United States Eventing Association

Young Event Horse Program Graduates Grow into American Eventing Champions

The goal of the Spalding Labs USEA Young Event Horse Series is to identify youngsters that possess the talent and mind to, with proper training, excel in the uppermost levels of eventing. It is rewarding and exciting for breeders, owners, riders, and the USEA alike to see these youngsters grow into successful event horses – especially at the USEA American Eventing Championships.

Three Young Event Horse (YEH) program graduates competed at the Preliminary level at the 2013 Nutrena USEA American Eventing Championships, and all three horses produced amazing results: Kim Keeton’s homebred stallion Accolade, Beatrice Rey-Herme’s Tout de Suite and Rochelle Costanza’s Lionhart soared to success at this year’s AEC after graduating (receiving a qualifying score for Championships) from the YEH program as 4- and 5-year-olds.

The President’s Trophy in Honor of Jo Whitehousewas jointly awarded to Tout de Suite and Accolade, who both won their Preliminary division at the AEC. Lionhart placed just behind Tout de Suite in the Preliminary Horse division, placing 2^ndin a very large and competitive Championship division.

Beatrice Rey-Herme owns the stunning Tout de Suite, a 6-year-old British Sport Horse ridden by Leslie Law of Ocala, FL. How she came to own him, however, was a bit of a very fortunate surprise.

“We had gone and looked at one horse that didn’t pass [the vet inspection], so we went on to England,” recalls Rey-Herme. “Leslie bought the horse on the spot because he liked him so much. I was surprised but I trust Leslie, and he is such an amazing horse.”

“Colby,” as he is affectionately called, received an impressive score of 81.02 at the Longwood Farm YEH in 2012 as a 5-year-old. He was clearly destined for a successful career as an event horse.

“I think the classes are great for the experience of the young event horse as far as starting them off with the right exposure without overdoing it,” explained Law, who has participated in the YEH program with a variety of horses. “Hopefully, the YEH classes will inspire American breeders to identify what is desirable in a young horse for our sport and lead to the production of more quality horses bred in the U.S.”

Accolade, a domestically-bred 8-year-old Swedish Warmblood stallion, also showed a great deal of promise at the YEH level as a youngster, winning the 2009 Fair Hill International Young Event Horse Championships on a remarkable score of 84.65. Hope Thomas and Keeton set out to breed a nice event horse, and crossed a Thoroughbred mare, Her Elegancy, with the Swedish Warmblood stallion, Amiral 764.

“Hope (Thomas) picked the mare, who never raced,” explained Keeton, of Watkinsville, GA. “We wanted to add the movement from the Grand Prix dressage stallion…’Bear’ is really trainable and very confident in himself.”

On the YEH program, Keeton says, “The hardest thing in this country is getting the best horses in the hands of the best riders. Our country is geographically huge, and we don’t have 200 years of purpose breeding. [The YEH program] is doing a lot to showcase young quality and what we should shoot for in our young horses. It’s also doing a good job of getting young horses out and about, but it’s very low key and doesn’t push them too fast.”

Rochelle Costanza’s Lionhart competed in the YEH class as a 5-year-old at Twin Rivers, receiving a score of 79.7 in the qualifier. The 17h, 8-year-old Holsteiner gelding went on to title in the YEH West Coast Championships where he earned the Reserve Champion 5-year-old. “He also won the Safe Harbor award at the Championships because the judges felt he was the most rideable horse as far as willingness and disposition and ‘getting the job done,’ despite any mistakes I may have made while riding him at the competition,” explained Costanza of Franktown, CO.

Lionhart, also known as Liam, was bred by Karen Reid of Foxfire Farms in Washington. Sired by Linaro and out of Norentina, he was bought as a weanling by Danielle Titland, who eventually had to make the tough decision to sell Liam due to a job and location change.

“At that time he had just three months under saddle but I could tell he was a nice horse. Danielle was kind and let me ride him extensively before I bought him. He was really good outside on the trail by himself as well as quiet in the bridle, so he already had those two things going for him,” said Costanza. “He has good conformation and type, is a good mover, is willing and forward attitude on the flat and over fences and possesses adequate scope and athleticism.”

“I think the YEH program contributes to the success of the U.S. as an international eventing power because it promotes the breeding of successful event horses as well as identifying those horses early on and keeping track of their records throughout their career,” she explained. “This could help streamline the US breeding programs by monitoring the success of horses bred for the sport - and tell us if the breeding is working or not.”

However, Costanza understands that well-bred horses are all for naught unless there is proper training and upbringing, which she believes the YEH program promotes.

“I think the most important factor is making sure that these horses are trained up in the appropriate manner and mindset to become a successful event horse. I feel horses that are put on this path at a young age (rather than the path of another discipline) tend to be more successful event horses in the future.”

To learn more about the YEH, please visit www.useventing.com/programs/yeh