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It must have felt as if all the dreams were coming true in that defnitive moment when Manoir de Carneville, Sinead Halpin in the irons, tripped the timer on a double clear show jumping round with only one horse and rider to go. A few minutes later, the results were offcial: Sinead and “Tate” in their frst-ever four-star together fnished third. As the highest-placed American combination at Kentucky Rolex Three-Day Event, they earned the 2011 USEF National CCI**** Eventing Championship and the USET Pinnacle Cup Trophy.

Sinead frst competed at the three-star level in 1999. The fact that it took the better part of 12 years for Sinead to compete at Rolex, the only North American four-star, says a lot about the journey. Like every eventer who aspires to the upper echelon of this equestrian triathlon, she had a lot of work to do on herself. She also had to fnd and bring along an equine athlete up to the demands of the four-star challenge. This “game” is not meant for the faint of heart: It requires an intense amount of effort, dedication, commitment and even sacrifce.

The bottom line question asked by three-day eventing is: Just how good a rider do you really want to be?

Sinead grew up riding in South Carolina where she did a bit of everything from short stirrup and pony club to fairgrounds shows with the 4-H. She foxhunted as a child, thanks to her mother, who is still a genuine enthusiast of the chase. She was fairly young when she realized that competing was her great passion. She was 14 when eventing took over her life and invested the next 15 years to making her teenaged dreams come true.

“Show hunters gave me a solid foundation for position and rhythm,” says Sinead. “Eventing teaches a lot of instinct and effectiveness, body control and rhythm. I do a lot of riding with no stirrups, that’s for sure! I like doing the schooling. I like doing the dressage, the exercises in the ring. I’m just really a competitor.”

One of Sinead’s pet peeves is when people tell her how lucky she is to have worked with such great riders and trainers. “I am lucky, but at the same time all of these really good professionals are accessible,” she emphasizes. “You just have to show up and these people will help you. It’s not that elitist. You can work hard and get good quality people around you and they will rub off on you. You can get into a working student situation. Work ethics and attitude are very important, more than talent and fnances. You have just have to be willing to work very hard.”

That’s pretty much what Sinead did. She rode everything she could. She galloped racehorses for four years. For several years she worked with Karen and David O’Connor’s event team and it was David, who suggested that she go to William Fox-Pitt’s training yard. They gave her a great reference and in 2008-09 Sinead went to England (more on this in a bit) where she ended up fnding her dream horse, a

Selle Francais from France, Manoir de Carneville, and some vital lessons as a horseman.

“It’s more educational to work for your lessons than to pay for them, and I strongly believe in the working student program,” states Sinead. “I don’t know how you can run a barn unless you’ve worked in one. It’s diffcult in an hour to get into the nature of the horse. You have to be a true horseman: It’s about keeping your horses sound, ft and healthy so you can compete.”

Sinead’s third place fnish at Kentucky Rolex was impressive in light of the fact that only two other American riders – Hannah Sue Burnett/St. Barths (8 th ) and Boyd Martin/Remington XXV (9 th ) – fnished in the top ten.

After jumping clear cross country 11 seconds slower than the time allowed (11:10), Sinead says: “I was kind of excited when I frst walked the course, because I thought it would be perfect for Tate.” She recalled watching Mary King and Temptress who went cross-country very early, until some of the best riders in the world found their Rolex ending with an elimination or voluntary retirement.

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