Thoroughbreds participating at eventing championships

Thoroughbreds are prized for the bravery and athleticism, making them a natural fit for the sport of eventing, described as the triathlon of equestrian sport. Indeed, a number of Thoroughbreds are set to compete at the United States Eventing Association’s American Eventing Championships this week at the Kentucky Horse Park.

The AECs, which begin on Tuesday and run through Sunday, encompass levels from beginner novice to advanced, with horse and rider pairs competing tests in dressage, cross-country jumping, and stadium jumping. Of the 25 horse and rider teams set to compete at the highest level, the $60,000 USEA Advanced Final, which begins Thursday, five horses are listed as full Thoroughbreds – Caribbean Soul and Olympian Clark Montgomery, based in Kentucky; Cecila with Daniela Moguel of North Carolina; Creative Dreamer with Catherine Henderson of Michigan; New Zealand-bred Flintstar with Ryan Keefe of Maryland; and Australian-born IL Vici with Arden Wildasin of South Carolina.

Florida-bred Caribbean Soul, a winner on the track who raced under the name Money Holder until age 5, has become a promising upper-level mount for Montgomery. She has followed his 2016 Olympic Games partner Loughan Glen, an Irish Sport Horse, who retired in 2017.

“After Glen, I was adamant that my next horse would be a full Thoroughbred,” Montgomery told Chronicle of the Horse. “Glen taught me so much about the dressage that I thought I could help a horse like her in that department, and she can give me that gallop on the cross-country, which she has. It’s just fantastic. As a kid I had a couple Thoroughbreds, then started riding mixed breeds, which I have no problem with at all, but I hadn’t done a pure Thoroughbred in years. ... The other side of her personality is that she’s just an incredible fighter, which must come from the track. She raced until she was 5 uninjured, which shows you she must have enjoyed her job. It’s been channeling that desire to please and to fight for you into the more technical sport. It’s been a fun thing to do with her.”

Among the Thoroughbreds competing in the 22 other levels at the AECs is 2014 Kentucky Derby runner-up Commanding Curve, partnering with Madeline Cracknell of Pennsylvania in the Beginner Novice Junior Championship. Cracknell described Commanding Curve, who retired in 2016, as a laid-back horse to Heels Down Magazine.

“He was so slow in the beginning. You’d have know idea he almost won the Kentucky Derby,” Cracknell said.

The American Eventing Championships precede two major Thoroughbred shows the Kentucky Horse Park will also host in the upcoming weeks. The Jockey Club Thoroughbred Incentive Program Championships and the New Vocations All-Thoroughbred Charity Show are set for Sept. 6-8, while the Retired Racehorse Project’s Thoroughbred Makeover is set for Oct. 2-5.