Tyler, Texas—Sept. 27

The Nutrena/USEA American Eventing Championships wrapped up today with novice and beginner novice riders crowning several champions. While entries were lower in the AEC’s final year at the Texas Rose Horse Park, 340 compared to 382 last year, there was no shortage of fun. We caught up with a few champions today. Look for more photos and a full report in the Oct. 12 print edition of The Chronicle. For full results, click here. For more photos, click on the photo to the left.

Tamra Smith and Favian – Novice Horse champions

Tamra Smith has had quite the week, flying straight to Texas from Pennsylvania where she won the biggest CIC*** class in the country on Mai Baum at the Plantation Field International Horse Trials.

She capped off her week with two AEC titles, securing the preliminary horse championship yesterday with Judith McSwain’s Fleeceworks Royal and winning the novice horse division this morning on Anita Nardine’s homebred 7-year-old Oldenburg Favian.

Favian started life as a dressage horse, but Nardine thought he might like to jump, so he began his eventing career this spring, winning his first competition with Heather Morris in the irons. Smith rode him and won at his next event and decided to bring him to Texas, her third year contesting the AEC.

“He’s a really good jumper and he’s scopey and very good on the flat and a really good mind. It’s been fun,” said Smith. “He’s like a big kid, even though he’s seven. He’s more like a 4-year-old because he didn’t show and do a whole lot until we got him.”

The pair scored a 21.5 in dressage and stayed on it for the win. “I was a little bit worried because it’s a championship [cross-country] course, and it’s his first time on grass and everything’s brighter and the water’s blue, but he didn’t miss a beat. He was foot-perfect,” she said.

Smith admitted that even though it was novice, she was still nervous to jump last this morning.

“You always get a little nervous, even going into the novice show jumping because you’re .3 from losing the win,” she said. “But you just ride the jumps, and it’s good practice to be under that pressure. Even though it is novice, it’s still winning pressure—everybody in front of you jumped clean, and you have to go out there and jump clean. I thought that everybody did a great job with running the event this weekend. I wish it could have been on a different date because I wish more people could have come and experienced what Texas offered because they really have done a phenomenal job with it. Their loss!”

McKinsey Wickman and Dassett Profile – Junior Novice champions

Winning the AEC junior novice division was the perfect thing for Mckinsey Wickman and Dassett Profile as they prepare to move up to training level at their next event.

They’ve been partnered for seven months after Wickman bought “Pro” from Lillian Heard with the help of Courtney Cooper.

“He was super the whole entire weekend,” said Wickman, of Prosper, Texas. “I was super-proud of him. Coming into dressage, he knew what his job was from the moment we got here. Cross-country, he knew he had to take me over the fences, and today he saved my butt on a couple of fences.”

The pair scored a 25.0 in dressage and stayed on it to win over 29 other combinations, one of the biggest divisions at the event this year.

Wickman competed in the junior novice last year on her other horse, Hotshot, who she now rides at training level. She thought the cross-country course was a good final prep with Pro, who has some training mileage.

“It was beefed up,” the 14-year-old said. “I think it was similar difficulty to training level but the height was lower, so I was able to get a good indication of how he would do at training level.”

Being the last rider in for show jumping caused some nerves, but Wickman held it together.

“I was definitely nervous [coming in last,]” she said. “It was nerve-wracking hearing that I only had a couple points in front of me. I knew we could do it. We’re over-qualified for the job.

“It has been amazing,” she added of the win. “It’s like I’m on Cloud 9. The look on people’s faces after I won, it was awesome.”

Carole Schaff and Company Spending– Novice Amateur champions

Carole Schaff was so shocked to win the novice amateur championship that she could hardly speak after coming out of the ring with Company Spending.

Schaff, Elberta, Ala., bought the 6-year-old Appendix Quarter Horse mare from her trainer, Angela Gottler, who also bred her, when she was a yearling.

With help from Gottler, the pair have moved up the levels over the past five years.

“I evented a long time ago on an Appaloosa mare I had,” Schaff explained. “In 1996 I won the Area III championship and I haven’t won anything since! I quit for awhile, and I picked it back up about five years ago.”

During her break from eventing, Schaff showed Appaloosas and Quarter Horses, but the thrill of cross-country lured her back to eventing.

“This is just more fun than anything,” she said. “It’s like a dream come true. I’ve just had a great time this weekend.”

Julie Norman and Tia – Beginner Novice Horse champions

Professional Julie Norman rode Stephanie Wyly’s Tia to the win in the beginner novice horse division, but the weekend wasn’t without some excitement as the 6-year-old mare is quite green and spooky.

“It’s so exciting!” said Norman of the win. “It’s always nerve-wracking going in last [for show jumping], and of course the announcer always makes a great comment at the end to try to put more pressure on you, but she’s been great. I don’t know her that well in competitions, especially in more of an atmosphere, but she came down centerline just like she’s been there her whole life and kind of kept up her step in the dressage ring. Cross-country she was spooky in between the jumps, which I kind of expected, then once we were at the jumps she was really great. Same thing today. She was spooky and I lost a lot of my steering, but as long as I got her to the jumps, she’d jump it. That’s nice. We just have to work out some of those kinks.”

The AEC was only the third show for the pair and Norman, Benton, La., hopes to keep the ride on Tia and move her for the levels for her owner.

“She’s green, but she’s very talented and capable—a really fantastic mover and really fantastic jumper,” she said. “It’s mainly just keeping a lid on her, especially in the dressage and show jumping. She likes to get strong and big, so we have to make sure she’s listening out there. She’s very spooky too, which also makes her a good jumper and good on the flat, but you never quite know which way you’re going to go when you land over the jump!

“Hopefully the owner will let me keep her for awhile,” she added. “She talked about selling her, but I think I’m going to try to persuade her not to! She’s got the movement and the scope for the upper levels, so I’m hoping we can progress her as far as she can go.”