FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Aspen Farms, Yelm, WA
Friday, September 12, 2025

Competition kicked off today at Aspen Farms Horse Trials and the United States Eventing Association (USEA) Area VII Championships in Yelm, WA. Over 300 horse and rider combinations took to the dressage arenas for phase one of the three-day competition, with 139 of the pairs entered in eleven Area VII Championship divisions from Beginner Novice through Intermediate. To earn a qualifying placement, the pairs had to finish first through fifth place at a qualifying event.

In USEA Area VII Open Intermediate Championships, Tommy Greengard made a strong impression, claiming the overnight lead with That’s M Z (pictured above), owned by himself and Andrea Pfeiffer.

“That’s M Z is here off the back of his big Advanced win at the American Eventing Championships,” shared Greengard. “He’s here to stretch his legs and have a nice run before his fall season.”

Greengard is also tied for second in the division aboard Balladeer Kilbrickens Lad, owned by Patricia Culleton.

“He won the three star here back in June,” Greengard said. “He continues to get stronger and offer more and more in the ring; we were thrilled with that today!”

Sophie Click and her gelding, Tarantino 54, are tied for second with Greengard in the Open Intermediate Championships on a score of 29.6.

“I’m super happy with him,” Click said after her ride. “He has competed here at Aspen Farms a lot now, so he’s really relaxed here now, which helped us today. I’m feeling really good, and I’m looking forward to cross-country tomorrow. I like the new direction [of the cross-country course]. I think that will be super exciting. I think there’s hard questions, but overall it should ride really well.”

Tommy Greengard and MBF Google, overnight leaders in the USEA Area VII Open Prelim Championships. Photo by Ashley Kemp Photography.

Tommy Greengard also made his mark at the top of the USEA Area VII Open Preliminary Championships division, sitting in first with MBF Google on 26, and third with EL Porvenir Luigi. Reese Blinks and I’M Jaguar are second on 26.9.

“The young guns were also really good,” said Greengard after his rides in the Preliminary division. “We couldn’t be prouder, especially of Luigi. He’s quite a big horse, and he’s learning to be more and more rideable in the dressage ring. Every show out he gets a little bit better. This is his first show back since the CCI2*-Long at Rebecca Farms; it’s nice to see the maturity. MBF Google did what he does best, which is flick his toes! He was fairly obedient, and we can never complain about that.”

In the USEA Area VII Open Training Championships, Jordan Linstedt and Liberty R, owned by Amy Itkin, took the overnight lead on 26.4. Holly Yoder and Irish Ellie are second on 28.6, and Karen O’Neal and Viva Las Vegas are third on.

“She was a dressage horse originally, and has always been very successful,” shared Linstedt after dressage. “She loves her job. She was a beautiful dressage horse, but I think they thought in her early development that maybe she wanted to do more and to jump–and I could never take the jump out of her now she loves it so much! She’s bold out on cross-country and show jumps beautifully, but the flat is definitely where she had a lot of training in the beginning, and it shows. She was lovely today; super consistent and very rhythmic with good balance. It was fun to be along for the ride!”

Linstedt is also well-placed in the Open Intermediate Championships, sitting in fifth with LS Cowboy Casanova, owned by Lovas Partners LLC, and seventh with LS Crown Royal. Thanks to their solid performance in the CCI3*-S at Aspen Farms this past spring, Linstedt and LS Crown Royal qualified to compete at Le Lion d’Angers in France, one of the most prestigious young horse championships in world. They were recently selected as a recipient of the 2025 Holekamp/Turner Grant, which provides support for travel to represent the United States.

In the USEA Area VII Training Amateur Championships presented by Panattoni Development, Bryce Meeker claimed the overnight lead with her own Hanoverian/Thoroughbred gelding, Centerfield Varsity. Lorilee Hanson and Mosaïque are second, and Hanni Sreenan and Enchanted are third.

“The test went really well,” Meeker shared after dressage. “We’ve had some breakthroughs in dressage recently, which has been very nice. He’s been a lot more rideable, so it was fun. I bought him as an unbacked 3-year-old, and we’ve gone through this process together. It’s been super fun to have this kind of success with him.”

Alexis Hsue and Fantom, owned by Wendy Hsue, are first on the leaderboard in the USEA Area VII Junior Training Championships, presented by Panattoni Development.

The USEA Area VII Novice level Championship divisions are proving to be highly competitive. Melissa Mohr and Ferrani took the overnight lead in the Novice Amateur Championship division with 22.2, less than one point ahead of Tracey Trewin and Barcelona in second place.

In the Jr. Novice Championship division, Emma Lee and Andiamo Baum scored 25 to secure the lead. In the Open Novice Championship, presented by Olive Equestrian and Caroline Pamukcu Eventing, Marc Grandia and Checkter Too, owned by Joanne Harris, scored 27.5 for the top spot, with Stephanie Goodman and Cinna, owned by Susan Goodman, in second with 28.6.

The Novice Championship divisions will be the first out of the APF Cross-Country Start Box on Saturday morning starting at 8:30 a.m. to take on the cross-country course designed by Morgan Rowsell. Spectators are invited to enjoy the Championship cross-country action by joining in the Toyota of Olympia Tailgate Party and BBQ out on course.

The lowest score of the first day of competition was 20.6, earned by Mikaela Kuiper and Smitten. They lead the USEA Area VII Open Beginner Novice Championships after dressage, nearly ten points ahead of their nearest competitor. Joshua Lacy and Klearys Big Dreaming, owned by Katie Ann Blanchard, are second in the division.

The overnight leaders in USEA Area VII Beginner Novice Amateur Championships, Susan Harrel and O’Donnells Riverdancer, scored 22.2, and Izabella Fierner and Devotion WGF, overnight leaders in the Junior Beginner Novice Championships, scored 25.3–proving just how high the standard is to secure the lead in the lower level Championships divisions.

Aspen Farms Horse Trials is also hosting ten non-Championship divisions, which may represent pairs who did not qualify for Championships, or those new to their competition level.

Erin Grandia and Hyacinth lead the Open Intermediate after dressage at Aspen Farms Horse Trials, presented by Tin Men Supply. Photo by Ashley Kemp Photography.

In Open Intermediate, Erin Grandia and her Warmblood mare Hyacinth scored 31.4 for first after dressage, and Rachel Brickman and Finally DG scored 31.6 for second.

Jen Moody and Kay-O, owned by Sarah Broussard, lead the Open Preliminary at Aspen Farms Horse Trials, presented by Tin Men Supply. Photo by Ashley Kemp Photography.

In Open Preliminary, Jen Moody and Kay-O, owned by Sarah Broussard, secured the overnight lead with a score of 30.2. Marc Grandia and Perluna, owned by Pamela Duffy-Trotter, are second with 32.1, and Dakota McGill and NSC Mettaphor, owned by Lesley McGill, are third with 32.9.

DAY 1 OVERNIGHT LEADERBOARD

See the complete scores from all divisions online at ShowConnect, here.

Follow along with more show coverage on Aspen Farms Horse Trials Facebook Page, or follow us on Instagram @AspenFarmsHorseTrials.

Photos courtesy of Show Photographer, Ashley Kemp Photography.
Reels by STF Productions and Halite Creative.