Despite the rain and mud, this pair jumped clean to notch their first win together.

Charlie Plumb took advantage of the imperfect conditions at the MCTA Horse Trials at Shawan Downs, winning the advanced division with Westerly after posting the only clean cross-country trip in the rain on May 2-3, in Cockeysville, Md.

“It’s nice to have won,” said Plumb with a laugh. “It was the first time I’ve won anything on the horse. It’s not really the way I want to win at an event, but I’ll take it!”

Plumb and Mike Pizza co-own Westerly, a 13-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding they imported about four years ago.

“He’s hands down the hardest thing I’ve ever sat on,” said Plumb, son of eight-time Olympian and U.S. Olympic Hall of Famer J. Michael Plumb. “He’s tough in the dressage, and his mind is his own worst enemy between the letters, but he’s improved. He’s a good cross-country horse, but he’s very much a work in progress.”

Plumb started Westerly at training level, and they’d moved up to advanced by September of 2007.

“When I got him I went back to basics with him,” said Plumb. “It’s been a long road. He’s definitely matured, and he’s so much better. He trusts me a little more, and I know I trust him.”

Their trust was put to the test at MCTA, as Tremaine Cooper’s cross-country course proved to be a challenge to all the competitors. Of the 10 riders who left the start box, only four made it through the finish flags. Plumb and Westerly were the only pair to finish with no jumping faults, and no one made the time due to the deep footing.

“When I walked the course I didn’t think it was unfair or trappy or tricky, but the footing was deeper than we all thought, and that made all the combinations that much harder,” said Plumb. “I didn’t think the footing was bad, but I got out there and it felt heavy. Westerly lost a right front shoe about halfway around, but he kept jumping. I thought about pulling him up, but he was jumping so well I didn’t. It was good on him to stick it out and finish.”

Most of the problems came at the coffin, fence 6ABC, including three eliminations in a row. The combination consisted of jumping in over a tall set of rails, one stride to a ditch, and then two strides out over a log. The line had a slight bend, with a bit of a drop after the first fence.

“I think it was just one of those cases that it just rode harder than it walked, and you added to the complication when the footing went away,” Plumb commented. “I don’t think the horses read it very well, and when they don’t read it and they come off the ground slow, it makes things that much harder. My horse is good on the cross-country, and he was even a little tough there.”

While Plumb was pleased with his horse’s jumping performance, he hopes to improve his dressage before contesting the four-star level. Bromont CCI*** (Que.) is the next show on Westerly’s schedule.

“I think he gets very claustrophobic in the ring,” said Plumb. “Right now I just try to go to different rings and desensitize him and try to get him to realize it’s no big deal. To be competitive you have to have a good score on the first day no matter how good they run and jump.”

Plumb has his own training business in Southern Pines, N.C. While Westerly is his only advanced horse, he has several young horses that he is excited about, including Checkered Flag, a Thoroughbred gelding he bought from a racetrack in Seattle, Wash.

“I’ve been getting some off the track because of the economy,” he said. “If they’re not earning money they’re getting rid of them. [Checkered Flag] is really cool. He’s never evented before, and it’s a lot of fun to have a Thoroughbred. They’re like a breath of fresh air to ride.”

He has owned Checkered Flag for more than two years and hopes to move him up to training level this season.

“He’s been very green on the cross-country,” Plumb said of the 6-year-old gelding. “I don’t want to make a mistake and scare him. He’s very cautious, but he’s a very good jumper. Those two combinations, if you push them too quick, they can scare themselves. He was great in the dressage at MCTA. I really enjoy riding him.”