Since 2015, the U.S. Hunter Jumper Association has offered the Gochman Grant for USEF Pony Finals to three young pony riders each year, giving them the opportunity to attend and compete.

Last month, USHJA announced the grant has been funded and extended another three years thanks to amateur hunter rider Becky Gochman and her family. The grant is an experience-based one, offering recipients not only the chance to compete in the hunter divisions at Pony Finals, but access to professional training, participation in clinics and other educational opportunities throughout the week. 

Applications for the 2026 grant opened Jan. 1 and will close March 15.

Gochman said that following the journeys of some of the recipients from afar, many of whom have gone on to make an impact in the horse world as professional riders, vet techs or successful juniors and amateurs, and receiving thank-you notes has made the donations worthwhile.

“I was thinking about how large our industry is and how many different kinds of jobs there are available in our industry, and you know, to bring the joy out in these young riders and people, I think we can learn a lot from them—their passion and love and experience,” she said. “I think for us as a family to have had that—and I grew up in a really grassroots fashion, where my mom drove me to horse shows, and we trailered, and I braided, and we did everything ourselves—it’s kind of a way to come full circle for our family.

“I feel like it’s just been a complete pleasure to watch, and I think our family feels proudest supporting this [more] than any other endeavor that we support,” she added. “Yes, Pony Finals is a hard competition, but still, to me, it boils down to being about a kid and a pony and their experience.”

Gochman’s daughters, Mimi Gochman and Sophie Gochman, grew up going to Pony Finals. Both are now successful amateur riders in the hunters and jumpers. Becky has seen how their Pony Finals experiences molded them into the riders they are today.

“Pony Finals always brought us a lot of joy and a lot of tears, because it is a lot of pressure, but it’s also just a lot of fun to see all your friends and know that, on whatever scale you do it, you’re working really hard,” she said. “It was about what our barn and what our kids could accomplish as a whole, in a community and individually. There were some good times, and there were some pretty hard times. But the experience of it is what has made them good riders, good people, and understanding that some days it’s going to go your way, and some days it’s not.”

Addison Cheetham, 14, of El Dorado, California, was a recipient of the Gochman Grant in 2025 and competed at Pony Finals aboard a catch ride, Robin Greenwood’s 18-year-old Welsh Pony cross Etch-A-Sketch (Dixie Chattahoochee—Skip Special Request) in the large pony hunters.

Cheetham got the grant after a challenging 2024. She’d unexpectedly lost her pony jumper Wally, and her junior hunter Cruisin’ was injured that year. While she knew it was unlikely she’d ever get to Pony Finals on Wally before he died due to the distance from California to the Kentucky Horse Park, where Pony Finals are held, she’d always dreamed of going. She was thrilled when she was chosen for the Gochman Grant.

“I wasn’t really nervous; I was kind of excited just to be able to get to Pony Finals for the first time,” she said. “It was really fun, and every experience we had was so special, and every detail was thought through. I felt so lucky to be a part of something like that, and the opportunity meant more to me than I can put into words.”

Cheetham found the clinic opportunities, including a modeling clinic, to be very informative and said she grew as a rider from her experience: “It made me more confident and more motivated and more aware of the responsibility that comes with riding, and I’m very grateful because it changed the way I see myself.”

Cheetham’s mother, Adrienne Cheetham, added that the whole experience was positive.

“Everyone was so sweet and made you feel so welcome and like you were at home,” she said. “You didn’t have to worry about a single thing. You just got off the plane, and then you were greeted with just everything that you could imagine; it just took all that stress away as a family and for her as a rider. She just literally had to show up and help groom and just do her best. I can’t describe how amazing it was. They really made Addison feel special. And it was her birthday week!”

Liam Hissong received the Gochman Grant in 2023 when he was 15. He’d just started doing rated shows with Karen Glover-Raach and Jay Raach at Rock Solid Stables in his home state of Pennsylvania, and had experience with low jumpers, children’s pony hunters and hunter breeding. He’d tried to qualify for Pony Finals on a rescue pony, but when he wasn’t able to, he decided to apply for the grant.

He also catch-rode Etch-A-Sketch for Greenwood in the large pony hunters.

“It was a really good experience,” he said. “It helped me network with a lot of other professionals in our area. It was a good learning experience for me, and I grew a lot from it. The whole team that helped facilitate the experience were awesome. We did so much.”

He noted that he particularly enjoyed a sports psychology clinic, the modeling clinic, which helped him with showing horses on the line at home, and touring Spy Coast Farm.

Hissong, now 17, said he’s stayed in touch with the two other riders who received the grant that year, Maren Bonus and Carly Williams.

As he prepares to graduate high school in the spring, he’s working for Cristina Fizzano riding and showing a variety of horses in all three rings and breaking young horses for the Raach family, and his memories of Pony Finals and what he learned there will stick with him as he continues his riding career.

“It’s the biggest horse show I’ve been to, to date,” he said. “It’s cool getting the show in that ring. It’s helped me. It got my name out. So many trainers have asked me to do their green horses. I’ve catch-ridden a lot of horses since then. It’s benefited me in so many ways, and I have lifelong friends from it now too.”

The post Gochman Grant Renewal Continues A Pathway To Pony Finals appeared first on The Chronicle of the Horse.

“I’m extremely happy with my horse,” Sweetnam said of the 10-year-old Anglo-European gelding (Billy Mexico—Ursulla, Flyinge Electro) owned by Sweet Oak Farm and Monika Preston. “He is so talented, and he deserves this more than anyone—more than myself, I believe. I’m really happy that I kind of stayed out of his way and let him do his thing, because he naturally wants to be so competitive in the ring. I just had to make sure I get him set up to get the ride he wants to get.”

Sweetnam stopped the clock at 57.98 seconds, nearly a full second clear of second-place finisher Charles Rulquin of France, riding Elina de Grandry. While the class allowed her to shed the stylistic constraints of the equitation ring—where she captured both the WIHS Equitation Final (Maryland) and the Dover Saddlery/USEF Hunter Seat Medal Final (Pennsylvania) this fall—Sweetnam said the precision of that discipline has translated directly to her success in the jumpers.

“I think that the jumpers brings me effectiveness, and it’s more important to get things done than to look pretty, whereas the equitation, you need to get the same things done, but it needs to look like you’re doing nothing almost,” she said. “So I’d say the equitation is very good for my discipline, and making sure that my track and line is always perfect, and it’s a bit easier to do when going that slow and over those smaller jumps.”

See results from the class and follow full results from CHI Geneva throughout the weekend.

Watch Olivia Sweetnam’s off-track interview following her victory:

Just as valuable are the friendships and connections forged through the program. 

“It’s a level playing field,” she said. “You meet riders from so many backgrounds, and everyone brings something unique. This year, the group of riders I was with were the strongest I’ve ever seen, and that pushed me to be better both in and out of the saddle.”

Finley said EAP also reinforced lessons in professionalism and humility. 

“It matters how you treat people and who you are outside of the saddle,” she said. “Being eager to help, to learn, to listen, I think ultimately that’s what makes the difference in this business.”

Finley’s approach in and out of the ring has also impressed her coach, Heath Gunnison, at Midway University. Though he’s only worked with her for a short time this semester, Gunnison has known Finley and her family for years through the Kentucky horse community.

“Finley’s work ethic stands out right away,” he said. “She’s an extremely hard worker in the barns and one of the first people to volunteer when something needs to be done. She’s very attentive to the horses and shows great horsemanship in how she cares for them.”

He said her ability to adapt to new rides has been a consistent strength. “She’s great at figuring out horses quickly, which comes from all the catch riding she’s done,” Gunnison said. “Her intuition is excellent.”

Gunnison said those qualities were on full display during this year’s EAP National Training Session.

“I thought her performance was great,” he said. “Having watched her over the years, I thought she was really at her best all weekend long. She had her mindset dialed in. Because she had already been to several regional and national sessions, she came in with a plan and really executed it.”

He said her adaptability played a key role in separating her from a very strong group of riders. “Finley takes instruction well, and combined with her own intuition, she can adapt to what the clinicians want to see,” he said. “I honestly think they could have put her on any horse and she would have met that horse’s needs. That was a big part of her success this past weekend.”

Even in a competitive field, Gunnison said he could see the moment she pulled ahead. “There were several strong riders—it was a great group—but watching her final rounds, she just had that little extra. She was consistent through everything. That’s what stood out.”

Beyond her skill, Gunnison said Finley’s attitude makes her a standout. “She’s outgoing, respectful and kind,” he said. “I’ve had other coaches comment about how polite and friendly she is when we’re at their programs. She makes friends wherever she goes, and that really reflects who she is.”

At Midway University, Finley is balancing academics with riding. After starting in equine science, just in case she wants to go to veterinary school, she’s now studying marketing with an equine minor. 

“I want the option to not work in the industry full-time if I don’t want to,” she said, “and I also want a few years as an amateur before deciding whether to go pro.”

Whatever direction she takes, her roots will stay the same. “In our program, the horses live out 24/7,” she said. “We have one assistant rider, someone who helps feed, and a bunch of kids who are responsible for their own horses. My parents instilled that if you want it, you work for it. You’re in charge of your own horse.

“Honestly, my biggest point of pride might be my ability to really use the curry comb,” she added. “That’s the type of thing that really matters.”

To learn more about the MZ Farms/USHJA Emerging Athletes Program, click here.

The post For Emerging Athletes Program Champion Finley Scheffel, Perseverance And Tenacity Pay Off appeared first on The Chronicle of the Horse.

Grace Stenbeck-Werner has had lots of success at the Pennsylvania National over the years, and she continued her winning streak today by earning both the medium pony championship and the grand pony hunter championship on Play Date, a 10-year-old Welsh Pony Cross (Holyoake Czar—Goldengrove Petals) owned by LVP Farms LLC. Stenbeck-Werner, who rides with trainers David Belford and Maddie Flocks, already has a few championship coolers at home, but she didn’t let her guard down this year.

Going into the ring for Saturday’s medium pony over fences class, Stenbeck-Werner knew that she would need to win in order to clinch the championship. 

“It felt really good. I was really scared going in, just because there’s so much on the line—like, I had to win this class in order to be champion,” the 12-year-old rider said. “I just wanted to go in there [and] try my best.”

She says that both she and her ponies like the “big deal” feeling of the indoor championships, and it brings out a competitive edge.  

“Yeah, I think for me as a rider, I do well in kind of these bigger environments, and I think so do my ponies; they kind of rise to the occasion,” she said. “I like it in this class, that the pressure’s on and it’s in a big ring.”

Lilly Ward won small pony championship on Celebration, a 14-year-old Welsh Pony (Cadlan Valley Imperial—Bronheulog Sun Shimmer), in a victory that was a family affair. “Squiggles” is owned by her father, McLain Ward, and Lilly trains with her mother, Lauren Ward. Squiggles isn’t a push button pony, but Lilly doesn’t shy away from a challenge. 

“He’s a little tricky, but he’s really fun once you get to know him,” Lilly said of the pony she’s been partnered with for more than two years. The 10-year-old rider said that on this, her third trip to Harrisburg, she didn’t get nervous. 

“It’s really fun. It feels really special to ride in this amazing ring,” she said. “I get more competitive.”

Catch riding ponies has prepared Lacey Powers to connect with her partners quickly. She says that when she has a new pony to compete, she doesn’t overthink the ride, and that helps her stay optimistic.  

“[When] I don’t really know my pony that well, it’s kind of just like, I don’t really know what could go wrong,” Powers said. “I just like, trust that everything’s going to go well right now.” 

Riding Down To A T, a 10-year-old Welsh Pony by Nebo Calonog, for owner Katherine Dewar, did go very well for Powers on Saturday afternoon, when she and “T” took the $10,000 pony hunter winners stake. Powers says that the small Welsh Pony seemed to understand what was on the line. 

“He really steps up his game,” she said of the pony’s attitude. “When I know I have to get a high score, he always delivers when I ask him to.”

Charlotte Morassutti had a different approach to this year’s pony hunters at Harrisburg. Last year the young rider from Toronto said the pressure was challenging. This year, she came into the weekend with a plan to “stay cool.” Morassutti and Special Gift, a German Riding Pony of unrecorded breeding owned by Lauren Free, stayed cool enough to win the large pony hunter championship. 

“This is my first champion at a big indoor, so it feels really good to also win it with this pony, because he’s probably one of my favorite ponies ever,” Morassutti said. “He’s just so special.”

Morassutti rides with trainers Samantha Schaefer, Kate Conover and Haleigh Landrigan. When Morassutti is back in Toronto, she practices on her mother’s horse. 

“I was a little nervous today, but I knew that I just had to ride him very well and just have a solid trip, and it worked out,” she said of her plan with “Wesley.”

Morassutti says that her grandmother, mother, sister and cousin all ride, but it’s her dad who has stolen Wesley’s affection. “He loves my dad so much,” she said. “My dad’s called ‘the treat man.’ They know him very, very well.”

The post Pressure, Ponies And Perfect Rounds At The 2025 PNHS appeared first on The Chronicle of the Horse.

Zone 4 Chef d’Equipe Kim Land says there’s a secret to the strength of her junior jumper team, which won its second consecutive Turnham Green/USEF Junior Jumper Prix Des States Team Championship at the Pennsylvania National on Friday night. 

“The secret, I think, is that we have the state of Florida in our zone,” she joked. But beyond geography, she feels there’s a synergy between the teammates who grew up riding and competing together. The Zone 4 team, made up of JJ Torano (Lyon 50), Amy Krebs (Jabantos), Gabriella Curry (Esto De Viscourt) and Lily Epstein (Zjechov), finished in first with two clear rounds, with penalties discarded in the team’s drop score. Zone 2 trailed the team in a close second, while Zone 7 landed third.

Curry was the first to ride for the team on “Esto,” a horse she partnered with early this year. She had only one round ahead of her to watch before her go under the lights of the Harrisburg Coliseum.

“My horse was jumping well, and he had plenty of energy, so I knew today [would be] nice and smooth,” she said. “The first round, he jumped fantastic—a couple of little dicey spots, because [being] first one in, I only got to watch one. … Going into the second round, he had the energy, so I knew I just had to keep him straight.”

Because each pair rides the same course twice, riders had the advantage of a second try—as well as the challenge of piloting a horse that could start to anticipate the track.

“I had to think even harder about holding him straight because he knew where he was going,” said Krebs, who rode her longtime partner, Jabantos. Their multi-year history together, and the understanding between them, worked in her favor. 

“I got him when he was 6, so I did like the 1.15-meter on him, and he’s taken me so far,” she said. “He’s exceeded all of our expectations. He’s the best partner that I could ever ask for.”

Torano and “Lyon” took the anchor spot in the team’s lineup, which put them in the position to recapture first from Zone 2 with their final clear round—but the rider wasn’t worried.

“It was nice knowing that I had a little bit of breathing space in both rounds with the scores [and] how much we were ahead,” he said. 

Torano, who won the large junior hunter, 15 and under, championship earlier in the day, described how his focus on equitation has translated to the jumper ring. It’s a well-rounded background that he hopes will one day help propel him onto national teams. 

“From basically the minute I started riding, I was driven a lot on my position and equitation,” he said. “So I think your position in the air and off the ground can affect the horse’s jump in the air. I feel like a lot of times position causes rails.”

For Land, who has served as the zone’s chef d’equipe since 2011, the victory was as much about relationships as results. She mentioned Curry keeping her horses near the farms Land grew up on, and knowing Torano’s father, Jimmy Torano, since they were both children.  

“It’s really fun to share this with other families that I’ve met along the way, but also families that I’ve known literally my entire life,” she said. “We have these connections in this industry that are lifelong, and share the love of the horses and to share the training of the horses. 

“We love horses, and we love working with horses and riding horses and being around them, and the smell of the barn—the whole thing,” she continued. “So it’s a really special thing to do, and it’s not just about one individual who does it.”

The Turnham Green/USEF Junior Jumper Prix Des States continues Saturday with the individual championship. See complete results of the team championship here.

The post Zone 4 Wins Second Consecutive Turnham Green/USEF Prix Des States Team Championship appeared first on The Chronicle of the Horse.

The win highlights what has been a milestone season to date for the rider from Wallowa, Oregon, who relocated to Florida last year to train with a new team at Don Stewart and Hunter Holloway Stables. Holloway praised Smith’s work ethic and dedication, calling them the kind of qualities that not only bring results in the ring but also earn the respect of her peers.

The final took place Sept. 24-26 at Prince George’s Equestrian Center in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, during the Capital Challenge Horse Show’s equitation showcase. More than 200 junior riders competed, but Smith distinguished herself by topping every stage of the three-part championship. She scored a 91.5 in the flat phase, then 89 in the gymnastics phase (multiplied by a 1.5 coefficient), before sealing the victory with 87.15 in the jumping phase (coefficient 2) for a cumulative 399.3—an 8-point lead that made further testing unnecessary.

Smith was the second Avery in a week to win the Marshall & Sterling/USHJA 3’3” Jumping Seat Medal Final. On Sept. 23 in San Juan Capistrano, California, Avery Socks and her own FF ButterCup won the West Coast edition of the class.

“I was really, really nervous,” Smith admitted, “especially going into the gymnastics and final jumping phase. I was coming in on top in both of those rounds, and obviously there was kind of a lot of pressure there, especially for myself, because I really put a big goal on to win the final.

“Before I went into the gymnastics phase, I kind of tried to remind myself that we do stuff much harder at home, trying to pretend that I wasn’t at a horse show and to ride each step of that course separately,” she added. “And everything came up perfectly.”

Carrying the top placing into the final jumping phase did nothing to ease the pressure Smith felt.

“I was even more nervous than in the gymnastics phase,” Smith said. “And I was probably very conservative. I had a couple of time faults, but it was still enough, so I was really happy with that.”

One small but mighty reminder from Holloway made a big difference in Smith’s performance:

“One piece of advice that really stuck with me during the whole competition was from Hunter. When I went to the flat phase, I was warming up and she said, ‘Avery, you look amazing, but you’re looking miserable.’ Then she just told me to smile,” Smith said with a laugh. “So I literally did smile, and that just positively affected my riding overall.”

Consistency was Smith’s focus going into this season, and it paid off in Maryland.

“Overall, my goal this year was to improve on my consistency and my overall position,” she said. “I kind of naturally always had a good position, but fine-tuning everything and polishing everything up, especially ahead of indoors, was important. Sometimes I also get a little off track and then I can’t make the right strides happen. So I was just focusing on that and just being consistent throughout the round.”

Her winning partner was Keep Calm, a 10-year-old Dutch Warmblood (Biscayo—Beauty, Numero Uno) gelding owned by Terrapin Hill. Smith only sat on him for the first time days before the competition.

“I moved to Florida a year ago, and this season I’ve had a lot of really good opportunities, I got to try a lot of different equitation horses—and a lot of good ones too,” she said. “I got on ‘Scotty’ for the first time on Sunday before we left, and then I rode him once we got there and showed him early on.”

Scotty previously competed through the intermediate level of eventing with Alyssa Phillips, then switched to the equitation ring at the beginning of this year.

“This was his first indoor final, so he’s pretty green to all this stuff,” said Smith, who herself is in her third year of doing indoors. “I had in mind to maybe hold his hand at a spookier jump, like a wall or the water, but he’s pretty brave, so I wasn’t really concerned about any of that. [Scotty is] everything you look for in an equitation horse. He’s got a massive stride and he’s very balanced. He’s just very fun to ride in general.”

Holloway agrees that his rideability and his attitude make him perfect for the job: “he can lengthen [strides] and shorten on a dime. I’m not sure which horse Avery is going to get for the remainder of the finals, but Scotty will be there, and I’m sure he’ll have the next kid in the winners’ circle.”

Holloway was just as effusive about her student, who is a working student at her stables. She praised Smith’s “hard work and fortitude,” noting that “there’s not a more hardworking and deserving kid out there. Even after a bad day, she always shows up the next morning at the crack of dawn with all of us. She gets there and cleans the stalls, helps feed … she does it all; that’s never been a question with her. And I think that aspect  is going to help her—and is already helping her—be successful within the industry. When you work as hard as she does, people want to give you opportunities.”

Holloway added that Smith’s character makes her win especially popular.

“It’s been great to see that hard work pay off for her,” Holloway said. “All her competitors were thrilled to see her win; there wasn’t a single one that wasn’t out there clapping and cheering for her. That’s the kind of person she is, everyone wants her to do well, you know. It’s not just her coaches, it’s all the kids her age.”

Still, Holloway said managing nerves is part of the ongoing process.

“Of course, she would have to agree that [the mental preparation] is something we’re still working on, because she rides amazingly and can nail these tough courses,” she said. “The pressure of these events takes time to be able to handle. I know, myself, as a junior, ended up doing very well at the finals, but I did them many times, and each year I got more comfortable in that pressure and in that atmosphere. And you know, pressure makes diamonds. So I think she’s learning to work in that environment as well, and this is her last junior year, so she’s had a little bit of experience and time learning how to handle it.”

That focus on preparation extends to the basics.

“Something we often talk about is: control the controllables,” Holloway said. “Show up on time, have clean boots, be there early to walk, get on your horse early, make sure the things that are within your control are taken care of in advance. That way you’re not worried about those, on top of the things you can’t control.”

Holloway and fellow trainer Caroline McLeese merged their business with Stewart at the beginning of the year in Ocala, Florida.

“Caroline and I have worked together for a very long time, and Don was my mentor and coach as a junior,” Holloway said. “He played a giant role in my career and helped me to hit success in the equitation and the hunter ring, then set me up for success in the jump ring, I have to say. I was, and still am, very excited about [us working together], and I’m still learning so much from him every day.”

That mentorship philosophy is something Holloway and Stewart now pass on to their students.

“Respect for the horse, in and out of the ring” is the core value they  try to teach each of their students.

“Some of those lessons can’t really be learned by doing anything other than being involved in the stables, and in the care aspect and that behind-the-scenes of the barn,” Holloway said. “The well-rounded side of horse people comes from living and breathing in the barn, observing daily horse care and what the vet does, the welfare and health side of the horse, learning to see things before they happen… not just the sport aspect.”

The daughter of a former trainer and a farrier, Avery began riding at a very early age (“probably 2 years old,” she said) and started competing at the age of 8.

“I always was kind of drawn to the equitation, and doing these medal finals were always kind of a goal to me,” said Smith, who is headed to the Pennsylvania National Horse Show next. “This year was my last junior year, and I definitely want to get more into the jumpers from now on. One thing I’m always getting told is ‘slow down!’ Except for when I’m nervous, I definitely do enjoy jumping bigger jumps and carrying a lot more pace. It’s very fun.”

Balancing her equestrian career with academics, Smith works online with Mira Korber at Blue Ribbon Scholars, which allows her to stay on track with school while managing her barn schedule. 

“I would really like to work with horses when I’m older,” Smith said. “I’ll see what’s happening after college, get through that first, but becoming a professional is definitely on my mind.”

The post From Start To Finish: Avery Faye Smith Dominates Jumping Seat Medal Final—East appeared first on The Chronicle of the Horse.

Throughout the summer, more than 160 athletes participated in 10 regional training sessions held nationwide, receiving invaluable education over the course of five days with mounted and unmounted instruction. Based on the recommendations of the riding and stable management clinicians, 16 athletes and five stable managers are selected to attend the National Training Session each year.

Riders at the National Training Session will vie for the title of champion and a $3,000 grant to be applied toward the cost of advanced training based on their performance in the riding and stable management sessions throughout the week. Congratulations to the following athletes and stable managers on being selected to participate in this year’s National Training Session:

Athletes

• Elliette Baker of Versailles, Kentucky
• Caroline Barclay of Roswell, Georgia
• Reese Dorsey of Parkton, Maryland
• Simi Gibson of Denver
• Anna Huard of Howell, Michigan
• Jocelynn Johnson of Falls Church, Virginia
• Alyson Jones of Groveland, Florida
• Hunter Lewis of Denver
• Molly McKeon of Laguna Niguel, California
• Olivia McKinstry of Vernon, Connecticut
• Brooke O’Malley of Los Angeles
• Cristina Pinnow of Winston Salem, North Carolina
• Jillian Puthoff of Reno, Nevada
• Abigail Ringuette of Unionville, Connecticut
• Lauren Satola of Fulton, Maryland
• Finley Scheffel of Georgetown, Kentucky

Stable Managers

• Emmie Esplin of Diana, New York
• Avery Houser of Raleigh, North Carolina
• Abigail Karl of Mundelein, Illinois
• Lucy Mackowiak of Westerville, Ohio
• Carly Williams of Efland, North Carolina

EAP athletes will be closely observed and evaluated during all phases of the four-day national training session, including flatwork, gymnastics, related distances and coursework, an intensive stable-management curriculum, and through a written test that gauges the horsemanship knowledge each finalist has gained throughout the year. In addition to the competition, finalists will participate in joint educational seminars with USHJA Horsemanship Quiz Challenge Nationals, which is held concurrently.

One rider will be named the overall USHJA EAP National Champion and will receive a $3,000 grant to be applied toward the cost of advanced training, as well as a variety of additional products and gifts from USHJA sponsors. Additionally, the top two EAP finalists will receive a coveted riding spot at a USHJA Gold Star Clinic within the next two years of their choice. Part of the USHJA Emerging Jumper Rider Program, these clinics offer horsemanship, stable management, mounted instruction and additional education from top clinicians and athletes.

For more information on the MZ Farms/USHJA Emerging Athletes Program National Training Session, visit ushja.org/EAP.

The post EAP National Training Session Participants Announced appeared first on The Chronicle of the Horse.

Historically, Talent Search Finals competition has taken place over three days. This year, the first day will consist of the rider meeting, jog and a schooling class. The riding portion of the competition will be condensed into two days, with the flat and gymnastics taking place on the same day, with the jumping phase and work-off for the top four competitors taking place the following day.

The biggest change is to the flat and gymnastics phases. Previously, the judges had the flexibility to decide how to run the flat. Most years they utilized a traditional group flat class, however occasionally they used an individual test, similar to the National Collegiate Equestrian Association flat format, where riders perform specific movements in a set pattern. The specifications for 2025 call for the flat test to be performed individually. In that test, “each athlete will demonstrate a set number of flat exercises to prepare their horse for the gymnastic phase, which will follow directly after their completion of the flat.”

Though riders will remain the ring for both phases, they will still be scored separately.

“The Talent Search focus group felt this format would be more consistent with what an athlete could see or experience in their day-to-day training and/or practice of the flatwork skills needed to best prepare and educate horses aiming to jump at the grand prix level,” said Erin Keating, USEF director of jumper development programs. “The flatwork phase is always the foundation for the gymnastics phase, which is an important skill in building fitness and rideability at the championship level. The overall judging criteria for Talent Search remains the same as in past years, with the judges looking to identify athletes best demonstrating the talent and understanding of the foundations of classic riding across all three phases.”

There will be no change to the final day of competition, which starts with the jumping phase, followed by a jog for the top four horses, then the top four athletes will swap horses and tackle a shortened course to determine the winner.

Another change this year mandates a jog for all horses the day prior to the ridden portions of the schedule. Previously only the horses competing in the final four were asked to jog.  

“We felt it was important to make the change to include an inspection with the ground jury and veterinarians prior to the start of competition, which is more in alignment with a traditional jumping championship format,” Keating said.

This year, the East Coast final will take place Oct. 3-5 at the USET Foundation Headquarters in Gladstone, New Jersey, and it will be judged by Chris Kappler and Caitlin Venezia White. The West Coast final will run Nov. 7-9 at Desert International Horse Park in Thermal, California, and will be judged by Jimmy Torano and Lillie Keenan.

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Fylicia Barr may be a five-star eventer now, but she got her start in the sport aboard the most unlikely of mounts. Her first event horse was a gray Arabian gelding named Zanzibar, with whom she did a bit of everything: 4-H, barrel racing, English and western pleasure, and even a little reining. A painting of him—dished nose, delicate ears and kind eyes, standing in a field of flowers—graces the cover of this month’s issue of the Chronicle. 

When Barr, 30, first met “Z,” he was an emaciated, rough-looking youngster at a low-end auction in western New York. Barr was just 10 years old, and she had a total of three riding lessons under her belt. Barr’s mother, Shannon Barr, bought Z on an impulse, despite the fact that neither she nor her young daughter had the requisite skills or experience at that time to manage an unknown horse from auction.

However, in the years to come, Z (named by Fylicia in honor of the main equine character in the “Phantom Stallion” series) would pay back his rescuers in dividends. Not only did Fylicia ultimately event him through training level, he carried multiple young riders to 4-H competitions, and later came out of retirement to become the first event horse for Chronicle cover artist Josie Buller, who took him all the way to the 2021 USEA American Eventing Championships.

“It felt like he just wanted to do right by us,” Fylicia, of Unionville, Pennsylvania, said. “We saved him, and I think he knew that, and he always tried to do everything he could for us. There were definitely moments where he could have said no, but he gave us everything he had. We both did a lot for each other.”

We Meant To Buy A Saddle…

On the day Shannon and Fylicia met Z, they had gone to the auction with a friend, intending to buy a saddle. Instead, they bought a horse with an unknown past, paying just $800 for the gelding—one dollar a pound.

“We saw him, and he was so sad, and so thin—he just looked at us, and we knew we had to try to make something happen,” Fylicia said. “It was truly the blind leading the blind. At auction, you don’t get much info on them, and we saw him with a saddle on and assumed he was saddle broke.”

But when they got him home—to a facility Fylicia describes as a “backyard barn sort of set up,” they found out Z was perhaps only 2 or 3 years old.

“He was young, and not really broke at all,” Fylicia said. “It was a bit of a set up for disaster. I didn’t know what I was doing, he didn’t know what he was doing, but we found our way, together.”

Nursing Z back to health required nothing more than correct, basic care. Over the next several years, Fylicia slowly got him started under saddle. Although she took occasional lessons on other horses, she didn’t have much help with Z; looking back, Fylicia admits she made many mistakes.

“Now, as an equestrian professional, I’m horrified at some of the things he put up with,” Fylicia said. “But he never complained. He used to buck me off for sport, but he gave me a really good seat that I still have to this day, and it was always with a smile on his face. It was a game for him, more than him wanting to hurt me. He’d just sit and wait for me to get back on.

“He made me fearless,” she continued. “He made me feel like I could ride anything. He was always a really, really good boy.”

When Fylicia learned about eventing, she was instantly hooked. She and Z debuted in U.S. Eventing Association competition in August 2011 at the Erie Hunt and Saddle Club Horse Trials (Pennsylvania), where they ran beginner novice. At the same competition a year later, they competed at training level. By then, Fylicia was 17 years old and had acquired a mare named Galloway Sunrise, whom she purchased off Craigslist as a semi-feral 2-year-old. Fylicia began thinking it might be time for Z to step down a level as she continued her own progress forward.

“At training level, the jumps got a little big for him,” Fylicia said. “So we leased him to a couple of young riders that did 4-H shows with him. He was the perfect babysitter.”

Although he was sound and in good health, when his final 4-H lease ended, the Barrs took advantage of an opportunity to retire Z to a farm in western New York. For several years, he lived “his best horsey life” there, while Fylicia continued her own eventing journey with “Sunny,” eventually making it all the way to the five-star level. She attributes her tenacity in working with the quirky mare, and other challenging mounts, to the lessons she initially learned from Z.

“He taught me not to give up on the difficult ones,” Fylicia said. “If you put enough time and effort into trying to understand the tricky horses, you can come out the other side with a really quality partner—if you’re patient, and take the time to understand where they’re coming from.”

It was after Fylicia relocated to Unionville and established her business that she met 12-year-old Buller, who wanted to get started in eventing—but who didn’t have a horse. Fylicia immediately thought of Z.

“When Josie came into my program and needed something to ride, I thought, ‘Let me see if the old man has got a little bit left in the tank,’” Fylicia said. “And he absolutely gave her everything.”

From Starter To The Bluegrass

Buller is now an 18-year-old freshman at Hamilton College in Clinton, New York, but she still vividly remembers the day six years ago when Z and his friends moved into the new home of Fylicia Barr Eventing.

“People were putting up white boards by the stalls with the horse’s and owner’s names, and Z’s little white board had my name listed below his, even though I was not the owner,” Buller, of Coatesville, Pennsylvania, remembered. “Fylicia very generously let me do a free lease on him, and act like he was my own horse. The stars kind of aligned, and Fylicia knew Z would be the best teacher for me—and he really was.”

Buller had gotten her start taking lessons a local hunter/jumper program, but when she learned about eventing, decided to shift her focus. Working with Fylicia and Z, she went from being a “rusty” crossrail rider to competing at novice. After gaining mileage at the starter level in schooling horse trials and learning the basics of dressage, the pair moved up fairly quickly. In June 2020, after eight years away from sanctioned competition, Z returned to the sport at the Plantation Field Horse Trials (Pennsylvania) at beginner novice —with Buller in the irons.

“I made a lot of mistakes—I got left behind plenty of times—but he was so, so tolerant,” Buller said. “I always felt untouchable on Z. He’s just the best partner, and we had lots of fun. I’d never really shown, so I did all my ‘firsts’ on Z.”

When Buller was 15, she decided to set a big goal: to qualify for and compete at the 2021 AEC.

“It can get pretty competitive in Area II, and Z, being an Arabian, would stick his head up in dressage, and I didn’t always quite know what to do,” Buller said with a laugh. “But we got a second place at Bucks County [Pennsylvania], and we got to go to AEC.”

Buller describes the experience of competing Z at the AEC, held that year in Lexington, Kentucky, as “magical.” She admits he even was “a little wild” on cross-country after being stalled for so many days. The pair finished 31^st of 38 in the junior novice, 15 and under, championship—and earned the best-scoring Arabian award.

“He was the only Arabian in the class,” Buller laughed. “Some people would say, ‘Oh, you ride an Arabian?’ Well, he’s the best cross-country horse you’ll ever find. A horse you truly care about will always give 110% to you.”

Watching her first horse gallop over the Kentucky bluegrass with Buller made Fylicia feel as if Z’s story had come full circle.

“Obviously, Z and I did not make it to the Kentucky five-star,” Fylicia said with a laugh. “That was my dream growing up, even though I was a 10-year-old kid on an Arabian pony we’d bought for nothing. But watching him and Josie go down the ramp into Rolex stadium, and gallop through the Head of the Lake—that was so special. He made her dreams come true, and my childhood dreams came to life through them at that moment, too.”

Although Buller and Z competed one more time that season, the AEC proved to be their swan song together. 

“We don’t know his exact age, but he is 20-ish, and he had held himself together,” Buller said. “It felt like he was trying really hard, and he didn’t need to keep competing, where I wanted to keep moving up.”

Inspired by her trainer’s work in producing her own horses, Buller moved on to a former Thoroughbred race horse named Lee, whom she competed through training level. But Z remained in Fylicia’s barn, and Buller would still trail ride him once in a while just for fun.

“Most of the time, I didn’t even bother putting a saddle on him,” Buller said. “I’d just hop on, and we’d get going.”

Behind The Cover Painting

As Buller neared high school graduation, she knew that her time with Z was drawing to a close. Fylicia had made the decision to send him to enjoy a final, official retirement with her mother in western New York, and Buller was preparing to head to college. When she painted a watercolor and gouache portrait of him standing in a field of flowers, which she included in her senior gallery, it was intended as a dedication to the horse who changed her life. 

“He absolutely is my heart horse,” Buller said. “Middle school was a pretty rough time for me, and having Z … I went to the barn every day after school, and I felt like I had him in my corner all the time. If I had a really bad day, and I got off the bus in tears, we’d just go out for hours and hours on the great hacking trails around the barn. I kind of felt like every time I stepped into the saddle with him, I got to leave everything on the ground.”

Buller loves floriography, a tradition which looks at the symbolism of flowers and colors. In her tribute to Z, each flower she painted in the field he’s standing in was chosen specifically to convey Buller’s appreciation for all that he means to her—the sweet peas at the front mean “thank you for a lovely time,” the zinnias symbolize everlasting friendship, the heather is for protection, and the Queen Anne’s lace for sanctuary.

When the Chronicle put out a call for submission to its annual Junior Art Gallery (see more submissions from young artists here), she sent it in. Chronicle staff chose the piece to grace the cover of the 2025 Young Rider issue. 

“I’m so happy it got on the cover, because if any horse deserves to be on the cover of the Chronicle, it’s Z,” Buller said. “He has given so much, to so many people. He was Fylicia’s first horse, and now she’s a five-star rider. He helped me through so much in middle school and made me into the rider I am today.

“I think it is so important, on so many levels, for all people to know that every single horse deserves a second chance,” she continued. “Horses always seem to give back, especially those who get into a really good situation after having been in a not so great one. They give you their whole heart, and there is a lot of value in having a horse you’re just really close with. With the right people, no matter what their breed, a horse can do anything.”

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