PrintShe turns 16 just in time to win her first intermediate event.
Max McManamy earned the best birthday present she could have gotten when she won her first intermediate start at Galway Downs Winter Horse Trials, Feb. 2-3 in Temecula, Calif.
“I had to wait until I was 16 to go intermediate, and I turned 16 on January 22nd,” she said. “It was a really good first outing.”
McManamy, Templeton, Calif., bought Beacon Hill, her 11-year-old Thoroughbred, two years ago. He had competed through the intermediate level with Kate Luce, a student of Darren Chiacchia’s. In 2006, McManamy’s trainer, Gina Miles, spent the spring preparing for the Rolex Kentucky CCI**** with Chiacchia, and when Miles spotted Beacon Hill in the barn, she knew he’d be the perfect horse for her student. She told McManamy to fly to Florida and try him.
“I just fell in love with him,” said McManamy. “He’s a really sweet horse. He’s honest and does whatever you ask, and he’s really smart. He has a sweet eye, and there was something I really liked about him.”
Known in the barn as “Taylor,” Beacon Hill (Pistols And Roses—Nasty List) had raced three times before embarking on a new career. He may have been a seasoned eventer by the time he met McManamy, but she had some major adjustments to make as she prepared to compete with him. Her last horse was a pony, and Taylor is a 17-hand Thoroughbred.
“It was a big change for me, getting used to all his movement,” she said. “But he’s really honest and does whatever you ask as long as he thinks it’s safe.”
The pair stood fifth after dressage at Galway, but a double-clear show jumping round moved them into second.
“I get nervous in show jumping, but we pulled it off at Galway,” said McManamy. “I was really happy; he really tried. I knew I had to start riding and couldn’t let my nerves get hold of me.”
Last fall, McManamy was poised to win the CCI* at Galway, but a rail in show jumping relegated her to second place, so the clear round was especially meaningful in her first intermediate. “He respects the
bigger jumps; he’s insulted when they’re small,” she said.
By the time McManamy headed to cross-country, the heavy mist was turning to rain. She had never ridden cross-country in the rain and thought it would be a good experience for her.
“I didn’t think we were putting ourselves in danger,” she said. “It was muddy, and I had a few time penalties because I didn’t want to push him.”
Although McManamy thought Ian Stark’s intermediate course looked a lot bigger than preliminary, she said it rode well. “It felt the same [as preliminary], maybe a little harder,” she said. “Some things were on the one-star last fall, and some of the things were on the two-star. He was right on his game the whole time, although it was hard to see with the rain and wind blowing in your eyes.”
Max McManamy earned the best birthday present she could have gotten when she won her first intermediate start at Galway Downs Winter Horse Trials, Feb. 2-3 in Temecula, Calif.
“I had to wait until I was 16 to go intermediate, and I turned 16 on January 22nd,” she said. “It was a really good first outing.”
McManamy, Templeton, Calif., bought Beacon Hill, her 11-year-old Thoroughbred, two years ago. He had competed through the intermediate level with Kate Luce, a student of Darren Chiacchia’s. In 2006, McManamy’s trainer, Gina Miles, spent the spring preparing for the Rolex Kentucky CCI**** with Chiacchia, and when Miles spotted Beacon Hill in the barn, she knew he’d be the perfect horse for her student. She told McManamy to fly to Florida and try him.“I just fell in love with him,” said McManamy. “He’s a really sweet horse. He’s honest and does whatever you ask, and he’s really smart. He has a sweet eye, and there was something I really liked about him.”
Known in the barn as “Taylor,” Beacon Hill (Pistols And Roses—Nasty List) had raced three times before embarking on a new career. He may have been a seasoned eventer by the time he met McManamy, but she had some major adjustments to make as she prepared to compete with him. Her last horse was a pony, and Taylor is a 17-hand Thoroughbred.
“It was a big change for me, getting used to all his movement,” she said. “But he’s really honest and does whatever you ask as long as he thinks it’s safe.”
The pair stood fifth after dressage at Galway, but a double-clear show jumping round moved them into second.
“I get nervous in show jumping, but we pulled it off at Galway,” said McManamy. “I was really happy; he really tried. I knew I had to start riding and couldn’t let my nerves get hold of me.”
Last fall, McManamy was poised to win the CCI* at Galway, but a rail in show jumping relegated her to second place, so the clear round was especially meaningful in her first intermediate. “He respects the
bigger jumps; he’s insulted when they’re small,” she said.
By the time McManamy headed to cross-country, the heavy mist was turning to rain. She had never ridden cross-country in the rain and thought it would be a good experience for her.
“I didn’t think we were putting ourselves in danger,” she said. “It was muddy, and I had a few time penalties because I didn’t want to push him.”
Although McManamy thought Ian Stark’s intermediate course looked a lot bigger than preliminary, she said it rode well. “It felt the same [as preliminary], maybe a little harder,” she said. “Some things were on the one-star last fall, and some of the things were on the two-star. He was right on his game the whole time, although it was hard to see with the rain and wind blowing in your eyes.”
