Caroline Pamukcu and HSH Connor. Photo by Liz Crawley Photography.
Dearest gentle (and self-sufficient) eventers,
Please try to forgive me for interviewing Bouckaert’s winners while watching six-figure hunter and equitation horses canter around the ring at Desert International Horse Park. Working at one horse show in California, while writing a story about an international horse trials in Georgia: life of a poor eventer, ammiright?
I mentioned to Caroline Pamukcu at the start of her interview that I miss the eventers. While Desert Circuit is an amazing horse show, it’s not quite the same as spending time with the eventing family. So what better way to kick off the international eventing season than with interviewing the top three riders in the CCI4*-S at Bouckaert Equestrian H.T. International this past weekend?
It was interesting to hear all three riders mention they appreciate riding in Chattahoochee Hills early in the season to start to introduce terrain into the horses’ fitness plan. Before making the trek back up to their slightly chillier home bases in Pennsylvania, these three riders (plus 20 other riders) chose to continue their warm winter ways in the south, competing at the beautiful Bouckaert Farm in Chattahoochee Hills, GA this past weekend.
After a nice vacation for HSH Connor (and unfortunately no vacation for Caroline) this winter, the winning pair is back in action at the horse’s CCI4*-S debut. With a 29.8 in dressage, a double clear show jump round, and some time on an otherwise clear cross country round, they overtook Boyd Martin and Commando 3 on the leaderboard.
Still affectionately referred to as Chatt Hills, the venue has been a highlight of the end-of-winter calendar since 2006. “Chatt Hills has really turned into such an incredible show,” Caroline shared. “It’s really a staple part of our spring season. It’s one of the first big shows, [as] it’s our first FEI of the season. It’s a great place to do that.”
The Irish Sport Horse gelding, owned by Luann McElduff, Sherrie Martin, and Caroline, turns 10 in May. His winter season training included a few show jump rounds at WEC, a quiet run in the Ocala Winter I Open Intermediate in early February where they placed second, and a cruise around the 2026 $100,000 LiftMaster Grand-Prix Eventing Showcase at Bruce’s Field, p/b Taylor, Harris Insurance Services.
“[We’re working on] getting his body strong, that’s the biggest thing. He’s such an extravagant mover and jumper,” Caroline shared. “You really have to make sure his body is strong enough to hold his athleticism. That was the big thing for this winter, trying to get his body to catch up with his brain. Because he’s an incredible horse, incredible mover, incredible jumper. He’s brave as a lion, but we need to get stronger.”
When prompted about Connor’s early spring prep at the Eventing Showcase at Bruce’s Field, Caroline praised her newly minted four-star horse. “I thought it’d be really good for him to go jump in front of a big crowd. He was leading the show, and then he had an early run out, which was entirely my fault. I was going a little bit too fast, and he looked at the crowd instead of the [fourth] jump, which 100% was my fault,” she confessed. “That’s where I need to be better as a rider, to give him the opportunity to breathe and see the jumps and not just use speed and be a little bit too competitive.”
“That was a great wake up call for me early on in the season, that I need to be that much more focused and concentrated,” she said.
Caroline Pamukcu and HSH Connor compete at the $100,000 LiftMaster Grand-Prix Eventing Showcase at Bruce’s Field in February. Photo by Chelsea Spear Photography.
Learning that lesson early in the season paid off for Caroline, as Connor didn’t bat an eye at the Chatt cross country, showing off his brave as a lion cross country skills. Caroline sung course designer Clayton Fredericks’ (AUS) praises, saying he “has done an incredible job designing the four star.”
Now in his second year of designing at Bouckaert, Clayton Fredericks (AUS) took over the course design role from previous designer Hugh Lochore (GBR). A legendary horseman for his eventing accomplishments as a rider, Clayton also designs at Galway Downs and designed the 2025 American Eventing Championship (AEC) courses at Galway. He pays close attention to how a horse sees a fence and works to make sure the question is clear for both horse and rider.
“Looking at the amount of people entered this year for the show, it really shows you what a good job Clayton has done,” Caroline said. “All the surfaces are great at the show, it’s a very good, flowing course. It’s a good introduction for terrain for the horses.” Many East Coast eventers head to Aiken, SC or parts of Florida for the winter, where most of the ground is flat. “It’s nice to start cantering on the hills. [Clayton built] a very good horse-friendly course [while] asking good questions to get you ready to do your future four and five stars later on in the spring but friendly enough so that you can knock the rust off.”
Caroline plans to aim Connor for a four long this spring or summer. As for longer term plans for the gelding she’s had since a four year old, Caroline’s (and her owners’) sights are already set on the 2027 Pan American Games in Lima, Peru.
“We think he’d be a superstar for that,” Caroline enthused. “We’re going to keep ticking along and kind of work backwards from Pan Ams till now.” The team is waiting to see what the criteria is for the Pan Ams qualifications and will build out a timeline and plan from there.
Boyd Martin and Commando 3. Photo by Charles Swita for Liz Crawley Photography.
While Boyd Martin (USA) and Commando 3, owned by Yankee Creek Ranch, held the lead after dressage and show jumping, they garnered a few time penalties on cross country and moved to second. The 13-year-old Holsteiner gelding had a busy 2025, placing second at the Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event CCI5*-L, presented by MARS Equestrian back in April and third at the MARS Maryland 5 Star at Fair Hill, p/b Brown Advisory in October.
After his brilliant showing at Maryland, Connor enjoyed a well-earned, month-long vacation, which started the moment Boyd left for Pau. Connor went back to work in December and January in PA, and then Boyd moved Windurra operations to Aiken, SC, where they’ve been for the past seven weeks. Boyd took a trip down to WEC in Ocala, FL, where they focused on their show jumping with Peter Wylde. Connor then completed a preliminary at Pine Top Intermediate Horse Trials in Thomson, GA.
“Chatt Hills is just a brilliant venue to start off the horses as they head towards the Kentucky five-star,” Boyd shared. He also perennially uses the Georgia terrain to increase Connor’s fitness work ahead of the season. “This is my second year coming to Chatt Hills, and I think [Clayton] builds a really nice four-star track for this time of the year. It has all the questions, but it’s not too over the top. It was quite a horse-friendly, inviting course, and it was definitely up to par.”
As with most eventers based in Aiken, Boyd rode at the Eventing Showcase at Bruce’s Field. He viewed it as prep for the year, as Conner is a flamboyant horse, and it’s good for him to compete in front of crowds. “The hardest thing is to get him soft and relaxed in the test,” Boyd said. “So I’ve tried to take him to a couple of high atmosphere competitions to see if I can improve him in the ring.”
Conner’s already back in Pennsylvania and will start galloping the Chester County hills to top off his fitness ahead of the rest of his spring campaign, all with the intention of having several horses primed and ready for selection to this summer’s FEI Eventing World Championships at Aachen. Boyd plans to ship back to Aiken for the Stable View Spring International and H.T. in early April. And then all roads lead to Kentucky at the end of April for the best weekend all year, where Boyd’s top horses are likely to join many other World Championships hopefuls in the Cosequin Lexington CCI4*-S that runs alongside the Kentucky 5*.
Buck Davidson and Cooley Candyman. Photo by Melina Velleman for Liz Crawley Photography.
Buck Davidson (USA) was quite pleased with the performance of Cooley Candyman, affectionately known as “Rolo” to his friends. “[We] sort of lucked out,” he shared. “The conditions [at Chatt Hills] were perfect. We got a bunch of rain, and the ground was beautiful. Rolo was fantastic. He was perfect in the show jumping and just went a bit high and just touched the back rail. [It] was a bit of a bummer, but other than that, he was good in the dressage and was good cross country. So, [I’m] happy.”
Buck felt that Clayton’s cross country course was “tricky enough” for this time of the year. After being in the flat south for a bit, he was ready to re-introduce terrain to the horse’s fitness regime. Fitness is always a work in progress for the thirteen-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding who is “for sure not a Thoroughbred.”
“There are horses for courses,” Buck commented, “and Rolo’s probably not for Maryland, but he showed me that he wouldn’t give up, and he just kept trying.” After one refusal about three-quarters of the way around the tough track with no break from the hilly terrain at Maryland, Buck elected to retire and save Rolo for another day. “He needs to learn how to go through brush, and how to not go so high over everything,” he said.
After a bit of a winter break, Buck mentioned Rolo seems to have come back like a more focused, better horse. The gelding, owned by Cassandra Segal and Buck, has a playful personality and has a history of pulling out a spin move to try to unseat Buck. “He’s still spinning around a bit, but not with the vengeance that he used to,” Buck said with a chuckle. “He’s been very, very good.”
Rolo will either go to The Event at TerraNova or return to Chatt Hills to run the Intermediate at Bouckaert Equestrian H.T. Both events take place the last weekend in March.
Riders earning top 8 placings at the CCI4*-S events that serve as US Equestrian Open of Eventing qualifiers (spoiler alert: every 4*-S on the calendar this year is also a Qualifer), and Caroline Pamukcu will come away with the lion’s share of points for her efforts this weekend, earning 40 for her win with HSH Connor as well as 25 and 15 points, respectively, for her 4th place finish with HSH Double Sixteen (who won this event in 2025) and 6th place with Kings Especiale. Leaderboard rankings can be found here.
Scores for the top three of the CCI4*-S division:
- Caroline Pamukcu (USA) and HSH Connor: 48.6
- Boyd Martin (USA) and Commando 3: 50.0
- Bruce Davidson Jr. (USA) and Cooley Candyman: 52.1
Full scores across divisions can be found here.
Bouckaert Equestrian HT International (GA): [Website] [Scores]
