PrintGrand prix show jumper Marilyn Little-Meredith created a stir earlier this year when she bought a vest, strapped on a medical armband, and took to the hills. Yes, she turned her former grand prix jumper, Udonna, into an event horse.
But we haven’t seen Little-Meredith or Udonna’s name in eventing results since March. Where have they been? Had they given up their new game? Nope. Little-Meredith spent the spring and summer in Europe, competing in both show jumping and eventing, and horse-shopping.
The big news is that she sold Udonna. The bigger news is that she now has a string of seven more event horses—five of them are entered at the Five Point Horse Trials on Sept. 3-4 in Raeford, N.C., in divisions from beginner novice up to advanced.
Little-Meredith shipped out to Europe in April. After two top-10 placings at intermediate horse trials, she’d run Udonna in the CIC** division at Poplar Place Farm (Ga.) in late March, but had to pull up because the mare pulled off a shoe—and a large chunk of hoof. Her plan was to spend the summer in Europe getting her qualifications for the Fair Hill CCI*** (Md.) with Udonna. They started in the Holzerode CIC** in Germany in July, but had a freak accident in the dressage phase, and Little-Meredith withdrew the mare.
“We had some really bad luck,” Little-Meredith said. “We were getting ready to go into the dressage ring, and there was just a small place to stand to wait to go in; you couldn't go around the ring at all. The horse in front of me was in the ring and had a conniption, rearing and being awful, and he was excused. He turned around and came flying out of the ring. He broadsided Udonna and knocked her down. She was really distraught after having been mowed down, so she had a terrible test. It wasn't her fault at all.”
Soon after that event, Udonna ended up being sold to a European young rider to go back to her show jumping roots. “I presented the offer to the owners, and that was what they wanted to do,” said Little-Meredith. “It’s a great job for her, and she's going well for them. I was really hoping to be able to see it through [to the Fair Hill CCI***], but I have to think about the owners' financial investment as well.”
Not Just Surviving Now
Little-Meredith had already added two young jumpers-turned-eventers to her event string before shipping out to Europe. Chigoletta (Lingh—Digoletta, Wellington) is a 4-year-old who has been in work at Little-Meredith’s home farm, Raylyn Farms, in Frederick, Md., and is headed for her first event in the beginner novice division with Little-Meredith at Five Points. The other, RF Blitsfee, is 5 and has been with Karen O’Connor since the spring. RF Blitsfee jumped around one novice event, then won training level divisions at both Millbrook (N.Y.) and Richland Park (Mich.) with O’Connor. O’Connor will ride him at Five Points as well.
While she was in Europe, Little-Meredith also picked up a few experienced eventing veterans to bring home. She competed both of them at the Salgen CIC** (Germany) on July 29-31, and at the Blair Castle CCI** (England) on August 18-21. RF Easy Going was fourth at Blair Castle, and RF Rovano Rex was second at Salgen but had one run-out at Blair Castle to place 13th.
Watch a video of RF Rovano Rex at Salgen...
