Becky Holder will need to make more room on her trophy shelf after becoming "Keeper of the Cup" for a second year in a row—this time winning the Adequan USEA Gold Cup Series Advanced division with her and husband Tom's Courageous Comet.  Holder, who hails from Mendota Heights, Minnesota and last year won the Series' Intermediate division with Ann Bower's Rejuvenate, was thrilled to hear that she and Comet, an 11-year-old gray Thoroughbred gelding, would be the next pair to have their names added to the perpetual Gold Cup at the USEA's headquarters in Leesburg, Virginia.

"This is super," Holder said after finding out about her newest title. "The Gold Cup is great.  It gives us alternative goals for the season and rewards consistency, and I feel like it was a close race right up until the end.  The sponsors are tremendously generous, not just with the year-end awards, but with each individual competition.  You really are rewarded at each event with great products—Adequan is always a good thing!"

The Adequan USEA Gold Cup Series is comprised of 12 USEA-recognized events running from March through September.  Throughout the year horse-and-rider combinations receive points on separate Intermediate and Advanced leaderboards based on their performances at these events, and the pairs with the biggest tallies at the end of the year in each division win the title of "Keepers of the Cup."

Holder and Comet finished the year with 615 points that they earned at three Gold Cup events, starting in March with a second place finish at Southern Pines Horse Trials in Raeford, North Carolina and followed in July by a win at the Maui Jim Horse Trials CIC3* in Wayne, Illinois.  They clinched the champion title with a victory the following month at the Richland Park Horse Trials CIC3* in Michigan. 

Throughout the year there were several pairs jockeying for position on the top of the leaderboard, most notably Will Faudree of Southern Pines, North Carolina with his 19-year-old New Zealand Thoroughbred gelding Antigua, as well as Corinne Ashton with Dobbin and Kelly Prather and Ballinakill Glory.  By the end of the season it was Faudree and Antigua, partners for nearly seven years, who earned the reserve champion title with 555 points.  They had a shot at the win, but missed the final two East Coast events, Richland and Poplar Place Horse Trials, in order to compete at the Burghley CCI4* in England (where they finished 21st). 

"I think it's a great series," Faudree said.  "Our focus with the horses obviously is the major three-days—Kentucky, Badminton, Burghley—and I think it's great that the USEA rewards and promotes the CICs and horse trials this way."  For his second place finish Faudree earned a $3,500 gift certificate from Bit of Britain, which will certainly help him start his 2008 season off in style.  He said that the certificate was especially appreciated since he is also a Bit of Britain-sponsored rider.

Ashton, of Princeton, Massachusetts and Dobbin, her chestnut Thoroughbred gelding, finished in third on the leaderboard with 440 points.  While she may have missed the two top spots on Gold Cup leaderboard, Ashton was likely satisfied with her September win with Dobbin at the Wellpride American Eventing Championships Advanced division.  Prather, of Bodega, California and Andrea Pfeiffer's Ballinakill Glory—2006 Gold Cup Series Intermediate reserve champions—had a shot at the top with 400 points, but ultimately finished fourth after skipping the final event of the Series at Twin Rivers in Paso Robles, California in order to make the trip to the East Coast to prepare for the Fair Hill CCI3*.

Expect to see these top riders at the upcoming USEA Annual Meeting and Convention, presented by Nutrena, December 6-9 in Colorado Springs, Colorado, where Holder will be presented with her keeper Gold Cup as well as a check from the USEA for $6,000, logowear and a gift certificate from Adequan, a $2,000 gift certificate from World Equestrian Brands, and a cooler from Ogilvy Horse.

Intermediate Champions

It was an extremely tight race in the Intermediate Gold Cup division, with just five points separating the division's top two.  In the end Will Coleman of Gordonsville, Virginia and Kiki du Manoir came out on top with 260 points.  Coleman and Kiki, a nine-year-old Selle Francais gelding owned by Tivoli Farm, started out the season in April with a win in the Intermediate division at The Fork Horse Trials in Norwood, North Carolina, and followed that up in July with a win at the Cosequin Stuart Horse Trials CIC2* in Victor, New York, before moving up to advanced for the rest of the season.

"This is really amazing," Coleman said of his first Gold Cup victory.  "The Series is a great concept and brings additional excitement, publicity, and attention to the events, and the horses and owners.  This is still a young horse at only nine, so we've got our fingers crossed for him."

For the win, Coleman will be presented with the Gold Cup at the USEA Convention in December, as well as a check from the USEA for $4,000, logowear and a gift certificate from title sponsor Adequan, a $1,000 gift certificate from World Equestrian Brands, and a cooler from Ogilvy Horse.

A costly five points separated Coleman and Kiki from their closest rivals, Canadian Hawley Bennett and SplendoroftheSun.  Bennett, who resides in Temecula, California, finished last year's Gold Cup as reserve champion with her Livingstone in the Advanced division.  Bennett's Gold Cup success this year came with her new partner, an 11-year-old off-the-track Thoroughbred gelding owned by Pam and John Hudson.  The pair finished second in March at the Galway Downs CIC2* in Temecula, California, and followed that up in July with a win at the Rebecca Farm CCI2* in Kalispell, Montana.  Like Coleman and Kiki, they then moved up to Advanced for the latter part of the season.

Bennett was proud of her partner of just a year, and was already planning for the future.  "He has the best work ethic and loves to please.  A year ago if you told me I'd be here, I wouldn't have believed you.  Next year we'll be aiming for the Advanced Gold Cup!"

The Adequan USEA Gold Cup Series is made possible through the support of its many sponsors:  Title: Adequan; Legacy:  Nunn Finer, Nutrena, and World Equestrian Brands; Contributing:  Cover-All, UlcerGard, and Wellpride; and Patron:  Back on Track, Broadstone Equine Insurance Agency, Mountain Horse, Ogilvy Horse, and Platinum Performance.

For more information on the Adequan USEA Gold Cup Series, including the final leaderboard and coverage from each event, click on the Gold Cup link on the USEA website homepage at www.useventing.com.

Courtesy www.useventing.com