United States Eventing Association

Temecula, Calif.—Nov. 1—The international divisions of the Eventing Championships at Galway Downs came to a fittingly festive close on Saturday.

William Robertson’s show jumping track gave horses plenty to think about. Standards dressed as big blue waves, multi-color hot air balloons, and pastel cookie stacks highlighted a track with suitably stout fences set solo, on straight-aways and at angles. A good crowd cheering all around the Grand Prix Arena added to the atmosphere.

The Temecula Cowgirls Parade and Drill ignited an 85-degree day with a galloping, flag-waving Opening Ceremonies performance. Patriotic vibes continued as fans rose for the National Anthem during each division’s winners’ presentation.

Galway Downs owners Ken and Tina Smith have transformed the venue into a premier equestrian stage. They are regular fans of the many equestrian competitions held throughout the year and were on hand today. The Smiths presented the Championships prizes along with a key player in Galway’s rise to international prominence—organizer Robert Kellerhouse.

On Sunday, the same electric atmosphere in the Grand Prix Arena will host the show jumping conclusions of the USEA Area VI Championships. Pairs contesting Modified Training to Starter titles will share center court starting at 8 a.m.

O'Neal and Clooney 14 Take the Crown in the CCI4*-L

Having been on or near the four-star podium’s lower rungs a few times these last two years, Karen O’Neal and Clooney 14 were intent on keeping their overnight lead. They entered the Grand Prix stadium with two rails and a few time faults to spare, and they used all but .4 of them to secure the win on a 57.6.

After cross-country, O’Neal was thrilled with how the 11-year-old Westphalian gelding (Captain Jack x Zauberfee) owned by Annika Asling continued stepping up to, even exceeding, each of the level’s challenges. They are targeting the Kentucky five-star next spring, and this outing is a major confidence builder toward that milestone.

“I’m super happy,” said O’Neal, who is based in Washington and has brought Clooney along mostly on her own. “We’ve worked really hard and this is icing on the cake.” At 17.1 hands, Clooney is a challenge to get and keep fit. The heat and fatigue may have contributed to his two rails today, but O’Neal was thrilled with his rideability and his performance all weekend.

Tamie Smith had already won the day’s previous two international divisions and another CCI4*-L victory with Lillet 3 was not out of the question. But two uncharacteristic rails and a .4 time fault erased that chance. Still, Smith described it as a winning outing for the 9-year-old Holsteiner mare (Livello x Princess L) owned by Molly Duda.

“Sometimes the results on paper are not always a reflection of how the performance was,” Smith said. They lost the division lead after a refusal on Friday’s cross-country that Smith attributed to a shaded, angled approach in which the mare simply didn’t see the fence.

Their rail today was the flip side of natural speed that helps Lillet on cross-country. “You want them to be able to jump up and around, and be careful on the third day, and she just needs to learn how to do that better—which she’s doing,” Smith said. Having several times jumped clean over higher tracks at jumper shows, Lillet may not have taken today’s course seriously enough, Smith added.

Smith’s student Duda finished third and fourth on Disco Traveler and Carlingsford Hes A Clover, respectively. Duda and Disco hoped to defend their 2024 CCI4*-L title but had issues on cross-country. The young rider was disappointed but chose to focus on what she’d learned from pilot errors and on her horses’ strong overall performances.

Smith and Jump to Day D Win CCI3*-L

Tamie Smith piloted her two three-star mounts to double clears to win with Jump To Day D and earn reserve with Pierre’s Farceur du Bochard. She took over the lead from her star student, Molly Duda, who had two rails with Jutopia to land in third.

Jump To Day D, an 11-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding (Up to Date x Nicola D), continued his foot perfect weekend to finish on his 28.6 dressage. While 'Pierre', a 9-year-old Selle Francais gelding (Con Air x Ariane du Bochard) owned by Julianne Guariglia, ascended from an 11^th place tie after dressage into reserve on a 33.6.

Since coming to her program in January of this year, Jump To Day D “has just grown in confidence every month we’ve had him,” Smith shared. “He had been a bit nervous or tense, or scooting away after the jumps. I’ve just been ticking along working on his strength.” She expressed gratitude to the horse's owner Jeanne Shigo for patiently going along with Smith’s plan. Jump To Day D already had three-star mileage but several Preliminary runs helped him “go from the bench to star quarterback” in his attitude and performance this weekend.

Pierre’s Farceur du Bochard “is the biggest success of the weekend,” Smith enthused. “He has a lot of blood and is very hot. Nothing is too big or too intimidating for him and he’s so fast and efficient on cross-country. He’s so careful and confident in show jumping. I felt like he was jumping the standards today.”

Smith credited California-based Australian horseman, Alan Clarke, with helping temper Pierre’s hot energy during work over the summer. “That really helped with his relaxation and rideability and he’s just thrived since then,” Smith said. “He’s comfortable in his own skin, and that’s what you need in an event horse in this day and age.”

Another Win for Smith in the CCI2*-L

No one in the top six of this division had even one rail to spare. Only one of those six gave up even a time fault in their show jumping finale. Starting the day’s win streak, Smith set and kept the standard, racking up yet another international win at Galway Downs.

Smith describes Solaguayre Cantata as having quality and talent to spare. And now that her attitude is aligning with her potential, their upward trajectory resulted in a wire-to-wire win on a 27.3 for the 7-year-old Argentine Sport Horse. The mare is owned by major backer Julianne Guariglia and continues to perform like a steadily rising star in Smith’s deep string.

Gabriella Ringer and her own Get Wild, a 13-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding (Plot Blue x Cantana), were accurate and steady to hold their second spot on a 27.7 and Kaylawna Smith-Cook and Calling Cooley (Tallman TN x Ballyhane Ellie), a 9-year-old Irish Warmblood gelding owned by Molly Duda, continued a promising one-year partnership to finish third on their 28.1 dressage.

Megan Sykes and HSH Tangerine Have Wire to Wire Win in CCI1*-L

Tangerine dreams came true for Megan Sykes catch riding her client Nancy Emsley’s HSH Tangerine (by Hype). They used their rail in hand when one fence fell, but otherwise easily maintained the lead they established in dressage. “I’ll ride Tangi anytime,” laughed Sykes of the big chestnut who’s now primed to go back to his amateur owner. “The only question was how tired he’d be and he rallied for us today,” Sykes said.

Since getting injured in June, owner Emsley found watching the 7-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding from the sidelines both “fun and hard!”

“He was never meant to be an FEI horse,” Emsley said. “He was just supposed to be for me, but I love watching Megan ride him, especially at home. She just keeps putting the jumps up and he has so much more potential than I thought.”

Olivia Baca and Casskinero moved up one notch into reserve champion, and the 18-year-old rider took the blame for their one rail in an otherwise excellent show jumping outing. It has been their weakest phase, but is significantly better with input from coach Tamie Smith.

“It’s really about getting the work done before the fence, and letting him do his job,” Baca said of the 8-year-old German Sport Horse gelding (Casskeni II x Chablis As). "He’s very confident and we just had an unlucky rail because I let him get too flat in between.”

After a little vacation, Baca plans to further sharpen skills at jumper shows in the California desert this winter, then tackle Preliminary and hopefully 2* in 2026.

Amanda Boyce moved up into third with her partner of one year, CoolTonic, her own 6-year-old Westphalian mare (Crusoe x Taramanga). The finish reflects “improvement in every phase,” said the Cal State Monterey junior who rides with Lauren Shady. “Her dressage was more relaxed than it’s ever been, even with the big atmosphere, she handled the cross-country like a pro even though she’s quite green and she handled show jumping great, too.” Their one rail left them on a 38.9.

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