Temecula, Calif.—Aug. 30

The first time Chloe Smyth brought SR Myconos to a show, she had an eerie moment in the warm-up. Looking up from her ride, it took her a moment to realize why all eyes were on her—or rather, why they were on “Myco.”

The unusually colored Argentinian Warmblood (R.S. Morgan—Tres Coronas Betelgeuse, Magnus Lucky Lord Z) who just won the novice horse division at the USEA American Eventing Championships always draws a lot of attention. Smyth jokes that a horse like him requires a rider with a “big social battery,” because she gets so many questions from people who can’t believe he’s just a warmblood with a very flashy genetic anomaly. It’s a good thing she enjoys talking about the 7-year-old pinto stallion almost as much as she enjoys riding him. 

Myco’s owner, Michelle Donaldson, imported the horse from Argentina after falling in love with him over video. When he arrived, Smyth and Donaldson were delighted to find that he wasn’t just beautiful, he was also an especially easygoing stallion. 

“I tell him, it’s week by week,” Smyth said. “As long as you act like a gelding, you’ll get to be a stallion. So far, he’s been really good.”

So good that the horse rarely gives a second look to mares and is kid-safe on the ground. 

“At Rebecca Farm [Kalispell, Montana], I was in the training three-day, and I had all these 12-year-olds doing his vet box and everything,” Smyth said. “He was, like, Mr. Cool.”

She’s excited for the young horse’s progress in the two years she’s worked with him. Right now, she’s taking care to move slowly with the horse as his body and brain develop and says that he’s “coming into himself” this season.

“We’d love to take him to the FEI level,” she said of his future. “Right now, we’re just kind of building a good, solid foundation, getting him going, getting him fit. I think they’ll definitely go there and do that. He’s got all the potential. He jumps well. 

“It’s just the maturity thing at this point,” Smyth continued. “It’s kind of tough, because sometimes it’s almost too easy for him. He’s like, ‘What’s that horse over there doing? Oh yeah, I was supposed to jump this one.’ ”

This week, focus doesn’t seem to be an issue for Myco. He and Smyth won the novice horse division at AEC on their 24.9 dressage score. Smyth is happy to see the horse is making an impression based on more than his color. 

“You’ve got to get to know him,” she said. “Because he gets better and better the more you watch him. You go, ‘Wow, look at that color.’ Then you go, ‘Wow, look at him move.’ And then you go, ‘Wow, look at him jump!’ ” 

The USEA American Eventing Championships continue through Sunday at Galway Downs in Temecula, California. The highlight of today’s action will be this evening’s show jumping in the $60,000 Adequan USEA Advanced Final, beginning at 6 p.m. Pacific Time (9 p.m. ET).

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