Mary McKeon wasn’t too upset that she’d used all her personal days as a schoolteacher to attend the Wellpride American Eventing Championships. McKeon guided Cindy Bank’s Cleveland Bay half-bred IdleHour McHenry to the win in the inaugural open beginner novice championships and ended up taking home a multitude of prizes from the Sept. 20-24 event in Southern Pines, N.C.

The 11-year-old gelding began jumping last December after having competed up to fourth level dressage. Bred at IdleHour Stud in Pennsylvania, McHenry finished on his dressage score of 24.8, which isn’t bad for a horse who’d never seen a cross-country course until the end of May.

McKeon, 35, of Kirtland, Ohio, led the field of 50 competitors from start to finish and admitted being nervous about the event, considering that she was riding Bank’s horse. McHenry’s owner acted equally as anxious watching her horse go around. “I was a nervous wreck! It was horrible to watch!” said Bank.

McHenry’s win provided Bank with an extra-special gift on the final day of competition. “My birthday’s tomorrow!” said Bank happily.

Orphaned as a foal, the people-oriented, 16.3-hand gelding volunteers as a mounted police horse when he’s not competing.

McKeon raved about John Williams’ rolling cross-country course, saying that the footing was among the best she’s ever competed on.

Sarah Blum, winner of the open novice division, agreed about the challenging, but fair course. “It had a few technical questions, but there was plenty of galloping, which I liked. It was a varied course, and I think that’s what it should be for a championship course,” said Blum.

She noted that her Thoroughbred, Brilliant Disguise, could get a little tense before cross-country. “In the starting box, I could feel his whole body vibrating,” recalled Blum.

Blum, who started riding eight years ago, and her 10-year-old gelding won by mere fractions on their dressage score of 29.5. Even though she led the whole way through the competition, Blum wasn’t aware of her placing until the very end. Blum’s daughter, Jessica, who also competed in open novice, didn’t allow anyone to talk about her mother’s score.

“I like to concentrate on one phase at a time and do my best; I don’t like to be distracted by my placing,” said Blum, 52.

Blum said competing in some equitation classes during the winter had helped her show jumping round come together. “If you’ve got the right pace, your time and distances should work out,” said Blum.

Hailing from Concord, Mass., Blum enjoyed the laid-back atmosphere of the championships. “It’s so low key; it’s just great to be here and have such a good ride,” said Blum.


Balancing Schoolwork
Junior/young rider preliminary winner Callie Judy was all smiles aboard her Irish Sport Horse gelding Kilkenny Castle, as she led the top 10 winners on a victory gallop after the awards ceremony. “It’s really exciting if you get to come. Knowing that you’re up there with the top riders in the U.S. is such a great experience,” said Judy.

Missing school wasn’t an issue for Judy, 14, as she’s homeschooled. “It’s a lot easier to go to shows this way, but I do have to study while I’m here,” she said.

The Missouri native travels to Ocala, Fla., to train in the winter, and this past year she trained with Darren Chiacchia. “It was very educational. He was very strict, but I learn more that way. He definitely helped me get to where I am,” said Judy.

Judy, a freshman, competed this summer on the CCI* gold-medal team at the CN North American Junior and Young Riders Champion-ships in Lexington, Va., and will have to wait until she’s 16 in order to move up to intermediate.

Judy found the AEC’s demanding cross-country course quite difficult, though she ended up with a faultless ride. “Time was a big issue for us; we were a little behind in the beginning, but we made it up at the end,” she said.

As for the show jumping phase, Judy observed that many riders took the easy look of it for granted and subsequently dropped rails. “The adjustability was the main issue; it was quite hard getting him back before each jump,” said Judy.

However, she stayed focused, and maintained her lead to the very end, knowing that one rail could cost her the win.

Molly Rosin and Havarah’s Charly also experienced no problems with the show jumping course on their way to the open preliminary win. “I loved it. It made you confident in your eye, plus my guy is a super steady show jumper, so it matched us really well,” said Rosin.

The cross-country course, which wound in and out of the pine woods, proved to be no problem for Rosin and her mount. “It really tested boldness; there weren’t too many technical questions and we really had to gallop. I only slowed for maybe one stride before the jumps, and I took a shortcut, so we ended up 14 seconds under the time,” said Rosin.

Rosin, who won $2,000 prize money on the 8-year-old Hungarian Warmblood, said the money will go toward her horse’s expenses. Rosin lives in California but boards her gelding in Maryland for the competition season.

“He’s certainly paying for his keep,” said Rosin with a laugh. She also placed 11th on another horse, Malibu, in the novice horse division.


Back To Her Roots
According to Emily Beshear, training with Jimmy Wofford for the past few weeks helped her and Woodburn clinch the win in the intermediate championship. Beshear trained with Wofford when she was a teenager, and walking the cross-country course with him before her ride gave her much more confidence.

“I’m glad that I went early, because I’ve been known to ride too conservative. If I’d have known about any problems on the course, I wouldn’t have gone as fast,” said Beshear, 29, of Somerset, Va.

Many riders had problems with the first water combination, which included a drop into the Duck Pond, with several competitors taking a spill, retiring, or becoming eliminated.

“I saw a really forward distance to the water, and he jumped past the spot where everyone was landing so he didn’t have any problems with the footing,” said Beshear.

Because of the way Williams built the course, Beshear thinks that the horses were set up nicely for the solid jumps. “He placed the jumps on lots of bending lines where he knew the horses had to slow down. He allowed the horses to gallop, but then he used these bending approaches, which really helped balance them,” said Beshear.

The 10-year-old New Zealand Thorough-bred, owned by Acorn Hill Farm, won the open preliminary division at Fair Hill (Md.) in April.

Beshear also competed on Baileywick, another gelding owned by Acorn Hill, and placed second in preliminary horse, just behind Karen O’Connor and Mandiba.

Advanced winners Kristin Bachman and Gryffindor had a few rails in hand as they entered the final phase of the competition with their score of 33.3. She didn’t breathe a sigh of relief, however, until their names were announced as the winners over Mara Dean and Nicki Henley, even after dropping a single rail.

Bachman, 34, has journeyed all over the country in order to meet the demands of the sport. She traveled from Redmond, Wash., to The Plains, Va., earlier this year to train with Jan Byyny and Mara Dean.

Being able to put three good phases together proved to be the highlight of the event for Bachman. “He’s really good on cross-country, and we’ve been working on dressage. We’ve also really been working on our rideability in show jumping,” said Bachman.


Overcoming Obstacles
Fruition’s First, winner of the novice horse division, had quite a few setbacks before the championships. The off-the-track Thoroughbred from California was a roarer who had tie-back surgery in January. While still recovering, he jumped out of his pasture the first time he was turned out and required several stitches in his knee, which left him in a splint for a month.

“He was pretty skinny when we got him; he had no muscle at all. But he came along quickly. He’s very smart and such a quick learner,” said Holly Payne, 23.

Payne had owned and trained the gelding for a year before she sold the 6-year-old to Jill Gordon a week before the championships.

After a hectic start, Fruition’s First had become progressively better in his competitions. “At his first event, he was pretty crazy, which is funny because he’s always so lazy at home. We’ve done about six events since, three of them being training level,” said Payne, of Oldwick, N.J.

The pair powered through the cross-country phase with no faults added to their score. “He looked a little at the water, but it’s good for him. He needed to see new stuff,” said Payne.

The decorated jumps and large crowd didn’t bother the chestnut gelding. “He’s always steady, and even though there was so much atmosphere, he was such a champ. He went out there and acted like an advanced horse. He just went in there and didn’t mind anything at all,” said Payne.

A family of eventing enthusiasts, Payne’s brother, Doug, also competed in the training and preliminary divisions, and their mother was a judge at the FEI Eventing World Cup Final in Sweden, which ran the same weekend as the AEC.

Holly, who graduated from the University of Florida last year, plans to event the gelding at upper levels, while Gordon will compete him at novice this fall.


Joys Of Homebreds
Susan Wainwright couldn’t find the words to express her surprise and excitement after winning the open training division on her third generation homebred, Hunter. The top 12 riders were all within a fence of each other, but Wainwright finished cleanly on her dressage score of 29.2, beating out nearly 68 other competitors for the win.

“The courses were testing but fair. John builds friendly, forward courses,” said Wainwright.

After standing the Irish Sport Horse as a stallion for five years, Wainwright had Hunter gelded and has been competing him for the past two years. “He’s always willing and he never has any behavioral issues. We do a lot of Parelli stuff; he just loves to play, he’s my buddy,” said Wainwright, of Pike Road, Ala.

Wainwright also competed a relative of Hunter’s, Winston Himself, at the advanced level.

The 47-year-old trainer also coached several students in the junior/young rider training division; in fact, one student, Rachel Jackson, competed on a full sister to Hunter. “Susan’s an awesome trainer, perfect, great, can’t get much better,” said Jackson with a laugh.

Wainwright was grateful to her husband, son and barn manager for helping take care of her Foxwood Farms while she’s competing. “Without everyone pulling weight, I couldn’t be here. It’s a balancing act, and I’m thankful for everyone,” said Wainwright.

Holly Hepp, of Southern Pines N.C., slipped ahead of the leaders and won the training horse division on her own 8-year-old Thoroughbred Ladyslipper, whom she purchased a year ago. An unraced Thoroughbred, Ladyslipper won three training level events this year. Hepp also placed second by half a fault in the novice horse division on Icewine.

Most of the top 10 finishers walked away with handfuls of prizes from the sponsors, such as saddles from Amerigo, gift certificates from Bit of Britain, and prize money up to $4,000 from the U.S. Eventing Association. Next year the AEC will be held in a slightly more centralized location at Lamplight Equestrian Center in Chicago, Ill.


Making Time For Riding
Shauna Berkner and Curious Cobb ended their season with a bang at the American Eventing Championships, ascending from fourth after dressage to snag the win in junior novice by mere fractions of a point.

“I couldn’t believe how many people were pulling rails, so I just thought, ‘Well, what-ever happens, happens.’ And in eventing we all know that anything can happen,” said Berkner with a laugh.

The 18-year-old was thrilled with her performance, especially considering she hadn’t had a lesson in a month. “We were here last year, so it wasn’t as hard this time, since we’d ridden the course before, but it was such a blast,” said Berkner.

The competition was stiff, with only 3.7 points between first and 10th place and a field of more than 70 talented riders.

The freshman at Virginia Tech has only been eventing for two years, though she’s owned her 11-year-old Thoroughbred for eight years. “We’ve both started at the bottom and worked our way up. He used to have a habit of darting out at fences,” recalled Berkner, of Chantilly, Va.

The pair took it slowly last fall, staying at novice because of the gelding’s sore feet. They’ve only recently moved up to training level, having won their first event at Surefire Farm (Va.). Berkner plans on taking a break from showing this fall, even though she has her horse at college with her.

“It’s so nice to have him there; it’s such a relaxing break from school. I’ll be out at the barn and realize that three hours have gone by without me noticing,” noted Berkner.


Surprise Visitors
Nothing surprised Brooke Harlow more than seeing her parents waiting for her as she rode out of the ring after winning the junior/young rider training division at the American Eventing Championhips.

“They heard that I was in first and so they were going to fly down to see me, but I told them I didn’t want them to because it would add too much pressure. But they’d flown down on Sunday and hid from me, and so when I walked out of the ring, there they were,” recalled Harlow, who usually attends events with her trainer Karen Lorenzo.

Harlow, 15, of Concord, Mass., got her Irish Thoroughbred Fibber Magee last January from Jessica Moore, who competed the gelding at the advanced level. “He’s awesome; he really takes care of me,” said Harlow.

After scoring a 32.6 in dressage on the first day, Harlow couldn’t get her top placing out of her mind. “I was up all night, going over my cross-country course in my head. It was all I talked about; I was constantly bringing up how nervous I was. My trainer tried to get me to focus on putting forth a clean round and not thinking about winning,” said Harlow.

Harlow kept her cool and maintained her lead over 13-year-old Retsy Holliday and Guinness V to clinch the win.

“It was so exciting hearing everyone from my barn cheering for me. It was like my own little team!” said Harlow happily.

Harlow and her 14-year-old gelding won the open training division of Groton House II (Mass.) in June and moved up to preliminary shortly thereafter. She plans to compete at the Waredaca training level three-day (Md.) in October.

Emily Daily