Lexington, Ky.—Nov. 10

Although he’s 11 now, Imponente Dos Rios had only shown one time in his life with his previous owner before Kaylei Perry-Hunley took over the ride earlier this year.

The Lusitano gelding (Divor Do Rio—Uniao II) is owned by Karla Shanard, who was looking for something quiet to ride for herself, but after getting to know Perry-Hunley at their barn, she offered the ride to the 20-year-old nursing student.

The gelding needed some work on his flying changes, but through Perry-Hunley’s hard work, they’ve competed at third and fourth level this season.

They came to U.S. Dressage Finals on a wild card in the third and fourth level junior/young rider championships and came home with the win in the fourth level division today on a score of 65.13%.

“He did good enough at regionals and got the wild card spot,” Perry-Hunley said of their “underdog” story. “He came and showed up and tried his hardest. He is a sweet horse. He is one that wants to please you. We call him a snowflake. He’s sensitive, but he’s so good.”

Perry-Hunley, Summerfield, Florida, trains with Eline Eckroth and Ilse Schwarz and was a working student for Eckroth for several years starting when she was 15. She’s currently in school to become a registered nurse.

“I didn’t have the money to have nice horses—my parents just didn’t have the money,” she said. “I worked every weekend I could for her and did everything I possibly could. I asked for every opportunity, and she let me grow and get on some of her horses and learn. Through working there I met Lisa [Rae Donato, owner of her other Finals ride Lueur Du Soleil] and Karla, and now they let me ride their horses.

“[Shanard] wanted something she could be safe on but could be fancier and had the gaits,” she added. “We knew [Imponente Dos Rios] was a little bit behind, and he needed help with his changes, but I loved that he was able to take care of her—he was calm, kind and confident.”

Bird Earns An Emotional Win With Falkor

Today’s win in the adult amateur third level freestyle was an emotional one for Beth Parsons Bird, of Southern Pines, North Carolina.

In 2019, she won the same class with her former horse Fahrenheit, but an unexpected early retirement meant she had to start over with another horse. She bought Falkor, a 9-year-old Hanoverian gelding (Fantastic—D’Jadore) when he was 4, and they’ve formed a strong partnership.

She and “Fred” earned a 75.55% to win today’s championship. “This was my fourth time competing this freestyle,” said Bird. “We got a little ahead of the music in the first part, but I managed to save a little time and go deeper in some corners and go back on track. I was 70s from all three judges, so I was really happy.”

Bird is hoping to move up to fourth level next year with help from her trainer and mother, Lucy Parsons. “We’ve had great success. He’s just a really cool horse to work with—very personable. He’s the barn favorite,” she said. “I hope to make it to FEI with him. We’re halfway there! We had to stay out of the show ring for a good year since we had some difficulty with the changes, but we systematically worked on them. They were a little explosive. It took him awhile just to figure it out. We took our time and let him be at his own pace.”

Bird has two children who also ride, and she works as a sales rep for an oil company. Today’s ride was emotional not only because of her memories with Fahrenheit, but because she recently lost her uncle, Sam Parsons.

“[Fahrenheit is] still living on our farm, but it’s kind of bittersweet to come back and win this with [Fred],” she said. “My uncle passed away a couple of weeks ago, and he also trained horses. His celebration of life is today, and I had to miss it, but they’re riding his horse spreading his ashes across his farm in a ceremony. I’ll be doing my victory gallop, and he’s doing his, I guess to say. It’s an emotional day. I hated to have to miss it, but it was scheduled after this was all planned. But he would want me here.”

For full results, click here.

Follow along with all of the Chronicle’s coverage of the U.S. Dressage Finals here.