Spectators at the Plantation Field Horse Trials, Sept. 20-22, will have a special treat this year as they watch 2012 Olympic Games individual silver medalist Sara Algotsson Ostholt ride around the CIC* course.

“I thought it’d be fun to have two or three European riders come over, and we’d have a little Nations Cup thing,” said Plantation Field organizer Denis Glaccum. “It’ll hopefully create goodwill, and it’s a way of getting people interested in coming over here. We’ll see what happens, and we’ll have fun with it.”

There’s also a chance that Germany’s Sandra Auffarth will ride in the event, but she has potential scheduling conflicts.

Sweden’s Ostholt, who was most recently part of the silver medal-winning eventing team at the ECCO FEI European Eventing Championships (Denmark), will catch-ride George and Gretchen Wintersteen’s Ballyneety in the one-star division at Plantation Field in Unionville, Pa. Boyd Martin usually competes the 7-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding.

“George and Gretchen were kind enough to allow Sara to ride Ballyneety, and it’ll be a real honor for me to watch Sara ride him around Plantation this year,” said Martin, Cochranville, Pa. “He’s a horse who’s pretty straightforward; he’s a good jumper who’s been at the level about a year now.

“Everyone’s trying to make this one of the best CICs in America,” Martin added. “There have been huge improvements to the course; the jumping and dressage rings are now world class. Bringing in some medalists to catch-ride in the CIC* will only create more interest in an event we all hope is going to be world-renowned.”