Kim Keeton feels a bit more responsibility towards her mount Accolade than your average rider. She was literally there from the moment of his conception. “I was a vet student, and he was my first frozen semen experiment,” she said with a laugh.

Now that experiment has paid off with the Spalding Labs/USEA Young Event Horse 4-Year-Old East Coast Championship (84.65) over Buck Davidson on No More Rocks (80.43) and Leslie Law aboard Kalamata (80.38).

“He was outstanding in the jumping, very powerful with very good galloping,” were the judges’ comments. “This will be a horse we will see again.”

Keeton co-owns the Swedish Warmblood stallion (Amiral—Her Elegancy) with Hope Thomas.

 “Bear” was born in Keeton’s lap, but the adult amateur has taken his training slowly. “He’s only been under tack for six to eight months,” she said. “We did a beginner novice this summer.”

Bear was bred to be an event horse, as his sire was a Grand Prix dressage horse under Kyra Kyrklund, and his dam was a Thoroughbred. Now he’s starting to sire some event babies of his own.

Second-placed “Rocky” was also purpose-bred by his owner Sharon Will. She has bred several event offspring out of her 20-year-old Canadian Thoroughbred mare Chestnut Lady.

Buck Davidson saw the Oldenburg gelding (by Noble Champion) in January and immediately noticed his promise. He’s also riding Rocky’s half-sister, Absolute Liberty.

“We’re going to develop Rocky and ‘Libby’ to their full potential,” said Will.

BreakThrough Captures The Judges’ Attention

In the 5-year-old championship, it was Matt Flynn’s BreakThrough who came out on top (80.22) over Courtney Cooper on Star Dazzler (79.57) and Kurt Martin aboard Master Frisky (79.16).

Flynn found the Dutch Warmblood gelding (Heart Breaker—Cabaca) in England with Vere Phillips. Phillips bought him at the Dublin Horse show (Ire.), where he had competed successfully in the 4-year-old show jumping classes. Flynn’s parents, Patrick and Kathleen, agreed to purchase the horse, and he arrived in the United States in April.

“His jumping is his strength,” said Flynn.

The judges agreed with Flynn’s assessment, but cited BreakThrough’s consistency in all three phases as well as his willing, trusting and confident attitude as the reasons behind his win.

Jumping ability was the key to Cooper’s success with “Simon” as well. “I was disappointed in how he scored in the first two phases, but I said, ‘He’ll jump into the ribbons.’ That’s his strength,” said Cooper.

It was an emotional reserve championship for Cooper, as she and her husband Neal Camens bred the sport horse gelding (Catherston Dazzler—Heavenly Star).

“I purchased a mare in Ireland as a 5-year-old who was beautifully bred,” said Cooper. “She tore her meniscus after her first one-star and was never sound again.”

However, Heavenly Star has become the foundation mare of Cooper’s breeding program, and now she has many babies on the ground, and some are competing.

“I rode down centerline on my 6-year-old this spring with tears in my eyes,” said Cooper.

Young Event Horse Championships Final Scores

4-Year-Old Championship
Placing/Horse/Rider/Score

1. Accolade/Kim Keeton    84.65
2. No More Rocks/Buck Davidson    80.43
3. Kalamata/Leslie Law    80.38
4. Dresden Hit/Leslie Law    79.86
5. Zauberruf/Alexis Brown    76.69
6. Victor/Josh Barnacle    76.52
7. Double Take/Lauren Kieffer    76.33
8. Celtic Heritage/Ryan Wood    75.06
9. Lucky Devil/Shannon O’Roark    74.77
10. William Street/Mogie Bearden-Miller    74.74
11. Landmark’s Cinco De Mayo/Hannah Burnett    72.68
12. Paprika/Ryan Wood    71.84
13. Rhicochet/Stephanie Baer    71.78
14. Feuertanzer ES/Dawn Jensen    70.47
15. Landmark’s Sunday Storm/Hannah Burnett    65.93

5-Year-Old Championship
Placing/Horse/Rider/Score

1. BreakThrough/Matt Flynn    80.22
2. Star Dazzler/Courtney Cooper    79.57
3. Master Frisky/Kurt Martin    79.16
4. Muggle/Boyd Martin    78.83
5. Mighty Himself/Kim Severson    77.42
6. Zack/Stephen Bradley    76.69
7. Miss Carlisle/Kathryn Cowles    75.49
8. Project Runway/Max McManamy    75.18
9. Amarna/Leslie Law    75.04
10. Bruce/Buck Davidson    73.04
11. Edmonton Avenue/Daryl Layfield-Insley    72.39
12. Balmoral/Elizabeth Callahan    71.84
13. Take Two/Lauren Kieffer    70.64
14. Hydrangia GS/Alexis Brown    70.07
WD—Flying Circus/Leslie Law