Guidry, Sweetnam and Herzog Post Equitation Wins at Kentucky Spring Horse Show

Lexington, Ky. – May 13, 2022 – Concluding competition in the Stonelea Arena Friday at the Kentucky Spring Horse Show were the key equitation classes, featuring top young athletes to test several different tracks and put forth their best efforts. Kevin Holowack designed courses for the ASPCA Maclay Medal, the Hamel Foundation NHS 3’3” Medal and the USHJA 3’3” Hunter Seat Medal as equitation riders set forth to impress the judges and take home the win in each of the prestigious classes.

First in the order of the afternoon’s classes was the Hamel Foundation NHS 3’3” Medal, which welcomed 17 young athletes to take the stage and vie for top honors. Still newer to the equitation ranks, these young riders were attempting to perform well in order to gain valuable points toward qualifying for the Hamel Foundation NHS Medal Finals at the National Horse Show in Lexington later this year. As a stepping stone class, the 3’3” fence height was a more approachable obstacle that allowed these developing riders to show off their grace, poise and riding ability over a technical track.

Hailey Guidry and Coronado Beach
Photo by Shawn McMillen Photography

Topping the class was Hailey Guidry and Coronado Beach, owned by Honor Hill Farm LLC. Guidry carefully guided the 9-year-old Holsteiner gelding around the track and met each jump flawlessly, letting her position stay steady and keeping her rhythm throughout the course. A young rider who just recently made the jump from ponies into the equitation and jumpers, Guidry is busy making a name for herself at only 11 years old. Just last month, Guidry topped the 1.15m Jumpers at the Longines Global Tour championship in Miami Beach, competing against juniors and amateurs. On her way to an equitation final, the young rider is accomplishing significant things early on.

Next to test the Stonelea’s courses for the day were junior orders for the ASPCA Maclay Medal, set at 3’6” in height and over a technical track that would prove the ultimate test of the day. As riders competed for the coveted top spot in the class and hopefully a qualification for ASPCA Maclay Medal Finals at the National Horse Show in Lexington in the fall, top sport was presented for the judges.

Olivia Sweetnam and Coppertone
Photo by Shawn McMillen Photography

Fifteen entries contested the over-fences portion of the ASPCA Maclay Medal, after which the top 10 were invited back to test on the flat. The course presented the option to take fence one from either direction, followed by bending lines across the Stonelea, plus a sharp rollback turn to fence four, a long gallop to fence five, another rollback to an oxer at fence seven and a vertical-oxer double combination to finish the track. After both phases concluded, it was Olivia Sweetnam in the winner’s circle aboard Coppertone, the 9-year-old Hanoverian gelding owned by Sweet Oak Farm, Paul Tracy & Spy Coast Farm.

Though 13-year-old Sweetnam is newer to the big equitation scene, her horse show miles are extensive as she began her pony career as a small child. Now following her father’s footsteps, she bases in the spring and summer out of Sweet Oak Farm’s Lexington base, just a stone’s throw from the Stonelea. Sweetnam is making a name for herself in the jumper arena, while still finessing her equitation skills at the highest level so she can provide the best possible ride in whichever discipline she’s riding. Sweetnam and Coppertone were paired together during the gelding’s 8-year-old year, when he carried Sweetnam to her first Maclay class and first big equitation win. The pair has even racked up hunter derby victories, taking the win in the $10,000 Traverse City Hunter Derby in September.

Following the ASPCA Maclay Medal was the USHJA 3’3” Hunter Seat Medal, which wrapped up the day in the Stonelea, in which 17 young riders rode a hunter-style course and were awarded for their equitation abilities. Meant to serve as a stepping stone for equitation riders, the USHJA 3’3” Hunter Seat Medal gives athletes an opportunity to qualify and compete in a national equitation final at a lower fence height before moving up to the 3’6” equitation. The course presented challenges similar to that of the ASPCA Maclay Medal right before it, echoing the same turns such as the rollback at fence seven to the single oxer, plus a tight rollback from fences five to six which required the riders to think and adapt quickly. The course finished over the same double combination.

Lilly Herzog and Ecuador
Photo by Shawn McMillen Photography

Emerging victorious was Lilly Herzog who captured the win aboard the Cumberland Acres entry Ecuador. The pair effortlessly navigated the track and Herzog guided the 13-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding from fence to fence gracefully and with poise. At only 12 years old, Herzog is well on her way to a prestigious equitation final and a lucrative junior career. Her young age isn’t holding her back, as she’s competing mostly with horses in the hunters and equitation after seeing profound success in the pony hunters. Topping the USHJA 3’3” Hunter Seat Medal Friday was just one of many victories to come in her junior years.

The Kentucky Spring Horse Show continues Saturday with the Junior and Amateur Owner Hunters in the Stonelea, followed by the THIS Children’s Medal and the Children’s Hunters.

RESULTS

Hamel Foundation NHS 3’3” Medal

Place / Horse / Rider / Owner