Who’s Who in Maryland Eventing
by Katherine O. Rizzo
The 2009 eventing season can be summarized in one word: wet. Several horse trials throughout Maryland and Area II either canceled at least one day of competition or modified the event to adjust for torrential rain, flooding and mud. Of course, not every event was rained out. Maryland eventers are blessed with so many horse trials within a short drive that there was plenty of action to keep everyone happy.
What follows is a list of a few Maryland event riders who had particularly stellar 2009 seasons. Whether they topped a United States Eventing Association list, won a major competition or just consistently finished in the ribbons, these riders soared above and beyond the typical event rider and deserve an extra kudos nod as we dig out from snow and quietly dream of 2010 competitions.
Rider of the Year
For the second year in a row, Colleen Rutledge of Frederick has been the only Marylander to make it onto the USEA Overall Leaderboard. In 2008, Rutledge was ranked 39th overall with 89.5 points. For 2009, she moved up to 30th and earned 108 points. Her 2009 season consisted of nearly 90 horse trials starts at the Beginner Novice through Advanced levels and multiple CCI and CIC starts at the Training (not a sanctioned three-day event but scores do count towards year end points) through the three-star levels.
Training out of her family’s Turnabout Farm in Mt. Airy, Rutledge’s top horses for the year were Dillon and Shiraz. She competed both at the Intermediate and Advanced levels with highlights being a fifth place with Shiraz at the September 2009 Poplar Place Farm CIC*** and winning an Advanced division at Pine Top’s Spring Horse Trials in February 2009 aboard Dillon.
Horse of the Year
It is an understatement to say that a rider is only as good as his or her horse and no matter what its talent or lack of talent may be, this sport would not exist without the horse. With that said, some horses are better than others and one Maryland horse in particular this year out shown the rest.
FMF’s Manila Bay, owned by Full Moon Farm in Finksburg and ridden by Stephen Fulton, was one of only two Maryland horses to find itself on any USEA list. The homebred Percheron/Thoroughbred gelding finished out the 2009 season in a tie for eighth place for Training Horse of the Year with 50 points. The competition at this level throughout the country was fierce and “Thunder” was only 38 points from the championship and 21 points from reserve champion.
Thunder and Fulton completed nine horse trials at Training level in 2009, placing seventh or higher at each one. The pair finished out the season with a second place finish at the Area II Adult Rider Training Three-day held at Waredaca in October 2009. The pair’s best score of the season was a 30.5 at Waredaca’s May horse trials, which earned them second place.
The pair also won several awards from the Maryland Combined Training Association and were named the 2009 Equiery Bowl winners.
Advanced
Katie Ruppel of Adamstown wrapped up the 2009 season with a 30th place finish in the CCI*** division at the October 2009 Fair Hill International Three-day Event. Aboard Sir Donovan, Ruppel was one of the very few competitors to jump clean both on cross-country and show jumping. The pair also placed 24th at Plantation Field’s CIC*** in September 2009. Ruppel is looking to continue moving forward at the Advanced level with Sir Donovan in 2010 and has set her sights on completing a four-star.
Intermediate
Daniel Clasing of White Hall has been competing through the Advanced level for several years but seems to have been flying under the radar – that is until his impressive cross-country round at the October 2009 Fair Hill International Three-Day Event in the CCI** level. Clasing piloted Houston through tough conditions to be the first rider of the day to finish fault free. With one dropped rail in show jumping, Clasing finished his 2009 season with an eighth place finish at FHI CCI**, the only Marylander to walk away with a ribbon.
Clasing and Houston have spent most of 2009 at the top of the Intermediate level, placing in 10th or higher six times. His best score of the season was a 44.1, earned at Loudoun Hunt Pony Club’s Spring Horse Trials in April 2009. His consistency also earned him a spot on the U.S. Equestrian Federation’s Developing Rider list for 2010.
Preliminary
Although Sarah Bratton (pictured) did not find herself on a USEA list for 2009, she did rack up eight finishes in the top five and was ranked third on the Area II Junior/Young Rider Preliminary list. Bratton was also reserve champion Junior Rider at Training and Above for MCTA and Aztec Gold was the champion MCTA horse at that level. Bratton, who lives in Lineboro, piloted Aztec Gold to an impressive 2009 season placing second five times and third twice. Her best score of 2009 was a 35.6 at CDCTA’s Summer Horse Trials in June where she placed second overall and was the number one junior in the division.
Also notable at Preliminary in 2009 were Molly Curtiss of Brookeville and Jamie Furtado of Crofton. Curtiss, now a college freshman, took it easy in 2009, competing less and studying more. However, at the few competitions that she did with Savannah, she placed very well and finished out the season with a team gold medal at the North American Junior/Young Rider Championships. She was also fourth place individually at that event, finishing on her dressage score.
Furtado and Come Out and Play earned several ribbons in 2009, many blues, at the Preliminary level, placing Furtado 10th on the USEA’s Adult Amateur Preliminary Rider list.
Training
Erika Gonzalez (pictured) of Germantown is one young rider worth keeping your eye on. Both on her own and as a member of the Seneca Valley Pony Club, Gonzalez has traveled around the country accumulating ribbons and championships. She finished 2009 as the fourth ranked USEA Young Adult Training Rider and the number one Junior/Young Rider for Area II at the Training level.
At the U.S. Pony Club Eastern Championships, Gonzalez was part of the champion Capital/Delmarva Training Level Event team, where she placed fourth individually riding Copper Dancer. She received the Bierman Challenge Cup, a perpetual trophy awarded to the Training level eventer who demonstrates excellence in cross-country with a properly fit and conditioned horse.
Outside of Pony Club, Gonzalez placed in the top ten at all 12 Training level events she entered, including a win at the September 2009 Seneca Valley Pony Club Horse Trials and seventh place at the Area II Adult Rider Training Three-day in October 2009.
Kudos also to Melinda Maslin of Highland who was ranked third in 2009 on the USEA Young Adult Training Rider list and Kristen Parris of Mt. Airy who was ranked third USEA Adult Amateur Training Rider and seventh USEA Adult Training Rider.
Novice
Lisa Warnock of Hagerstown once again proved to be the top Maryland Novice rider. She competed two horses in 2009 to earn the reserve championship for the USEA Master Novice Rider and Master Amateur Novice Rider categories as well as the Area II Adult Amateur Novice championship.
With Constant Sorrow, Warnock placed in the ribbons at every event she entered, including two at the Training level near the end of the season. The pair won four times with its best score being a 24.7, earned at the September 2009 Middleburg Horse Trials. Hit and Run is Warnock’s second mount, an equally impressive horse also placing at every event entered. For 2009, Warnock completed a total of 22 Novice horse trials with the two horses. What is even more impressive is that Warnock did not have a single cross-country jump penalty the entire season and only had 11 dropped rails.
Anita Antenucci of Washington, D.C. was ranked fourth for the USEA Adult Amateur Novice Rider and was tied for seventh in the USEA Adult Novice Rider at the end of 2009. Caitlin Holden of Hollywood tied for seventh USEA Young Adult Novice Rider and Kristen Booty of Annapolis tied for ninth in the USEA Adult Amateur Novice Rider list.
Beginner Novice
Picking a Beginner Novice rider of the year is next to impossible. There are several Marylanders at this level who have had a very successful 2009 season. The top three would be: Alexa Henry (pictured) of Mt. Airy, Michelle Corbeille of Comus, and Laura Beebe of West Friendship.
In just five Beginner Novice horse trials in 2009, Henry and Serra Valley Mr. Wizard finished in the top ten at each event. The pair also scored well at the one Novice horse trials it competed at, Waredaca’s August event. Henry’s best placing was a second earned at Surefire Horse Trials in June 2009. Her best score of the season couldn’t have come at a more perfect venue: the American Eventing Championships in Illinois. There she finished the competition on her dressage score of 33.5 to place eighth overall. The stellar season ranked Henry third on the USEA Young Adult Beginner Novice Rider list.
Corbeille rode Boo Radley to eight top six finishes in 11 Beginner Novice horse trials over 2009. She started out the year with a win at Redland Hunt Pony Club Horse Trials in April 2009 and won again at the Seneca Valley Pony Club Horse Trials in June 2009. She also placed third at the Area II Beginner Novice Championships, held in conjunction with the Difficult Run Fall Horse Trials in August 2009. Corbeille ended the year as the number one Area II Junior/Young Rider in Beginner Novice and was ranked sixth on the USEA Junior Beginner Novice Rider list.
Beebe rode Tuxedo n’ Tails to several top finishes at Beginner Novice, including placing eighth at the Area II Beginner Novice Championships. The pair placed second at Waredaca’s August horse trials and was ranked third on the USEA Adult Amateur Beginner Novice Rider list. Beebe was also the recipient of multiple MCTA awards.
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