United States Eventing Association

Young Horses from the U.S. Close Out Competition Weekend at Mondial du Lion Young Horse Championships

Wrapping up an exciting weekend of competition, young horses from all over the planet gathered together in Le Lion d’Angers, France for the final phase of the 2021 FEI Eventing World Breeding Championships for Young Horses. This year’s Holekamp/Turner Grant and The Dutta Corp. Prize recipients Cole Horn and MBF Cooley Permission to Land (Cobra x Deeply Dippy K) finished out an educational weekend in the 7-year-old championships in 31st out of 58 pairs.

The duo added two rails to their score today to finish out the weekend on a score of 65.0. Horn reflected that overall he felt as if his horse’s performance was great for the horse’s first time in an environment as prestigious as the one at Le Lion.

“It was an incredible experience getting to ride in that atmosphere and overall this experience has shown me what the top level of the sport really is shaped up to,” Horn shared following his show jumping round. “Seeing loads of super horses and riders was very inspiring to me and gave me direction and motivation towards my next steps. The cross-country yesterday was really technical and a very different sort of track than what we are used to at home. Getting to run around it and making a good crack at all the combinations felt great.”

While Horn was disappointed to have added a 15-point penalty to his score for missing a flag on cross-country and the additional two rails today, he commented that he met his goal coming into the championship: “I came here for experience and that was something I collected in buckets. I am absolutely honored to have been able to compete here and so happy to have been able to do it with both Avery [Klunick] and Caroline [Martin] who were so supportive all weekend! I’m hoping for this to be the first of many more of these types of events and consider this a stepping stone towards my future.”

Fellow U.S. rider Klunick and her Dutch Warmblood gelding Pisco Sour (Metropolie x Heathlawn Cailin) added no jump faults to their score but did incur 1.2-time penalties to end the weekend in 36th in the 7-year-old Championship on a score of 69.2. In the 6-year-old division, Martin made a big move up aboard the Redfield King’s HX Group’s Dutch Warmblood gelding King’s Especiale (Connect x Cha Cha Cha Special) with a double-clear effort to jump them up 10 positions to finish the weekend in 20th with a score of 39.8.

See full live scores here.

About the Holekamp/Turner Grant

The Holekamp/Turner Grant was founded in 2015 by Timothy and Cheryl Holekamp of New Spring Farm and Christine and T.J. Turner of Indian Creek Farm. The grant awards the highest scorer of the USEA Young Event Horse 5-year-old Championships, both East and West Coast Championships combined, with a cash prize that enables them to travel to Mondial du Lion in Le Lion d’Angers, France to compete in the 2021 FEI Eventing World Breeding Championships for Young Horses in the 7-year-old CCIYH3*-L Championship. The eligibility of the grant remains with the horse, regardless of change of rider after the YEH 5-year-old Championships, but for the Holekamp/Turner Grant, only USEF-sponsored 7-year-old entries will qualify. Thus, only horses ridden by United States citizens will be eligible. Click here for more information about the grant.

About The Dutta Corp. Prize

As a title sponsor of the USEA YEH Championships, The Dutta Corporation will generously provide one round trip flight from the east coast of the United States to travel to Europe for the Mondial du Lion. This prize will be awarded to the Holekamp/Turner Grant recipient and will commence in 2021.

The Dutta Corporation is an international and domestic horse shipping company founded by J. Tim Dutta. The leading company in horse transport has been rapidly expanding since its inception in 1988 and particularly so in the last twenty years. Click here for more information on The Dutta Corporation.

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 Western Forage, Parker Equine Insurance, Etalon Diagnostics, and Saratoga Horseworks for sponsoring the Young Event Horse Program. Additionally, the USEA would like to thank The Dutta Corp., Title Sponsor of the Young Event Horse Championships.

The USEA would also like to thank Timothy Holekamp of New Spring Farm and his family and Christine Turner of Indian Creek Farm and her family for spearheading this grant and raising funds to support it.