Monday, May 02 2011 / Published in What's Happenin'

Heart of the Carolinas Three Day Event Finishes to Rave Reviews

Low Score Winner Becky Brown and EZ Win Nikon Camera

Boo Major, Foy Barksdale and Cindy DePorter present Becky Brown with the Nikon D3100 Camera Kit as the Low Score Rider. Diana De Rosa Photo

The riders couldn’t say enough nice things about Heart of the Carolinas Three-Day Event in Chesterfield, SC at Southern Eighths Farm. They loved the facility, the organization, the footing, the courses, the jumps – just everything.

When it was all over Jim Baker and Wings claimed the victory in the Beginner-Novice division (58.30). “The format and the organization were topnotch. I can’t say enough about it,” he readily commented.

Becky Brown and EZ dominated the Training level (32.90) and Anne Lane Maunder and Penny Lane (37.30) were the winners in the Novice division. As the Low Score rider of the event, Brown was in awe when she was presented with a Nikon D3100 Camera Kit. “I’m floored,” she commented. “I can’t believe I won this camera. We’ve all had our eye on it all weekend.”

Jim Baker and Wings are Victorious in Beginner Novice

Jim couldn’t have been happier for this opportunity to check out what Southern Eighths has to offer and commented, “I feel wonderful, fantastic on top of the world. I thought the show jumping went very well. It was a typical switch back type course which I tend to like.”

Jim was pleased with how Wings finished. “I think Wings grew a lot in confidence. I saw him mature over the weekend. He was nervous when he got here and now he’s calmed down. I was very pleased with the way things went over the weekend.”

When asked what he thought the best part of the weekend was, Jim was quick to respond, “The facilities are amazing, simply amazing, probably the most spectacular thing is the effort they made for us as competitors. I’ve been Eventing for a long time and we have never had this done for us. For the average competitor, the lower level competitor, this was a phenomenal event. I’ve only seen this at the higher level events.”

Brad Turley, owner of Southern Eighths is already talking about doing some schooling weekends in addition to next year’s event. When Jim heard that he was quickly onboard.

“If Brad had a schooling weekend we would bring a trailer load back here.” When asked if he would be back for next year’s event Jim had one word. “Absolutely!”

Anne Lane-Maunder and Penny Lane Win The Novice Division

Anne Lane Maunder and Penny Lane were equally thrilled about their weekend event. “I feel great. I am very pleased with the final result but I’m a little disappointed with the rails. (They had two rails down.) Those rails lost us the Nikon camera.”

Anne Lane-Maunder and Penny Lane

Anne was pleased with Penny’s overall condition. “I think she has come through it great. I’m surprised at the rails. I think that she has had to work harder than she has ever had to work in her entire life and that is not a bad thing. So it probably has improved her work ethic.”

For Anne the highlight of the weekend was “personally feeling that I’ve still got a few more years left in me. I’m not ready to hang up my boots. It refocuses me as to why I do Eventing and that is because it is the only horse sport I know of where competitors will give you information that will allow you to beat them.”

“One minute you are a Dressage Queen and the next minute you are sitting in a pool of mud looking like a twit,” she jokingly added.

Anne will also be back for those predicted schooling weekends. “I’ll be back and I will bring some students as well. If there is any hope for the horsemanship to come back into the world of Eventing it is through this kind of thing. The problem with Eventing is the horsemanship has gone out of it but Southern Eighths is bringing it back”

Becky Brown and EZ Win Training Level and Nikon Camera

Becky Brown and EZ were also feeling “pretty terrific. It is EZs first blue ribbon at a recognized event. We chose the right one. I am so proud of him. He finished on his Dressage score. He is such a fun horse, a challenge but fun.”

Becky has had EZ since he was three. “He’s always been a very spooky horse. It’s only been in the last year that I’ve been able to warm him up because he’s been so afraid of the other horses,” she explained.

When asked what was the highlight of the weekend Becky commented, “choosing one highlight is kind of impossible. Doing the whole Cross Country because it was such a beautiful course, beautifully presented and the jumps were great. All the volunteers were super. The organization was great and the whole care and feeding of the competitors was unbelievable. I’ve never been anywhere where they were so concerned about our welfare. In addition to that was the educational aspect. The whole experience has been terrific.”

Becky loves the idea of a schooling weekend and doing this event next year. “This is a marvelous place to do the schooling weekends and to stay a couple of days I think it would be great. To go out on the trails and school the Cross Country would be a good experience for the horses.”

Becky as the Low Score rider of the weekend and the lucky winner of the Nikon D3100 Camera Kit couldn’t have been happier. “To think that Nikon gave such a wonderful prize at an event for amateur riders is really special. I am beyond thrilled to have won that camera.”

Brad Turley and Pati Martin – Two Key People Behind the Scenes

The owner of Southern Eighths is Brad Turley and right there beside him making sure things run like clockwork is his significant other, Pati Martin. They along with a host of staff and volunteers did the unbelievable, working endless hours to ensure every aspect of the event was as good as it could be.

Brad Turley

“I am pleased with the camaraderie and the way everyone pulled together this weekend,” commented Pati. “What was also special was that we were able to include the people from the community from the caterers right up to the people that dropped gravel and the volunteers. I appreciated the way everyone got together and moved forward for the same cause. Everyone showed they are dedicated to the concept of bringing the Long Format back.”

“Four years ago when we moved to Chesterfield the dream was to share the exhilaration and camaraderie of Long Format Eventing,” remarked Brad. “With the culmination and success of Heart of the Carolinas Three-Day Event we’ve taken a huge step forward toward achieving that goal and maybe even modifying that goal to become the ultimate destination for the adult rider.

RESULTS

BEGINNER-NOVICE

1-Wings, James Baker, 58.30

NOVICE

1-Penny Lane, Anne Lane-Maunder, 37.30

2-Emily Bug, Jeannette Ford, 39.30

3-Orkney HP, Lisa Gerdon, 126.20

4-A Splash of Henry, Briana Timmerman, E

TRAINING

1-EZ, Becky Brown, 32.90

2-AFW Ami Fidele, Linda Dahlgren, 43.50

3-Lily B, Risa Moon, 52.20