There was no one smiling brighter at the Dutta Corp. Fair Hill International than Cary Chavis as he exited the ring after his CCI** test with Game On.

The amateur rider and full-time dentist made Fair Hill a goal this year, and he’s soaking up every moment.

“When you make the bold statement that your goal is to do the two-star at Fair Hill, then alright! We’ve got to make that happen, and we did!” said his trainer Valerie Vizcarrondo of Blue Clover Eventing. “When you’re around someone like Cary it’s so motivating because he’s so enthusiastic. He makes tremendous effort, not just monetary, but literally he will be changing in his car to be able to take a lesson in the time block that works and get back [to work.] It’s awesome when people like that are in our sport. I hope he inspires other people out there. It’s inspiring to work with him because you want to rise to the same level.”

Chavis lives in Washington D.C., and owns a dental practice specializing in cosmetic and general dentistry.

He rode growing up in the Baltimore area, and took a break to complete his education before picking up jumpers for six years. When he grew tired of “waiting at the in-gate,” Chavis, who trained with Peter Foley, decided to try eventing when Foley’s partner Stephen Bradley suggested it.

Twelve years later, Chavis is getting ready to tackle his first CCI** with Game On, a 7-year-old off-the-track Thoroughbred gelding (Storm Surge—Paige’s Boo, Dixie Brass) he found through Erin Sylvester and bought from Nilson da Silva and Laura VanderVliet.

Photo by Lindsay Berreth.

Chavis wasn’t entirely sure he was up for the challenge of bringing “Bo” along when he tried him two years ago, but after getting some advice from Boyd Martin and having a couple of good cross-country schools, he knew the gelding was the right match.

“This is a big weekend! I feel pretty good,” said Chavis. “My horse is pretty honest. I’ve really enjoyed developing him this year. I’ve never really seen a horse grow to the extent that Bo has grown. From his first training where he was swerving to the jumps, like ‘Where am I?’, to his last CIC where his ears were pricked, looking like, ‘Where do I go next?’ It’s really a confidence builder because he likes his job. I give a more positive ride, I’m not a timid rider, and he likes that. Other horses might not. I don’t like to say I’m a cowboy, but when in doubt, kick him on so to speak.”

Chavis, 51, had ridden to the intermediate and CIC* level with a former OTTB, The Tin Man, but when he decided to focus on getting to the two-star level with Bo a year ago, he got in touch with Vizcarrondo, and they clicked.

He keeps Bo at Vizcarrondo’s barn in West River, Md., and travels 50 minutes on average through D.C.-area traffic at least three times during the week to ride, and on weekends, though he says traffic towards eastern Maryland is usually better than other parts of the area. “Waze has been my savior! It helps direct me to ways I’ve never gone before,” he said with a laugh.

Sometimes Chavis will squeeze in a lunchtime ride while running his busy practice, and he and Vizcarrondo have to be flexible when scheduling lessons.

“The best part is I make my own schedule, and Val knows. Sometimes we’re calling and changing, like ‘Oh, I’ve got a late day,’ or ‘Oh, someone canceled, can I come out early?’ She’s pretty good about trying to finagle when we can. That helps a lot,” he said.

When he’s not riding, Chavis tries to keep fit going to the gym. He admitted it’s tough to stay confident with only one horse, but he’s recently purchased SpectraVet Cohiba, a 6-year-old mare who won the USEA Young Event Horse Championship 5-year-old division at Fair Hill last fall with Lynn Symansky.

Cary Chavis and Game On at the Plantation Field CIC**. Photo by Lindsay Berreth.

“The difference I think between a good rider and a really good rider is how many times you get to sit on a horse. It’s like doing dentistry—if I do a procedure every day so many times, I’m comfortable when something goes wrong, and I know how to fix it, and I’m not stressed,” he said. “If you only have that one horse and that one ride and that one time in the ring, and you screw up, and your next competition’s not scheduled for a month, you do get stressed, like, ‘Is that same thing going to happen?’ You have to have a little confidence, but you have to have that time in the saddle to reinforce what you’ve done wrong or what you’ve done right.”

Chavis says Vizcarrondo has given him the confidence to compete at the upper levels and to make it work on his own at shows when she can’t be there. He’ll often ask advice from other professionals like Lainey Ashker, who are always willing to chat.

“If I have a question, everyone’s willing to say, ‘Hey, this is my thought. This is how I’d ride it.’ Then I call Val at the end of the say and tell her the set up and my thoughts, and it works out really well,” he said.

Chavis and Bo came into Fair Hill with three clear cross-country jumping rounds in their last three CIC**s. They completed their dressage on Thursday at Fair Hill and scored a 72.7.

“I felt there was improvement. I felt like the horse was a little more round and a little more rideable,” he said. “I was more in tune with what I needed to feel like, even though I can’t accomplish it every time. I was able to think and compose myself and compose the horse and break the test up into parts that aren’t rushed.”

Chavis is excited to share his Fair Hill experience with his non-horsey partner of 16 years, Derek, who’s a boating enthusiast.

“He understands spending money that’s not necessarily coming back to you!” he joked.

He believes Fair Hill’s course will suit his and Bo’s attacking style.

“I always say I go out on cross-country, and I walk it and I never feel overconfident, but you have to have some sense of, I can do this. I go out there and after walking it a few times, and there are a two or three questions that maybe I haven’t seen before, and we talk about how to do this. But overall I feel like it’s a course we’ve worked on all year. You can have a good day or a day bad, but I’m going to go out on my horse, confident, hope for the best and try and give him the best ride I can, and hopefully we’ll come across the finish line.”

“It’s awesome that that’s his default! We’ve now had to teach him that there’s finesse involved in that. They’re super well-suited,” said Vizcarrondo. “The horse is super talented and super honest. He loves his job. When Cary named him Game On, that was spot on!”