Even though Kelly Loria has a shaky history in show jumping, she was the picture of poise when she guided Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds to a double-clear round to take home blue with 33.7 penalties in the $15,000 Preliminary Rider Challenge at Woodside Horse Trials today, Saturday, May 29 in Woodside, Calif.
“Stadium is typically a little bit difficult for me, but I’ve really been improving,” said Loria, 16, “I entered this division to practice for the [North American Junior Young Rider Championship]. I thought the high stress atmosphere would be good to get some practice before I go to a bigger event like in Kentucky. She saved my butt on a couple things out here today so I was just happy to be with her.”
Loria, who rides with Heidi Riddle at Half Halt Farms in Martinez, Calif., is already qualified for NAJYRC with her 10-year-old Thoroughbred mare. While Loria knows she came from a racing barn, she doesn’t know much about her past since her tattoo is impossible to read.
“A girl at our barn picked her up as a cheap first horse, and then she proved to be a little too much horse for her. I started working with her, and we were eventually able to buy her,” said Loria. “I love her to death. She’s my favorite horse I’ve ever worked with. She’s super sensitive and just so smart. She’s really logical and intuitive, so she’s really good and clever when it comes to picking her feet up over fences.”
Loria, Lafayette, Calif., started out the weekend in fourth-place after the dressage, and had a cross-country round that she called “a dream.”
“My favorite moment [on cross-country was [fence 11ABC], the one-stride cabin drop to another cabin because I was being told that a lot of people were having issues on that. I was really happy that she was just super bold and so game,” said Loria.
Four horse-and-rider combinations, Zachary Brandt with Smurf, Kaitlin Whitfield with Change of Pace, Kaylawna Smith with Master of Ceremony and Danielle Steinman with Fen Cera were eliminated, and one pair, Sarah McKeon and Irish Beau, retired. The majority of the problems throughout the preliminary divisions centered on 11ABC.
Victoria Howe and Ringfort Carragheen had no problems with Derek di Grazia’s cross-country track, however, and added only time penalties to their dressage score to take second in the Preliminary Rider Challenge with 34.1 penalties. April Gerlicher on Point And Shoot was third on 36.5 penalties with one of two double-clear rounds, Jimmie Holotik on Power Rule was fourth with 45.4 penalties and Stephanie Callihan on Compelling Chris claimed fifth with 52.8.
“We’ve been having a little trouble cross-country because she is a spooky horse, so we’ve been working on getting her confident out of the box,” said Howe, 17. “Between Twin Rivers (Calif.) and this one, she really came out of the box going and really wanted to take me. She felt happy about doing it and confident in everything.”
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Howe was planning on a NAJYRC appearance, too, but she decided to take a step back when her horse didn’t appear ready at the beginning of the year.
“I felt like if I was going to go to NAJYRC I wanted to be confident,” said Howe, Carmel, Calif. “I felt like I should be doing the one-stars more comfortably. We need more experience under our belt before we go.”
Howe, who trains with the di Grazias, is aiming for another horse trial before contesting the CCI* or Preliminary Three-Day at Rebecca Farm (Mt.) in July.
C.S.I. And Smith Team Up For Preliminary Horse Challenge Win
For Tamra Smith, Murietta, Calif., entering the Preliminary Horse Challenge was an easy decision.
“It’s like having a big chocolate bar in front of you,” she said with a laugh. “Robert Kellerhouse really does a good job in trying to support West Coast eventing, and how could you not? He got the sponsors and the people who support it with the prize money and prizes. If we have a horse and rider that’s qualified, we owe it to them to be here and show up and support it. We really appreciate and can’t thank the people that donate their money and their time enough.”
Smith and C.S.I. recovered from an error in the dressage to storm around di Grazia’s cross-country track, posting one of their first double-clear cross-country trips since their partnership began. A clean jumping effort in the show jumping kept them on top of the leader board with 40 penalties.
“I was a little worried about cross-country this morning,” Smith, 34, admitted. “There were quite a lot of problems, and I was worried with him being a green horse. We’d been struggling a little bit at each event, and I haven’t been able to make the time because he’d get strong and start to take off with me. This is really the first event I’ve been able to make the time. There was some pressure because I wasn’t 100 percent sure he was going to be rideable enough, but he did not miss a step. The course felt like it was novice, and it was a tough course.”
Smith’s student, Chloe Smyth, imported the 7-year-old Holsteiner gelding from Ireland last year. While he has proven he’s talented, he also proved to be quite the challenge, so Smith took over the ride while Smyth searched for something more suitable.
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“I’m surprised he handled the atmosphere really well,” said Smith. “He didn’t respond to it all, which is nice to see in an upcoming upper level horse. You saw some stops from some horses jumping toward the tent, and the light and the noise, it made the course much more difficult than when you’re at a horse trial. It was as close to having a big FEI upper level event as you could get.”
Another of Smith’s students, Alexa Perkiel, shared the winner’s circle with Smith when she guided her own Apres Ski to the red ribbon (40.2 penalties) in the Preliminary Horse Division. Jolie Wentworth on Bally Quinn was third with 43.7, Gina Miles on Wallenda was fourth with 50.4, and Maxance McManamy on Project Runway was fifth with 61.9 penalties.
“Cross-country was a great course,” said Perkiel, 22. “It was challenging and asked every kind of question. I started out a bit slow and wanted to make time, but luckily he’s a Thoroughbred and likes to run. He recovered really well afterwards.”
Perkiel, Park City, Utah, started working for Smith in April of this year, and said she and her horses have greatly benefited from the experience.
“I trained with John Camlin last summer, and they’re good friends and train similarly,” said Perkiel. “This spring I needed more help. She gives me great attention, and she’s super generous. I get to take in everything she says and watch her ride, which is really helpful.
Apres Ski had a late start to eventing at 7, but he’s blossomed under Perkiel’s tutelage, and she was pleased with how he handled the atmosphere.
“I heard the crowd after the white plank [fence 9],” said Perkiel. “The plank rolled and the crowd freaked out, and I somehow finished the last two fences. It was very nearby and overwhelming, but luckily it didn’t affect my horse!”
