fun times @ Fair Hill

You may have heard that the Maryland 5*, one of only two such rated competitions in North America (and the penultimate international 5* of the year) was this weekend at Fair Hill!

early morning view from the YEH volunteer's tent

Obvi being locals, my friends and I always like to make a big to do of the event. My typical habit is to spend the leading Thursday and Friday volunteering as jump crew for the associated event, the Young Event Horse Championships. 

Anna Jones making easy work of the **triple bar** set as Jump 1 for the 4 and 5 year olds

The event holds classes for qualified 4 and 5 year old horses, with conformation, dressage, and jumping phases. The horses are judged on their potential as future upper level superstars and most entries are piloted by professional riders (tho not all!). 

omgosh look at this Doozy Doppleganger in the 5yo class <3 <3
her name is Nausicaa, owned and ridden by Daphne Soares (jc Look Up to Heaven)

The jumping phase is my favorite -- it's set up a bit like a derby, starting with a mini show jumping course, then transitioning to a short xc course with limited technicality. The 4yos compete over novice (0.9m) sized fences and the 5yos over training (1.0m) level. 

Each entry gets 3 minutes of ring familiarization (including being allowed to walk up to all the fences and through the water etc) and then complete the course -- with each individual jumping effort receiving a score, plus overall scores on rideability, gallop, way of going, and potential.  

pictured: #goals for Doozy LOL

For my purposes, I just like watching the class! It's really cool seeing the Big Name Riders out there with their greenies and then watching those same horses develop over the coming years. One of the most impressive this go-round was Blacklist, ridden by Allie Knowles. They didn't win, but he's one to watch out for in the future!

If you're curious about the format, here's a video of Caroline Pamukcu & HSH Afterglow winning the 4yo class last year. This same pair finished 3rd in the 5yos this year too!

onto the main event --- XC day tailgating tent, all set up and ready for the party to arrive!

Anyway, the other benefit of volunteering in the lead up days is that I get a free general admission pass for the rest of the weekend, including the feature event -- Cross Country Day! This is the third year my friends and I have hosted a tailgate and it's just so much fun. 

We've got our system down, we like our location (Timber field for the curious), and it's a great opportunity to meet up with all our horsey friends that we don't regularly see otherwise!

friends from Charlie's barn joined the party too <3

This year was particularly special bc obvi a lot of my horse friend group scattered into the four winds this past summer, with the mass exodus transitions from the last boarding barn. Obvi we all try to keep in touch and talk regularly, but this was a really fun reunion party! PLUS -- changes in everyone's boarding situations meant there are a lot of NEW faces in the friends group!!

legit the only video i took from XC day, this is the 5* course

Having the tailgate location is particularly useful at a venue like the Maryland 5* too, bc it's VERY spread out. Like the distance from the main arena to Sawmill Field is very very far. It's nice to have a meetup space replete with food and water for the weary! 

We typically hang out and mingle during the 3* competition, with folks wandering around to nearby jump complexes and the shopping zone... But once the 5* starts, we're on the move! There weren't many entries in the 5* this year, and even fewer finishers... But we saw a lot of great action -- including Tamie Smith and Mai Baum making tidy work of the tricky angled tables in Hay Field before opting to call it a day after climbing the big hill into Sawmill.

Sally Cousins & Wizard in the 3*

Finally, tho, after all the xc is finished, we usually gravitate back to the tailgate for a little rest / snacking / drinking before packing it up for the day. Bc there's still more to do! Final day of the weekend is yet another whole new flavor -- show jumping day!!

Sharon White & Jaguars Duende WINNING the 3*

The nice thing about the last day of the event is that all the action is much more centralized, for anybody who may have been a bit weary (or blistered and/or sunburnt) from a lot of walking on Saturday. 

Show jumping obviously happens in the main arena, surrounded by grandstands (pro tip: definitely splurge for the covered ringside stands bc you never know what the weather will be!). And all the shopping encircles the whole area. We like to arrive early to shop, then catch the 3* show jumping in full, then shop* some more, and then obvi watch the 5* jump. 

(*I was super boring this year for shopping, tho, and only just got a pair of Kerrits paddock boots to replace my falling-apart Blundstones).

Buck Davidson & Sorocaima, the highest place US pair in the 5*

Again, being local means a lot of the riders are familiar to us -- like Sally in the 3*!! -- so it's really fun cheering everybody on. Plus, lots of cheering for the top placed American in the 5* -- another local, Buck Davidson!! 

Obvi it would have been even cooler to see the title go to an American, but overall it was an awesome event from start to finish! Every year gets better and better as the organizers fine tune and tweak the set up and arrangements, esp including logistics like shuttles and parking etc. It's still a relatively "new" event (it's organized by a different group from Fair Hill's former Fall International 4* and 3* events), so still working out some kinks, but overall a really fun time. 

We'll definitely be back at it again next year ;) Have you been? Or are you planning to go?