Show jumping day at this year’s Defender Kentucky CCI5*-L had no shortage of marquee-worthy achievements: Michael Jung becoming the first rider to win the event five times; Harry Meade finishing on his dressage score as the only rider to make the time cross-country; Boyd Martin being the first-, second- and third-highest placed American, finishing his three horses in the top 10.

But perhaps no achievement was more relatable than Emily Hamel’s incredible save after her longtime partner Corvett, long known for his exuberant jumping style, was a little bit extra—even by his own standards—over Fence 7 on Steve Stephens’ show jumping course, a square oxer. Who among us hasn’t experienced that “oh no” moment, that split second of suspended animation where we realize we’re about to part ways with our horse unless a lot of luck and some human gymnastics intervene? (Granted, for the overwhelming majority of us, that moment does not come during the final phase of a five-star.)

Hamel—who had moved up from equal 23rd in dressage to stand 11th after jumping clean cross-country with the eighth fastest ride of the day—isn’t sure why “Barry” jumped so big over that particular fence.

“We got a great shot in; it wasn’t an awkward distance. He just jumped huge. And then, I don’t know how it’s possible, but it felt like he, like, levitated once he was already in the middle of his bascule? I don’t know what happened!” she recalled with a laugh. “I’m used to him jumping big, and I think I’ve gotten quite good at staying with it, but that one definitely threw me for a loop. If he’s going to put in a jump like that, it’s usually Fence 1 or 2, and then he settles down. That jump was, you know, halfway through the course. I definitely wasn’t expecting that.

“As we’re in the air, I’m like, ‘Oh boy, this is going to be interesting on landing.’ Everything was kind of slow motion: ‘OK, I feel myself falling. I’m gonna fall.’ And then I said, ‘I can’t fall. We’ve come too far! It would be a waste for me to fall off in show jumping; I just ran the horse through a tough five-star track!’ So somehow I just righted myself, and Barry helped me kind of get back in the middle.”

She lost her right stirrup, and that leg swung so far back it was under Barry’s stifle while her arms were down around his neck. Using what must be some impressive core strength, she got herself back in the saddle, circled once (unfortunately incurring 4 penalties), and then approached the tricky next fence, an airy vertical set on a bending eight-stride line from Fence 7, and continued to jump clear for the rest of the round. The unplanned detour also added 6.8 time penalties to her score, dropping her to 12th. But the finish adds an impressive ninth five-star completion to Barry’s resume, having debuted at the level at Kentucky in 2021.

“I wanted to basically have our best performance to date [at Kentucky this year]. And you know, I thought we put in a really good effort,” Hamel said. “The score wasn’t our best score ever, but you know, every five star’s a little bit different, and you never know what you’re gonna get. I was overall very happy with our performance. The last day of competition was a little more exciting than I had hoped for!”

“It’s just always such a special weekend. Going to Kentucky as a kid, that’s what made me want to do this and ride there. So Kentucky definitely has a special place in my heart, and it always feels just really special anytime I get to compete there,” she added.

Barry, who celebrated his 18th birthday on cross-country day, and Hamel have been partnered since 2016, when the imported Holsteiner gelding (Corrido—Tina XII, Clearway) was at Phillip Dutton’s barn to be sold after he proved to be too much for his young rider. Hamel, who worked for Dutton for several years, clicked with the quirky gray and was able to buy him for herself. (He now has an ownership group, Black Flag Option LLC.)

“He has always been a difficult horse—you know, just quirky and a little funny, but I’ve loved him from day one,” Hamel said. “I always knew that there was something really special about him, and he’s obviously proved that time and time again.”

By 2018, they were making their debut at advanced. They’ve now completed every five-star in the northern hemisphere except for Pau (France), which Hamel is thinking of aiming for this fall, and have notched six cross-country rounds at the level without jumping penalties. Their best five-star finishes were seventh at Maryland last fall and 10th at Kentucky in 2023.

The pair were also named to the U.S. Equestrian Federation Eventing Developing Riders List in 2024 and chosen to participate in the USEF European Development Tour, representing the U.S. at the Nations Cup at Millstreet (Ireland), where the team placed second.

Barry shows no signs of wanting to slow down … or rein in that famously excessive jumping style.

“He’s always had an exuberant jump, and I think I’ve done a pretty good job from the beginning of figuring out how to ride it. But again, he still throws in some extra stuff every once in a while, and sometimes it catches me off guard,” Hamel said. He had a few such jumps in the cross-country warm-up on Saturday, she added.

“I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, how am I gonna stay on him around this whole [cross-country] course? And then he settled once he got galloping,” she said. He also almost jumped her out of the tack at the Grand Prix Eventing at Bruce’s Field (South Carolina) in the spring of 2024, and she had a similar scramble to get back in the saddle.

Hamel, 38, hung out her shingle as a pro a few years ago, and she and her fiancé Dave Repko purchased a farm in Aiken, South Carolina, in April 2023. She has a few young horses coming up that will hopefully someday follow in Barry’s hoofprints. One in particular that she’s excited about is Newman Hoksehoeve, a 6-year-old Dutch Warmblood (Casago—Babouche) that she purchased in England as a 4-year-old in 2022, when she was across the pond competing with Barry at Badminton and Burghley.

“There was something about him that reminded me of Barry. The more I jump him, I now realize what that thing is: He has a similar exuberance,” she said, laughing. (It turns out, Hamel has a type.) “Newman” is currently competing at training level, and she has two other young horses—N’ Angel Of Poppes 24 and Kingston—who are competing at preliminary and will make their two-star debuts in May.

As for Barry, Hamel definitely has her sights set on a 10th five-star in the fall, either at Pau or a return to Burghley.

“I plan to keep going until I feel like he doesn’t want to, but he is giving me no inclination that he wants to stop anytime soon,” she said. She credits her team, and particularly her head groom, Jeanna Epping, for keeping Barry young at heart.

“I’m just so thankful that he was my first five-star horse, and that I’ve gotten to have so much experience on him, and we’ve traveled the world together. He’s really boosted my career, just in general,” she said. “So as cliché as it sounds, he really is my horse of a lifetime. I just want to always do what’s best for him. And right now, he seems to want to keep going, so we’re going to continue to improve on that partnership and do more fun things together.”