by Kimberly K. Egan MHC President (first published in the November 2023 Equiery)

October is Horse Month, as we have all heard by now, which means competitions in our region abound. Maryland-breds have been on the campaign trail at multiple marquee events in dressage, eventing, and Thoroughbred Racing, and they also waved the Maryland flag at the Retired Racehorse Project’s Thoroughbred Makeover in Kentucky.

Maryland-Bred October Winners
• Ameristan (Thoroughbred) – Open Novice @ Poplar Place Horse Trials (GA)
• Finley HTF (Hanoverian) – Yearling Colts/Geldings @ Dressage at Devon (PA)
• Magnific C’Imagination (Cleveland Bay/Holsteiner) – Training Rider @ Radnor Hunt Horse Trials (PA)
• Point Nemo (Thorougbred) – Area II Preliminary Championships @ Loch Moy Farm
• Qennett HTF (Hanoverian) – CDI1* FEI Intermediate I Freestyle @ Dressage at Devon (PA)
• Remington (Oldenburg) – Champion 4-Year Old Sport Horse Prospect @ Dressage at Devon (PA)
• Reputation (Oldenburg) – Training Level Championships @ USDF Region 8 Finals (NY)
• Silver Bop (Thoroughbred) – Novice Rider @ Maryland Horse Trials at Loch Moy Farm; Novice Rider B @ Morven Park International Horse Trials (VA)

Dressage
Dressage at Devon (September 26-October 1) in Devon, PA, is one of the most prestigious dressage shows in our area, and Maryland-breds did well in the breed and performance divisions.

Hilltop Farm, Inc., based in Colora, had four horses in the breed divisions. Their Hanoverian yearling colt Finley HTF (Foundation x Relevè) won the Yearling Colts/Geldings class, and their Hanoverian yearling filly Sirena HTF (Sezuan x Qadence HTF) was Reserve Champion in the USDF East Coast Filly Championship. Rounding out the Hilltop Farm breed division entries were Kensington HTF (Kjento x Elfenfleuer), who finished fourth in the Yearling Colts class and seventh in the Hanoverian class; and London HTF (Louisville HTF x Allegra Q), who finished eigth in the USDA Filly Championship and tenth in the Hanoverian class.

Hilltop Farm also entered one horse, Qennett HTF (Qredit Hilltop x Unicum-D), now owned and ridden by Erin Bonneville, in the performance division. This nine-year-old Hanoverian gelding won the CDI1* FEI Intermediate I Freestyle class, placed fifth in the CDI1* FEI Prix St. Georges class, and seventh in the CDI1* FEI Intermediate I.

Two other Maryland breeders had entries in the Devon show. BellaVista Farm, based in Jefferson, entered its nine-year old Cleveland Bay gelding BellaVista Chancellor (Idlehour Lion’s Share x Carolina Rainbow), and he took second in the Cleveland Bay breed class and seventh in the 4-year-Old and Older Stallions and Geldings Under Saddle. BellaVista Farm is a heavy hitter when it comes to preserving the Cleveland Bay breed in the United States – read our June 2020 Equiery article about their work at https://equiery.com/preserving-the-cleveland-bay/.

High Point Hanoverians in Chestertown entered four-year old stallion Remington (Rosenthal x Fifferling) at Devon. He earned Champion Four Year Old Sport Horse Prospect Stallions/Geldings; took Reserve Champion in the 4-Year Old and Older Sport Horse Prospect Final; and also took Reserve Champion in the 4-Year Old and Older Stallions and Geldings under Saddle.

Autumn is the time of year for the U.S. Dressage Federation’s regional finals and USDF Regional Championships. Maryland is in Region 1, but Maryland-bred dressage horses compete all over the country.

Three horses bred by Hilltop Farms competed in the Region 1 finals in Lexington, Virginia. Four-year old Hanoverian stallion Denmark HTF (Desperado x Unicum-D) took first place in the Open Training (Test 3) Finals and fourth over all in the division. Louisville HTF (Lord Leatherdale x Unicum-D) a six-year old Hanoverian stallion, finished fourth in USDF Region 1 Finals Third Level Open. And five-year old Hanoverian mare Nuance HTF (Negro x Raj Mahal HTF) finished fourth in the USDF Region 1 Finals First Level Freestyle.

Three other Maryland-breds competed at the Region 1 Finals. Victoria Carson’s 12-year-old Welsh Pony Cross FCF Midnight Encounter (Menai Mister Mostyn x Strange Encounter XX) placed fifth in the USDF Dressage Seat Semi-Finals (14-18). Kent Island Sporthorses had two horses in the finals – 13-year-old Oldenburg stallion Royal English KIS (Rosall x Atlanta) finished second in the Fourth Level Test 3 Open; and six-year-old Oldenburg stallion Drachenprinz KIS (Dracula d’Avalon x Royal Princess OBX) finished fifth in the Second Level Test of Choice and 5th in the Second Level Test 1.

Maryland-breds also made a splash at the USDF Region 8 Championships at HITS on the Hudson in Saugerties, New York. High Point Hanoverian’s five-year-old Oldenburg gelding Reputation (Royal Victor x Celebrity) took the Training Level Champion title, while its nine-year-old Hanoverian mare Faustine HP (Furst Impression x Russian Roulette) placed sixth in the Open First Level Championship class.

Eventing
Maryland is the epicenter of Eventing in the U.S. and the last few weeks have demonstrated why. Maryland hosted the U.S. Eventing Association’s Area II Championships the weekend of October 6 at Loch Moy Farm in Adamstown and the Young Event Horse East Coast Championships at the Fair Hill Special Event Zone on October 19-20. Marylanders traveled across the Potomac to the Morven Park International in Leesburg the weekend of October 13, and over the Mason Dixon line to the Radnor Hunt Horse Trials in Pennsylvania the same weekend. The main event of October, of course, was the Maryland 5 Star at Fair Hill, one of only seven competitions of its kind in the world and one of only two in the U.S. Maryland-breds did well in each of these competitions.

Ten-year-old Maryland Thoroughbred gelding Point Nemo (Songandaprayer x Wood Not) won the Area II Preliminary Championship, capping off a tremendous season for the 10-year-old bred by Leonard Pineau. Five-year-old Maryland Thoroughbred Orientated (Orientate x Terminally Pretty) pulled out a third place finish in the Beginner Novice Championships, and 11-year-old fan favorite Silver Bop (Bop x Silver Concern) won the regular Novice Rider division.

Silver Bop reprised his victory a week later by winning the Novice Rider B division at the Morven Park International. Thirteen-year-old Thoroughbred gelding Capability Brown, Jockey Club name That’s Extra, (Partner’s Hero x Royal Roughneck); 7-year-old Thoroughbred Third Times a Charm (Street Magician x Tenacious Traci), and Point Nemo competed in the CCI2*-S division at the same competition.

Five-year-old Maryland-bred Cleveland Bay/Holsteiner cross Magnific C’Imagination (Cimarron x Magnific Fashion) won the Training Rider division at the Radnor Hunt Horse Trial and six-year-old Maryland Thoroughbred Firecall (Friesian Fire x An T M) took fourth in the Open Training division.

A little further afield, two Maryland Thoroughbreds competed in the Poplar Place Horse Trial in Cataula, Georgia. Six-year-old Thoroughbred mare Ameristan (Cosa Vera x Seeking Allie) took top honors in the Open Novice division, and 12-year-old Scip the Sky (Scipion x Durango Sky) placed fifth in the Senior Novice Rider division.

Retired Racehorse Project
The Thoroughbred racing calendar in October was dominated by the Jim McKay Maryland Million, held on October 14 at Laurel Park.

The other big racing event this month was the Retired Racehorse Project’s Thoroughbred Makeover, held at the Kentucky Horse Park. The event is the world’s largest Thoroughbred retraining competition for recently-retired racehorses, and it includes 10 different disciplines and $100,000 in prize money. Top placing Maryland-breds were Ninetynine Excuses (Super Ninety Nine x Bahala) who finished third in both the Competitive Trail division and the Field Hunter division; Road Abroad (Quality Road x Love Abroad), who finished sixth in the Eventing division; Hazel’s Little Man (Despite the Odds x Doneraile Court), who finished 12th in the Barrel Racing division; and Seany P (Nicanor x Great Tyler), who finished 19th in the Freestyle division.

What is a Maryland Sport Horse? “A Maryland Sport Horse is a horse of any breed, including a mixed breed, that was foaled in Maryland and that has participated in at least three competitions with three or more participants in each, that were judged by a disinterested judge according to a publicly available set of rules.”

Don’t see your Maryland-bred sport horses listed here? Visit our new Maryland-Bred Sport Horse Database on our website
at www.mdhorsecouncil.org/sporthorses/ and add a new horse or update the competition record of an existing horse!