After yesterday’s dressage competition at the American Eventing Championships in Wayne, Ill., Kelsey Neely and Zula staked out a claim at the top of the junior beginner novice leaderboard, and today, Sept.11, she had to dig in her heels to hold onto the lead—literally.

Neely, Alpharetta, Ga., survived a hairy moment on cross-country when her pony hit the brakes before a ditch at fence 11A. But the determined 12-year-old kicked on, clearing the ditch from a standstill and cantering on over the second element of the combination, finishing the course within the time to hold on to the top spot with a score of 29.5.

“She doesn’t like to gallop, but she’s better than she used to be,” said Neely. “Yesterday in the dressage she was very good, nice and round and forward.”

This year’s competitors at the AEC found a revamped schedule that sent beginner novice and some novice riders cross-country today, while the rest of the novice riders as well as all the training competitors kicked off their competition in the dressage ring.

Neely first rode the Trakehner-Welsh cross mare at a summer camp in upstate New York run by her trainer, Tawn Edwards, a year ago. The pair clicked so well that at the end of the summer the Neely family brought the pony back to Georgia to ride year-round.

“In the morning on the way to the show my stomach was going, and I was nervous, but when I got to the barn I was cool, and right before I ride, my adrenaline starts going and I’m fine,” she said.

This will be Neely’s last competition aboard Zula, as she’s outgrown the 14.1-hand pony. But she won’t lose her connection to Zula completely, as she’s already started riding the mare’s 4-year-old brother.

Aldrich Aces Her First Test

Kate Aldrich got off to a strong start today at her first AEC, finishing the dressage phase at the top of the junior training division with Virginia Coulter’s William Don’t Tell (24.7).

Aldrich had planned a trip to Wayne, Ill., for last year’s championships until her horse came up lame. Although she missed out on the competition, the bad luck had a silver lining when Coulter loaned her “Will” to campaign while her mount was on stall rest, a move which would lead to a successful year-long partnership. “Virginia loves to watch him go as much as she likes riding him,” said Aldrich. “She never misses a lesson.”

The chestnut off-the-track Thoroughbred had already competed through training level with Aldrich’s then-trainer Tom Mansmann. Aldrich recently started training with Mara Dean, who she says has helped elevate her and Will to excellence in the dressage arena.

“He’s very challenging as a young horse—definitely a red-headed Thoroughbred,” said Aldrich. “He had backwards motives as a young horse, and I’d start riding backwards. Mara’s really helped me relax my arm, use my leg and seat.”

After a 12-hour trailer ride from Virginia to Wayne yesterday, Will started dressage day a touch on the stiff side.

“He was kind of draggy in the warm-up, but as soon as I stepped in the ring he was a completely new horse,” said Aldrich. “He came right up and went really nicely. It was kind of a confidence boost.”

During the academic year, Aldrich splits her time between her family’s farm in Huntly, Va., and the Foxcroft School an hour away in Middleburg. The 17-year-old grew up riding show hunters and caught the eventing bug four years ago from Kim Keppick.
 
The high school senior keeps a well-rounded riding resumé. After several successful horse trials this spring, including her first go at preliminary, Aldrich took the summer off from eventing to bone up on dressage at local shows. She also competes with her school’s interscholastic program in the equitation and jumpers, and this summer catch rode a medium green pony at the Upperville Horse Show (Va.).

“She works very hard and tries very hard,” Dean said of her student. “It’s nice to see someone that young that’s so focused with so much natural talent.”

Casino Pays Off For Dean

Dean knew a busy event like the AEC would be a big challenge for her spooky training level prodigy, Casino. But the 7-year-old Hanoverian stayed focused on dressage day to finish on a score of 26.3 and take the lead in the training horse division after the first phase.

“I spent my time in the warm-up going by the judges and the tents and the people, just trying to get him to settle,” said Dean, Round Hill, Va. “Once he understands what you want he’s great. But if there’s an initial spook, then he gets backed off. But he went great. I had to work a little bit in the trot to keep him in front of my leg. After the first canter he was right there. I was very pleased with him for where he is.”

Casino jumped his first fence just a year and a half ago after coming over from Germany, intended for a career in the dressage ring. But his lazy instincts turned off potential riders, and the gelding eventually found his way to Tracie Taylor, who fell in love with him and decided to see if he could jump.

Taylor brought the Hanoverian to Dean for an evaluation, and Dean spent the next year dominating the training levels. “He’s won almost everything I’ve done with him,” said Dean. “He’s done six or seven training [level horse trials], and he’s been first or second in each one.”

Taylor turned over the reins to Dean for the time being and has enjoyed watching him learn the sport. Despite their success, Dean feels no pressure to spring up the levels with Casino. 

“Everyone says ‘You’ve won everything, why haven’t you moved up?’ ” she said. “He’s definitely green, and he needs to mature. He has all the ability, the talent and the jump—but it’s the mind that needs to catch up.”

“Everyone loves him,” she continued. “I took him to Wellington this winter, and the dressage riders wanted him, the show jumpers wanted him—Laura Kraut absolutely loved him—but we think he wants to be an event horse.”

Additional Thursday Action

In the beginner novice horse division, Kelly Hill kept her 2-point lead with a flawless cross-country round aboard Wolfsfalle. The Kalamazoo, Mich., rider will need an equally perfect performance in show jumping tomorrow to earn the win.

Annie Desmond and Britannica kept their place at the top of the amateur beginner novice leaderboard. Desmond, Sebastopal, Calif., has a 2.5-point lead in the division of 26 riders.

Michigan rider Erin Miller maintained her lead in the amateur novice division with The Tempest. The pair logged a fault-free cross-country round today to remain on their dressage score of 21.0, which still stands as the lowest in the competition overall. The division’s scores are tight, however, and Miller will need a fault-free performance in tomorrow’s show jumping to claim the win.

Chicagoan Tera MacDonald’s luck continued today as she posted two perfect cross-country rounds with her novice horse mounts, Savvant and La Tee Da. The two are in first and second place, respectively, but MacDonald won’t have room for error tomorrow. Neither horse has a rail in hand.

Charlee Marinovich of Edina, Minn., topped the junior novice division on a dressage score of 26.3. Marinovich rode Rapport, a 16.1-hand gray Oldenburg gelding, and has more than a 4-point buffer against the field of 42 horses heading into tomorrow’s cross-country.

Donna Miller of Alpharetta, Ga., leads the amateur training division after scoring a 23.7 today in the dressage with ArdCeltic Art, her 5-year-old gray Connemara stallion. The pair has a 2-point lead over the field heading into cross-country.