Tamie Smith and Lillet 3. Photo by Tina Fitch Photography.
The future of West Coast eventing looks bright based on today’s opening dressage phase of the Eventing Championships at Galway Downs. Veteran Team USA rider Tamie Smith leads the CCI4*-L with Lillet 3, continuing a streak of eye-popping performances in their year-long partnership. The mare is owned by Smith’s student, Molly Duda, who topped the CCI3*-L dressage with another equine starlet, Jutopia.
Southern California delivered its trademark warm weather – even on the eve of Halloween – for the Oct. 30-Nov. 2 close of Galway Downs’ 2025 eventing season. No tricks, only treats on display for several pairs debuting at new levels as the Championships’ four international divisions unfurled in the Grand Prix Arena.
Meanwhile in the shade of the Eucalyptus arena, the USEA Area VI Championships for Preliminary and Open divisions danced their way through opening day. Horse Trials competition starts Friday.
CCI4*-L – Tamie Smith and Lillet 3
Tamie Smith and Lillet 3 compete at Rebecca Farm en route to winning the CCI4*-L in July 2025. Photo by Shannon Brinkman Photography.
Smith and Lillet 3’s one-year partnership is filled with wins, and the biggest may be crossing that line from work to fun. “As a rider, I am always trying to learn how to take the horse’s energy and make it expressive in a more supple, harmonious picture,” Smith said of the test’s best characteristic. “When you get that feeling that you can move their energy in the right direction, it’s fun!” Oodles of patience, education and conditioning go into getting there and the reward is a test like today’s, Smith said.
She’s grateful that the judging emphasis on harmony rewards the effortless-looking picture on display today. “It’s easy to get on, clamp on and make the horse do it. But that’s not really the goal.”
Smith and the 9-year-old Holsteiner earned a 27.6 from the Ground Jury of Bea DiGrazia (USA), Wiebke Hennig (GER) and Marilyn Payne (USA).
Tied for 2nd on a 31.2 are Molly Duda and her own Disco Traveler and Karen O’Neal and her longtime partner Clooney 14, an 11-year-old Westphalian owned by Annika Asling.
Duda is thrilled with Disco’s test. At 16, the Swedish Warmblood is “getting up there in age,” said Duda. Today’s fluid effort reflected the benefits of careful management, she added.
O’Neal praised Clooney’s obedience, wished he’d had a bit more spark and that she had ridden a bit more accurately.
Accuracy will be crucial over Clayton Fredericks’ cross-country track tomorrow. O’Neal echoed her fellow competitors in describing the route as a test of endurance and focus. New segments and obstacles up the degree of difficulty. “I need to walk it a few more times,” O’Neal said. “It feels quite different.”
Megan McIver and Igor B, a 12-year-old Dutch Warmblood, earned a 33 to slot into 4th, followed by Duda on Carlingsford Hes A Clover on a 36. Duda was pleased with her 13-year-old Irish Sport Horse in their move up to this level. “He’s a horse that comes out and is different every day,” Duda shared. “In the past, he has been very hot and tense in the court. Today he was the very opposite. He was so relaxed I could hardly get the impulsion needed!”
CCI3*-L — Molly Duda and Jutopia
Molly Duda and Jutopia. Photo by Tina Fitch Photography.
Duda continues her ascent in the sport with a 26.7 on her own Jutopia to lead with seasoned professionals hot on their heels.
Ground Jury members Sukhdeve Rathhore (IND) Wiebke Hennig (GER),) and Marilyn Payne (USA) gave Molly’s coach, Tamie Smith, and Jump To Day D, a 28.6 to sit second. Taren Hoffos and her own Regalla and Stephanie Goodman and Elwenda DP are tied for 3rd on a 29.2 in this 19-horse division.
Ties in the 5th, 9th and 11th rungs, too, reflect like-minded judging and more young riders showcasing bright futures. Professional Audrey Sanborn and her own Lex D and Hanni Sreenan and Ebenholtz are tied for 5th on a 31.5. Megan Sykes and Andrea Baxter are tied in 9th on a 33. And there’s a three-way tie for 11th, among professionals Tamie Smith, Gina Economou and Megan McIver.
Duda said today’s test displayed “new pieces that really came together,” with Jutopia, an 11-year-old Dutch Warmblood. “She’s deceptively tricky. She has a lot of flash and elegance, but sometimes there are small things – like not being fully true in the contact – that don’t show on the surface, but that you can feel. Today, everything felt very harmonious.”
The University of California Los Angeles junior has not ridden the mare very much during their one-year partnership, due to competing in Europe with Disco Traveler and studying abroad.
Duda describes Tamie Smith as huge in their progress – both in training Jutopia when she was away and in having first-hand feel for those small things Duda described when coaching the young rider.
Smith, meanwhile, was as pleased about Duda’s rides as she was about her division debut with Jump To Day D, owned by Jeanne Shigo. The 11-year-old Dutch Warmblood came Smith’s way a year ago with 3* mileage, and they’ve competed at Preliminary together. “The amount of confidence he’s gained is so great,” Smith explained. “He has a really fun personality and he’s also a bit of a worrier. But he went into that test so relaxed and with me. It’s been really fun to see the progression of his confidence.”
CCI3*-L cross-country starts at 8:30 a.m. Friday, October 31.
CCI2*-L – Asia Vedder and Litmanen Z
Asia Vedder and Litmanen Z. Photo by Tina Fitch Photography.
Consistency and relaxation helped Asia Vedder’s big 7-year-old, Litmanen Z, earn a little score – a division-leading 25.3. The performance follows a national-best 17.1 Open Preliminary score two weeks prior at Ram Tap and continues an upward trajectory.
From their beginning two years ago, Litmanen had “a great brain,” Vedder reports of the 17.2-hander. Today that manifested as steady rhythm and contact, creating a consistent frame throughout the test. Keeping him in front of the leg has been a productive focus. So has conditioning on the hills of her home farm in Central California. “I can really feel him getting that swing in his trot.”
Tamie Smith and Solaguayre Cantata, a 7-year-old Argentine Sporthorse, are two points behind on a 27.3. Young rider Gabriella Ringer and Get Wild are on their heels, in third, on a 27.7.
Ringer was targeting the CCI3*-L, but learned she lacked the MERs needed. “I hadn’t practiced this test a lot, but I was excited that he was able to keep a level head in that big arena and put his best food forward.” Especially after he bolted during the short trip from the warm-up to the Grand Prix Arena.
The 26-horse division was evaluated by Ground Jurors Marilyn Payne, Sukhdev Rathhore and Wiebke Hennig and several ties again emerged – two pairs tied for 10th and three tied for 21st.
Ringer and Vedder said they’re excited for tomorrow’s cross-country, designed by Alessandra Allen-Shinn. Both described the track as having plenty of running room, making best use of the property and requiring control and focus in key spots.
CCI2*-L cross-country starts at 11:30 am Friday, October 31.
CCI1*-L – Megan Sykes and HSH Tangerine
Megan Sykes and HSH Tangerine. Photo by Tina Fitch Photography.
Catch riding for broken-footed client Nancy Emsley, Megan Sykes piloted HSH Tangerine to a 28.2 from the Ground Jury of Christel Carlson (USA), Marilyn Payne and Wiebke Hennig. “Nancy is an amazing client and I’m happy that, if she can’t ride, at least she can watch him do well. He’s a very balanced, steady-Eddy, correct horse that consistently scores in the 20s,” Sykes explained. The 7-year-old Irish Sport Horse “just keeps getting better every time out.”
Lauren Bebb and Crafty Don, a 9-year-old Irish Sport Horse, are 2nd on a 31.4 and Amanda Boyce and Cool Tonic, a 6-year-old Westphalian, are 3rd on a 32.1.
CCI1*-L cross-country starts at 1:40 pm Friday, October 31.
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