United States Eventing Association

Can you believe that it's already time to start counting down the days until the 2025 FEI WBFSH Eventing World Breeding Championships for Young Horses at Mondial du Lion in Le Lion d’Angers, France? This event, which features both the 6-year-old CCI2*-L and 7-year-old CCI3*-L divisions, is known as the pinnacle for young horses and will take place Oct. 16-19.

Since 2015, the USEA has awarded the annual Holekamp/Turner Grant, which provides significant funds to one eligible USEA Young Event Horse (YEH) competitor per year to represent the United States in the 7-year-old championship at Mondial du Lion.

The Holekamp/Turner Grant was founded by the late Timothy Holekamp and his wife Cheryl Holekamp of New Spring Farm and Christine and T.J. Turner of Indian Creek Farm in 2015. The intention of the grant is to further develop an upward pathway for U.S. team horses in the sport of eventing. Grant recipients who are North American-bred will be awarded the full cash grant of $17,500. Imported horses will be awarded $8,000. If the highest-scoring 5-year-old does not qualify or is unable to attend Mondial du Lion, the grant will be awarded to the next highest scorer who is qualified, able, and willing to go.

The title sponsor of the USEA YEH Championships, The Dutta Corporation, also generously provides one round trip flight to travel to France for the Mondial du Lion. This prize will be awarded to the Holekamp/Turner Grant recipient. The grant and prize recipient must be fully qualified to compete at Mondial du Lion.

This year, the horse that has the highest score from the 2023 USEA Young Event Horse 5-Year-Old Championship that is also fully qualified to compete in the 7-year-old Championship will receive the grant. The eligibility of the grant remains with the horse, regardless of change of rider after the 5-year-old Championships, but for the Lion d’Angers grant, only USEF-sponsored 7-year-old entries will qualify. Thus, only horses ridden by U.S. citizens are eligible.

Owners of grant-eligible horses must notify the USEA of their intentions to compete in the Championships by Sept. 1.

To qualify for the 7-year-old CCI3*-L Championship at Mondial du Lion, a horse must complete the Minimum Eligibility Requirements (MER) for the level, which is one CCI2*-L and one CCI3*-S, both of which must be without any cross-country penalties and a maximum of four jump penalties in show jumping. Activating a maximum of one frangible device on cross-country will maintain the MER results. New for this year, the FEI has clarified that combinations must meet qualifications for a CCI3*-L as per Article 520. This means uncategorized athletes need to obtain an additional MER at a CCI3*-S as well.

At this time, there are a total of five horses fully qualified for Mondial du Lion, including the 2023 overall reserve champion. In addition, nine horses have partially qualified and still have time to obtain final qualifications before the qualification close date of Sept. 15.

Current Contenders for the Holekamp/Turner Grant

Fully Qualified Horses (In order of 2024 overall ranking)

Fernhill Bertus | Hanoverian gelding (Balou de Peggio x Celine) | Bred by Willi Wolters, owned by Beth Brown, and ridden by Madison Temkin

A score of 90.15 earned Fernhill Bertus the title of 2023 USEA overall YEH Reserve Champion and he and rider Madison Temkin have continued to impress since their championship appearance. They placed third in their FEI debut in the CCI2*-S at the Virginia Horse Center Eventing Horse Trials (Lexington, Virginia) in May of last year and won their second two-star outing in September of 2024 at Stable View Oktoberfest (Aiken, South Carolina). And they didn’t slow down there. They continued to show off their potential in the CCI2*-S at the 2024 USEF/USEA Developing Horse National Championships at Morven Park (Leesburg, Virginia) in October, earning third overall and concluded their season with a fifth-place finish in their first CCI2*-L attempt at Virginia Horse Center Eventing Fall the following month. They finalized their qualifications this spring with two appearances at the CCI3*-S level, including a top-5 finish in their second three-star at the Stable View Spring horse trials this April.

Camelot PJ | Hanoverian gelding (Colman x Evita) | Bred by Dr. Jacobs, owned by Andrea Baxter and Estrella Equestrian, and ridden by Baxter

Camelot PJ was crowned the West Coast 5-year-old champion in 2023 with a score of 85.94 where interestingly enough, it was his high conformation score that ultimately tipped the scales and led to his top title. Owner/rider Andrea Baxter declared “The Hustler” as one of her favorites in the barn and has taken her time producing him carefully since his win two years ago. Their first outing at the FEI level was in the spring of 2024 where they placed third in the CCI1*-L at the Twin Rivers Spring International (Paso Robles, California). Their first two-star outing came later in the year in September, and they concluded their 2024 eventing season with an additional CCI2*-S completion and their first CCI2*-L at The Eventing Championships at Galway Downs (Temecula, California) where they placed fifth.

Since then, Baxter has given the young horse two runs at the CCI3*-S level this spring, once in March at the Galway Downs International H.T. where they finished 10th in their three-star debut, and once at the Twin Rivers Spring International where they improved upon their first three-star performance and finished sixth in the division.

Arden Augustus | American Warmblood gelding (Jaguar Mail x Juneau) | Bred and owned by Anita Antenucci, and ridden by Sharon White

Arden Augustus comes with a very special story. The homebred of Anita Antenucci is still owned by his breeder today and is out of a mare, Juneau, that White bred herself years ago. “Gus” placed 12th in the nation in 2023 and has quickly risen through the levels with White in the saddle. Since making his two-star debut in May of 2024, the gelding has never placed outside of the top 5 in all of his FEI completions. He was fourth in the highly competitive CCI2*-S at the Developing Horse National Championships at Morven Park in 2024 and was third in his first CCI3*-S earlier this month at the Tryon International (Mill Spring, North Carolina).

Kokoleka | Irish Sport Horse mare (Sligo Candy Boy x Castle Pacino) | Bred by Noel Ruane and owned and ridden by Katherine Brown

Katherine Brown has produced Kokoleka for her entire eventing career in the U.S. and has brought the mare along from the Beginner Novice level to their first three-star outing together this March. Since they graduated from the YEH program in 2023, the pair have had seven FEI completions at the two- and three-star levels, including a top-five finish in their first CCI3*-L at the Ocala International (Ocala, Florida) this April.

The Big Easy | Irish Sport Horse gelding (Mr. Lincoln B x PLS Hippo Q) | Bred by William McDonnel Jr, owned by Andrea Baxter and Estrella Equestrian, and ridden by Baxter.

In addition to Camelot PJ, Baxter has also qualified The Big Easy, who was awarded the Safe Harbour Award at the 2023 USEA YEH West Coast Championship for being the most rider-friendly horse in the field. He has lived up to that title, flawlessly working his way up the levels with Baxter in the tack and securing his Le Lion qualification in March of this year in his three-star debut at the Galway Downs International. Just a month later he had a top-5 finish in his second three-star outing at the Twin Rivers Spring International.

Partially Qualified Horses

The following horses have received part of the necessary qualifications thus far, to be considered for the grant:

• Rahale Comet (Island Commander x Whats Another One), an Irish Sport Horse mare bred by Michael Reck Jr, owned by Lisa Samoylenko, and ridden by Mike Pendleton

• D.A. Nixon (Entertainer x Coco), a Dutch Warmblood gelding bred by J.F. & D.J.H.A. Verhoeven, owned by Debbie Adams, and ridden by Mia Farley

• HSH Talbots Hill (Coolkeeran x Sisceal), an Irish Sport Horse gelding bred by Pat Hutchinson, owned by Gayle Davis, Sherrie Martin, and Caroline Pamukcu, and ridden by Pamukcu

• Redwood Quality, a Selle Français gelding of unrecorded breeding owned and ridden by Sarah Ertle

• LS Crown Royal (Comte x Estefania), a Hanoverian gelding bred by Felix Geffken and owned/ridden by Jordán Linstedt-Granquist

In addition, there are two horses in the field who are partially qualified but are currently being campaigned by non-U.S. riders. If one of these two horses were to be selected for the grant, they would have to be ridden by a U.S. rider at Le Lion:

• Quality Corruption (Lagans OBOS Quality x KEC Sunny Girl), an Irish Sport Horse gelding bred by William Kennedy and owned/ridden by Shelby Brost (CAN)

• Fulio (Forsyth FRH x Contencita), a Hanoverian gelding bred by Jasmin Leymann, owned by Shanon Baker, and ridden by Michael Nolan (IRE)

Finally, the following two horses have partially qualified, however due to the new requirements, their riders must obtain an additional MER at the CC3*-S level:

• Carsonstown Basil (Lougherne Cappuccino x Graf Unique), an Irish Sport Horse gelding bred by Brian Livingstone, owned by Sally Cox, and ridden by Elinor Macphail O’Neal

• Betty Z (Bamako de Muze x Wisma I), a Zangersheide mare bred by Mareline Stud BVBA and owned and ridden by Morgan Batton

The USEA will continue to provide updates as more horses earn their full qualifications for the 7-year-old Championship at La Mondial du Lion. For questions or to inquire about the Holekamp/Turner Grant and The Dutta Corp. prize, contact [email protected].

About the USEA Young Event Horse (YEH) Program

The Young Event Horse (YEH) Program was first established in 2004 as an eventing talent search. Much like similar programs in Europe, the YEH program was designed to identify young horses aged four- and five-years-old, that possess the talent and disposition to, with proper training, excel at the uppermost levels of the sport. The ultimate goal of the program is to distinguish horses with the potential to compete at the four- and five-star levels, but many fine horses that excel at the lower levels are also showcased by the program.

The YEH program provides an opportunity for breeders and owners to exhibit the potential of their young horses while encouraging the breeding and development of top event horses for the future. The program rewards horses who are educated and prepared in a correct and progressive manner. At qualifying events, youngsters complete a dressage test and a jumping/galloping/general impression phase. At Championships, young horses are also evaluated on their conformation in addition to the dressage test and jumping/galloping/general impression phase. Click here to learn more about the Young Event Horse Program.

The USEA would like to thank ARMA, Bates Saddles, HorseWeek, The Jockey Club, Kerrits, Schneiders Saddlery, and Standlee for sponsoring the Young Event Horse Program. Additionally, the USEA would like to thank The Dutta Corp., Title Sponsor of the Young Event Horse Championships.

About The Holekamp/Turner Grant

Founded in 2015 by Timothy and Cheryl Holekamp of New Spring Farm and Christine and T.J. Turner of Indian Creek Farm, the Holekamp/Turner Grant provides a USEA Young Event Horse (YEH) Championship competitor with the opportunity to represent the United States at the FEI Eventing World Breeding Championships in the 7-year-old CCIYH3*-L Championship at Mondial du Lion in Le Lion d’Angers, France. With the sole purpose of paving a clear pathway for U.S. team horses to progress in the sport of eventing, recipients who are North American-bred will be awarded the full cash grant of $17,500, while imported horses are awarded $8,000. Additionally, The Dutta Corp. offers a prize to the Holekamp/Turner Grant recipient, consisting of a round-trip flight from the Eastern United States to Europe.