Alexander O’Neal, in the CCI3*-L long. O’Neal has also been with Creative Genius since the start of his career, entering two YEH qualifiers as a 5-year-old before handing the reins to then-junior Claire Anderson to compete in the YEH East Coast 5-Year-Old Championship at the end of 2021. Alex picked back up with the gelding in 2022, and since then, they’ve steadily competed at the Prelim/two-star and Intermediate/three-star levels.

Debbie Adam’s 7-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding, D.A. Nixon (Entertainer x Coco), will be ridden by Mia Farley next week. Bred by J.F. & D.J.H.A. Verhoeven in the Netherlands, D.A. Nixon competed in the YEH Program during his 5-year-old season with Caroline Pamukcu, winning a qualifier at Flora Lea Spring and coming in the top 20 at the YEH East Coast 5-Year-Old Championship. Farley took over the ride on D.A. Nixon last year. In fall of 2024, the duo earned a third-place finish in the CCI2*-S U25 division at Plantation Field International (Unionville, Pennsylvania), and they returned to the event this year to place in the top 10 in the CCI3*-S as a final run before Maryland.

Patricia Luttgen’s 8-year-old Trakehner gelding, Fast Forward (Windfall x First Flight Romance), was bred by Dr. Timothy Holekamp and began his career in Boyd Martin’s stables. Martin partnered with Fast Forward in the YEH East Coast 5-Year-Old Championship in 2022, then shortly after, the gelding moved on and found success at the Preliminary and two-star level with Chris Talley. This year, Farley took over the reins, starting off strong with a win in the Intermediate/Preliminary division at Midsouth Pony Club H.T. (Lexington, Kentucky) in June and earning reserve champion in the CCI3*-S at Bouckaert Equestrian International (Fairburn, Georgia) in August. Fast Forward will be Farley’s second mount in the CCI3*-L at Maryland.

The 2023 USEA YEH 5-Year-Old Reserve Champion Fernhill Bertus (Balou Peggio x Celine) will return to Fair Hill with Madison Temkin to compete in the three-star. The now 7-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding, who is owned by Beth Brown and was bred by Willi Wolters, has continued to wow since his time in the YEH Program, winning the CCI2*-S at Stable View Oktoberfest (Aiken, South Carolina) and a top-5 finish in the CCI2*-SYH division of the USEF/USEA Developing Horse National Championship at Morven Park (Leesburg, Virginia) last fall. The pair is well prepared to make their first CCI3*-L appearance next week after a third-place finish in the CCI3*-S at The Fork at Tryon in early September.

Fernhill Domino (Sligo Candy Boy x Unbelievable Cappolla) will be the first of two mounts presented by Ryan Wood next week. The 8-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding owned by the Fernhill Domino Syndicate started his career with Wood in 2021, earning a top 10 finish in the YEH East Coast 4-Year-Old Championship that year, then returning to contest the 5-Year-Old Championship in 2022. The pair completed their first FEI event in the fall of 2024 with a sixth place in the CCI2*-S at Plantation Field International and followed up the result with a fourth place in the CCI2*-L at Virginia Horse Center two months later. In September, Wood and Fernhill Domino finished in the top 10 at The Fork at Tryon in the CCI3*-S.

Chelsea Lowe will present Donna Pledge’s 8-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding, Fernhill Malito Park (Malito de Reve x Don Juan de la Bouverie) in the three-star. Originally paired with Joe Meyer for a YEH-5-year-old qualifier in Ocala in 2022, Lowe picked up the reins on Fernhill Malito Park in early 2023, and they’ve been steadily climbed up from Novice since. By the summer of 2024, the duo was successfully competing at the two-star level, earning reserve champion in the CCI2*-S-YR at The Maryland International + Horse Trials at Loch Moy Farm. This year, the pair made the successful move up to the three-star level in the short at Bromont in August, where they placed sixth out of more than 20 starters.

Gortglas Lupin (Luidam x Gortglas Skye), the 8-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding bred by Sian Carson Ball and owned by Roland Milican and his rider, Gabby Dickerson, will return to the Maryland 5 Star for their first upper-level appearance. In 2022, Dickerson and Gortglas Lupin competed in the USEA YEH East Coast 5-Year-Old Championships at Fair Hill. After several years of partnership, the pair made the move up to the Intermediate/three-star level with a top-10 finish in the CCI3*-S at the Stable View Spring H.T. Dickerson and the gelding went on to have an impressive showing at the MARS Bromont CCI to finish in third place in the CCI3*-L.

Owned and ridden by Kate Brown and bred by Noel Ruane, Kokoleka (Sligo Candy Boy x Castle Pacino), competed in three YEH Qualifiers before completing the YEH East Coast 5-Year-Old Championship in 2023. Since then, Brown has produced the 7-year-old Irish Sport Horse mare up the levels, logging several successful completions at the two- and three-star levels in 2024 and 2025. Top results for the duo include a fifth-place finish in the CCI3*-L at the Ocala International Festival of Eventing (Ocala, Florida) in April and a top 10 finish in the CCI2*-SYH division for 6-year-olds at the USEF/USEA Developing Horse National Championships at Morven Park last fall.

Milky Bar OS (Flugel M x Oakingham Dollar), the 8-year-old British Sport Horse gelding owned by Christy Parsons and bred by Oakingham Farm & Stud, is the third and final entry from O’Neal Eventing. Alex has again produced this horse from his 5-year-old year, where he earned a podium finish at the Ocala Midsummer YEH Qualifier in August of 2022, then went onto compete in the YEH East Coast Championships at the Maryland 5 Star later that fall. In November of 2024, Milky Bar OS earned a reserve champion title in the CCI2*-L at The Event at TerraNova with Elinor piloting. The duo will be looking for their first 3-star long completion next week.

Booli Selmayr will present Kelly Morgan’s 11-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding, Quality Touchdown (Cara Touche x Lazio). In 2018, the pair made their debut at the Town Hill Farm Horse Trials (Lakeville, Connecticut) in the YEH-4-year-old qualifier, where they took top honors. This year, the pair stepped up to the three-star level for the first time with completions in the CCI3*-S at Stable View Spring and GMHA Festival of Eventing August (South Woodstock, Vermont), where they took second place.

Lisa Samoylenko’s 7-year-old Irish Sport Horse mare, Rahale Comet (Island Commander x Whats Another One), will team up with Micheal Pendelton for the three-star. Pendleton and Rahale Comet began their partnership in 2022, and they successfully completed both the 4-year-old and 5-year-old YEH East Coast Championships at the Maryland 5 Star in the following years. Last fall, the duo earned a top 10 finish in the CCI2*-SYH division for 6-year-olds at the USEF/USEA Developing Horse National Championships at Morven Park, then they stepped up to the three-star level this spring at Carolina International.

Last but certainly not least, Ringwood Adios Amigo (Ringwood Adieu Z x Ringwood Operetta), the now 9-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding who is owned and ridden by Erin Kellerhouse and was bred by Peter Leonard, will round out the YEH Graduates in the division. Kellerhouse competed Ringwood Adios Amigo in the YEH 5-year-old qualifier at Twin Rivers Fall International (Paso Robles, California) in 2021, and they’ve risen up the levels together ever since. The pair completed their first CCI3*-L at the The Eventing Championships at Galway Downs last fall, where they finished in the top 10, and most recently, they earned third place in the CCI3*-S at Rebecca Farm (Kalispell, Montana) and a top-5 finish in the USEA Intermediate Championship at the USEA American Eventing Championships presented by Nutrena Feeds at Galway Downs (Temecula, California) in August.

The USEA wishes these pairs and the rest of the competitors at the MARS Maryland 5 Star the best of luck next week. Keep an eye on the USEA coverage of the event here to see how the YEH graduates do on the big stage!

About the USEA Young Event Horse (YEH) 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-years-old, 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 The Dutta Corp., Goresbridge, ARMA, Bates Saddles, HorseWeek, The Jockey Club, Kerrits, Marshall+Sterling, Schneiders Saddlery, SmartPak, and Standlee for sponsoring the Young Event Horse Program and Championships.

About The Holekamp/Turner Grant

Founded in 2015 by Timothy and Cheryl Holekamp of New Spring Farm and Christine and T.J. Turner of Indian Creek Farm, the Holekamp/Turner Grant provides a USEA Young Event Horse (YEH) Championship competitor with the opportunity to represent the United States at the FEI Eventing World Breeding Championships in the 7-year-old CCIYH3*-L Championship at Mondial du Lion in Le Lion d’Angers, France. With the sole purpose of paving a clear pathway for U.S. team horses to progress in the sport of eventing, recipients who are North American bred will be awarded the full cash grant of $17,500, while imported horses are awarded $8,000. Additionally, The Dutta Corp. offers a prize to the Holekamp/Turner Grant recipient, consisting of a $10,000 flight credit from the Eastern United States to Europe.