Show jumping action kicked off amid fog and drizzle at 8 a.m. today, Sept. 12, but that didn’t dampen any of the excitement as the biggest championship divisions concluded, the second day of cross-country commenced and the upper-level riders hit the dressage arena.

Lisa Mendell was crowned the first AEC winner of 2008, topping the beginner novice horse division with her 7-year-old Thoroughbred gelding, Ripplin’ Waters. The pair put in a flawless show jumping round this morning, putting the pressure on overnight leaders Kelly Hill and Cindy Bonamarte, who each pulled one rail to drop to second and fourth, respectively.

“My nerves got to me a little bit, but by the end of his round he was jumping really nicely,” Mendell, Flint Hill, Va., said. “He deserves to do as well as he does, and I don’t ever want to be the one to get in his way with my riding.”

Mendell, who has competed through intermediate, runs Wayward Springs Farm in Northern Virginia with her husband, former four-star rider Michael Mendell. He was on hand to deliver plenty of hugs and kisses after his wife’s win with “Ripley,” who is owned by Michael’s father, Dan Mendell.

Seeking a new upper-level prospect for Lisa after Michael’s advanced mount Loughnatousa Spring retired two years ago, the couple went on a shopping trip to England, where they found Ripley. As an English and American Thoroughbred cross, the bay gelding has plenty of run in him.

“He’s no warmblood,” Lisa said. “His brothers are doing timber and flat races in England. It’s been kind of a long road. We had to do lots of jumper shows over the winter to settle him, but he’s really becoming a lovely horse.”

The AEC was only Ripley’s third recognized competition, so Lisa was particularly thrilled with their third-placed dressage score of 29.0. And while the riders before her failed to complete the cross-country course, her gelding ate up the turf.

“We were the first ones in our division to get past Fence 3,” she said, referring to The Cant, a spooky log that stopped or eliminated several pairs. “Ripley took a good look at it too, and I’m not sure why it scared them all so much, but after that he was great. He’s become quite a tiger on the cross-country.”

Lisa plans to move Ripley up to novice soon, acknowledging that he’s proven himself prepared.

“This is my first time at the AEC,” she said. “But I felt like I had a horse who could really do well, and I just wanted him to be here with all the atmosphere and tension—to have him see all the banners and the flags and the horses everywhere. And I’m thrilled I did!”

A Perfect Goodbye

With two riders tied for second place just 1.5 points behind her after cross-country day, Kelsey Neely knew that she and Zula would have to put on a perfect performance in the show jumping ring to clinch the junior beginner novice championship.

“It was nerve-wracking and exciting,” said Neely of her show jumping round. “There was a lot of pressure. But it went well. She did her little crow-hopping in the warm-up, but once she got in the ring she was really good.”

Neely and Zula made short work of the course, leaving all the fences up to earn the championship and finish on their dressage score (29.5).

The win capped off a stellar season for the Alpharetta, Ga., rider and her 14.1-hand partner. After winning the Area III beginner novice rider championship at Poplar Place (Ga.), Neely packed her tack trunks and headed north with her trainer Tawn Edwards to spend the summer competing in cooler climates.

Zula, a Trakehner-Welsh Pony cross, came out of Edwards’ breeding program, which began after her family stumbled across a very special foundation mare.

“Zula’s grandmother is a horse we got off the truck from Montana that ended up jumping grand prix with my brother,” said Edwards. “I have a few of hers at the barn, and I only put kids like Kelsey on because they’re very special and they go places. Kelsey is a very good rider, she makes my job easy, and she’s very worthy of riding the pony.”

Neely’s win at the AEC held extra-special meaning for her, as the competition marked Neely and Zula’s swan song competition together. Having outgrown the gray roan mare, Neely will hand off the reins to another rider and graduate to a greener mount, Zula’s 4-year-old half-brother.

A Blue for Britannica

Annie Desmond spent four days in a trailer to travel from her home base in Sebastopol, Calif., to the AEC. But she made the journey count when she galloped around the stadium course to win the amateur beginner novice championship on Britannica.

“I felt like cross-country yesterday was one of my best rides, she felt very happy and comfortable,” said Desmond. “And today in the stadium she was super. After every fence I felt like saying ‘Yes! This is great!’ ”

After a strong dressage test Wednesday, Desmond led the field from start to finish, adding nothing to their initial score of 27.0.

The 47-year-old amateur decided to take a stab at qualifying for the AEC when she heard about the beginner novice division several years ago. This year she made qualifying her goal, convinced her friend Sue Buxton to do the same at novice level, and ignored the nay-sayers from her barn who thought she was a little off to travel all the way to Illinois for a beginner novice horse trial. “But now they’re all so excited and want to come next year,” she said.

Desmond stumbled upon “Brit” four years ago, shortly after she started spending time in the saddle. Though a 6-year-old broodmare would seem to be an unlikely choice for a novice rider, the mare proved herself a perfect partner.

“She was pretty settled when we got her, but she would get a little excited here and there,” said Desmond of the 10-year-old Hanoverian. “But I’m brave, just not very schooled, and she’s been fantastic. She’s been amazing and lovely and generous and very sweet—just a great amateur horse.”

Matt Brown, who flew to Chicago to coach Desmond and Buxton, considers the lowest levels of competition at the AEC the most important. “It’s so wonderful that the USEA designed this championship,” said Brown. “It’s perfect for students like Annie. She doesn’t want to go advanced, but she wants to do the best she can and test herself at the level where she is. I’m so happy she had this opportunity.”

Miller Makes It Happen

Erin Miller and The Tempest capped off a rebuilding season with a strong win in the amateur novice division, taking the championship on their dressage score of 21.1.

A deluge of rain hit the Lamplight Equestrian Center on show jumping day, making for sloppy going for Miller and her competitors. “It’s been a draught all summer, but every show I go to it rains,” said Miller with a laugh. “But we just schooled a bit and he felt fabulous, so we just went. I didn’t want to be unconcerned about the show jumping, but typically it’s the easiest phase for me.”

Miller, Canton, Mich., didn’t feel quite as confident in “Temper” for yesterday’s cross-country, but the 10-year-old galloped around the course without any problems. “He’s had issues in the past, not wanting to leave the start box and being a little herd-bound—he didn’t get gelded until he was almost 6,” she said. “Yesterday he warmed up great and after I got him down to the box he was stellar. He jumped around very well.”

Although they have been working together for four years, the pair recently took a year-long hiatus while the Trakehner recovered from tie-back surgery. They returned to the eventing scene in top form this season, winning novice divisions at Hunter’s Run (Mich.), Cobblestone Farm (Mich.) and Encore Form (Mich.). They also logged their first go at training since 2006 at Richland Park (Mich.) in August.

Miller, a clinical psychology researcher, started a new job with the University of Michigan in June. “During the interview I said, ‘Look, I’m going to be competing a lot, so I’m going to need an awful lot of time off,’ ” said the 29-year-old. “But it works out fine. I keep my barn at Jill Mooney’s barn, which is nearby, and I live just up the road, so it’s not too difficult to manage.”

Mooney helps Miller with her flatwork on occasion, but Miller put most of the training on Temper herself. When she can, Miller turns to her mother and first trainer, Nan Lynch, whenever they get together.

“I just say ‘Do it again, that was ugly,’ “ said Lynch, “These days she helps me more than I help her.”

Also at the novice level, Chicago rider Tera MacDonald pulled off an amazing one-two finish in the horse division, finishing on her dressage score with both Savvant (23.2) and La Tee Da (25.8), who placed first and second, respectively.

Additional AEC Action

Leslie Law claimed the top rank in the advanced division with a dressage score of 28.8 aboard Fleeceworks Mystere Du Val, but Amy Tryon and Leyland are just .4 penalties behind in second.

Becky Holder’s up-and-comer Rejuvenate leads the intermediate division on a stunning score of 25.6, with a cushion of nearly 5 points over Jennie Brannigan and Cooper.

Wisconsin rider Jamie Marlewski and Sprint Tech have a slight edge in the amateur preliminary over last year’s winners in the same division, Tiffany Lunney and My Tuition. Marlewski scored a 29.2 on her dressage test with her 10-year-old Thoroughbred gelding.

Heather Morris of Texas leads the field in the preliminary horse division with Slate River, after scoring a 33.3 in the dressage. She also sits third in the intermediate division with Genial.

Missouri young rider Callie Judy, who has been virtually unstoppable at the preliminary level this summer, continues her domination here at the AEC in the junior/young rider division. She rode Call On Me to a dressage mark of 27.1 today, leading the field of 19 riders. Her second mount, Irish Odyssey, currently sits in 10th place.

While many of the rankings changed drastically in the amateur training division after today’s cross-country, dressage leaders Donna Miller and ArdCeltic Art retained their top slot even in the pouring rain, adding just 3.2 time penalties to their score.

Mara Dean also dominated in a downpour, posting a double-clear round with Casino to keep her lead in the training horse division. She’ll have to jump clean tomorrow, however, as Sara Dierks sits less than a rail behind with Puzzle It Out.

After several hours of rain, officials put a lengthy hold on the cross-country in the afternoon to remove certain jumps from the course or shift the positions of some portables. But riders in the junior training division were finally allowed to run, and Kate Aldrich of Virginia and William Don’t Tell held on to their dressage lead with a double-clear round, despite the slop.

Only one novice division is left to be completed, and the group will show jump tomorrow. Charlee Marinovich and Rapport added nothing to their dressage score today, finishing cross-country still leading the junior division.