Temecula, Calif.—Aug. 30

Tommy Greengard and That’s Me Z carried a 16.3-point cushion into the final phase of the $60,000 Adequan USEA Advanced Final at the USEA American Eventing Championships on Saturday night. It was more than enough cushion, and even with two rails down on William Roberston’s show jumping course at Galway Downs, their early lead remained untouchable to earn a wire-to-wire win in the top division.

Greengard, of Malibu, California, said that the Zangersheide gelding (Take A Chance On Me Z—Veneita, VDL Indoctro), who was the youngest horse in the class at 8 years old, has continued to surprise and impress the rider with his athleticism.

“He was wild,” he said of the gelding’s energy going into the final phase, even with temps in the high 90s. “I rode him a little bit this morning, and he was wild. My coach texted me and said it looks like he’ll be ready for a four-star long sometime next year. So it bodes well for the future.”

Greengard came across “Z” on a trip home from an August event at Galway Downs in 2022, and says the meeting felt fated. “He’s been exceptional from day one,” Greengard said of the gelding, who he co-owns with Andrea Pfeiffer. “He picked us. The universe sent him to us, and I can’t tell you why.”

The pair did their first novice horse trials in October 2022 and moved quickly up the levels. In 2024, Greengard won the USET Foundation’s Amanda Pirie Warrington Grant, which he used to attend the 2024 FEI WBFSH Eventing World Breeding Championships (France) with Z, where the pair finish 16th.

The pair was trailed by Karen O’Neal and Clooney 14, who held strong in second place through all three phases. O’Neal has been incorporating hunter derbies and 1.20-meter jumper classes into her show schedule to make Annika Asling’s gelding as competitive as possible in the show jumping phase. 

“I’ve been doing a lot of jumpers, and I think it’s really helped me because it’s giving me more confidence to just know him. Because when we event, we get one shot,” O’Neal said. “It feels like it’s paying off, and it feels like both of us are more confident at the height now.”

O’Neal also dropped a rail on a course that saw no double-clear rounds, finishing on a score of 59.1.

“I don’t always like long, related distances,” O’Neal said. “I like to turn and use my eye, and so that was probably more of a challenge for me. It pushed me a little out of my comfort zone.”

Of the six riders in the advanced final, only Megan McIver and 12-year-old Igor B were in their comfort zone, as the only pair to jump clean, notching 3.2 time penalties. Their round bumped the pair up from fourth to third place. It was no coincidence that McIver successfully navigated Robertson’s course without touching a rail; she’s a veteran of his courses. 

“William is an excellent designer, and so he designed a really proper track,” McIver said. “I’m lucky enough to be based at the Horse Park at Woodside (Redwood City, California), and William often times designs the show jumping shows at our place, so I’ve had my William practice.”

McIver has been riding “Rupert” for about a year and a half. While she typically prefers to produce horses herself, Rupert had already been produced to the four-star level in England by Kristina Hall-Jackson when she took him on. Although she had to adjust to a horse trained to another rider’s style, the pair has since jelled.

“We’re still learning each other, but I feel like this weekend really solidified that we have a partnership,” she said of the 12-year-old Dutch Warmblood (Vittorio—Erica B, Carabas Van De Wateringhoeve). “Now he feels like my horse.”

A hairy moment on cross-country put the strength of their relationship into perspective. After a miscommunication up a bank, McIver ended up “laying on his neck,” she said. Instead of backing off, Rupert locked in on the next jump and gave her time to recover.

“I thought to myself, ‘OK, I’m going to take the 20 [penalty points] here,’ and I look up and he’s already taking me to the chevron,” she said. “That’s a partnership, you know, where he just kind of took the wheel for a moment. And that was, like—I’ve never actually felt that on a horse before.”

In the AEC’s first running in California, the advanced field was made up entirely of West Coast-based riders. Molly Duda and Disco Traveler placed fourth, Taren Hoffos and Master Class took fifth, and Bec Braitling and Caravaggio II landed in sixth.

See complete results here.

Be sure you’re following the Chronicle’s coverage of the 2025 USEA American Eventing Championships on Facebook and Instagram @Chronofhorse.