Carolyn Kelly Wins Big Prize in High Junior/Amateur Section
November 4, 2025 (Syracuse, NY): Today’s final action in downtown Syracuse wrapped up with the “Syracuse Seven” competing in the $50,000 Animal Planet Sporthorse Cup. This competition is the only one of its kind in the world. The three phase format is the brainchild of John Madden, the chairman of the organizing committee of the event. The seven riders were:
McLain Ward - USA
Beezie Madden - USA
Margie Engle - USA
Leslie Howard - USA
Stein Endresen - Norway
Harrie Smolders - Netherlands
Lauren Hough - USA
Phase I was a speed round. Hough as the lowest placed qualifier was first to go. She chose to ride Strandgarden’s Mercedes Z, and the pair put in a clear round in 43.61. Next to go was Harrie Smolders riding Indiana. The pair had won the TK99 Speed Derby earlier in the week. They were fast again, cutting corners and stopping the timers at 41.72. Norwegian Stein Endresen was next on course on Graf Special. They were having a great round but a miscommunication between horse and rider forced Endresen to circle before jumping the liverpool, adding precious seconds and resulting in a 49.20 score. Next on course was Leslie Howard. Her normally careful speed horse Youp had some problems in this round and they added 12 faults to their score. Margie Engle was next to go, and to the surprise of all, her feisty grey Hidden Creek’s Calippo 12 bucked after a fence causing Margie to fall off, eliminating her from the round. Fortunately, Margie got right to her feet and walked from the ring. Beezie Madden on her young mare, Onlight followed Engle. They had a fast round with her mare jumping well, but one slight tap to a rail cost them 4 seconds added to their time putting them at 45.92. Last on course was Saturday night’s big winner McLain ward on the talented mare, Quo Vadis. This pair raced across the course ending clear and stopping the timers at 41.69, just 3/100ths of a second ahead of Harrie Smolders.
Phase II is the Four-Bar, a “power” phase that tests the strength and prowess of the horses as well as the riders’ nerves and skills. The riders jump their horses down a line of 4 jumps in a row with each jump getting progressively higher. They jump in order for a total of 4 rounds maximum, but cannot move on to the next round unless they are clear. Between each round, the fences are raised. As the lowest ranked rider, Margie Engle back first. Her horse Hidden Creek’s Wapino had one rail, so they were done for the phase, and Engle opted to retire from the competition. Howard was back next on Lennox Lewis 2, and they jumped clear through the line of four jumps to come back for the next round. Stein Endresen did not have much luck with his Graf Special when they pulled a rail and were done for the phase. Harrie Smolders was next, this time on Riovanna who jumped brilliantly and cleared all the jumps. Beezie Madden was next riding Judgement, one of the horses she rode to win last year’s Sporthorse Cup. They also had a clear round. Lauren Hough on Quick Study and McLain Ward on Pinkata de Longpre both had clear rounds to return for the next round. In the 2nd round Leslie’s horse had a rail and so did McLain’s, while Beezie, Harrie and Lauren all went clear to move to round 3. At this point, the final jump in the line was set to 5’6”. Beezie rode Judgement through to an impressive clear. Next was Lauren, and she bravely jumped her small horse through the line clean. Last to go was Harrie Smolders. His mare put in a good attempt but had one rail, knocking them out of that phase. This left Beezie and Lauren to jump their horses through the final round with the last jump set at 6’4”. Lauren opted to not jump her horse this height, explaining to the enthusiastic spectators that her horse is younger and less experienced so she would take the 2 point penalty in the hope that she would still come put ahead in the final round. Beezie guided her powerful horse down the line one last time and much to the crowd’s amazement and delight they cleared 6’4 jump with ease. The pair set a new height record for the Sporthorse Tournament, breaking the record they of 6’2” they set in 2006.
For the final phase of the competition, 6 riders came back, and the score for the top 4 riders, Madden, Hough, Smolders and Ward, was so close that none of them could afford a rail. Ward had a stop at 9a so he retired his horse and ended in 5th place. Smolders and Riovanna had a rail, dropping them to 3rd place. Madden and Hough were both up for the top spot. Beezie had a clear round with Judgement, but accrued one time fault leaving their final score at 46.92. Last to go was Hough, and though her horse jumped well, they also accrued one time fault. The crowd was on edge. Did they have return winner with Madden or a new champion in Hough? After some calculations, Hough’s final score of 46.10 was announced, giving her her first Animal Planet Sporthorse Cup victory.
The final competition in the $40,000 Beacon Hill Show Stables High Junior / High Amateur-Owner Jumper section went earlier in the day. To be eligible to compete in today’s final the riders had to compete in class 9 on Thursday & class 10 on Friday. The scores were cumulative and the top 25 placed riders moved on to the final on Sunday. This class was run and scored in the same method as the FEI World Cup Finals. This format allows the younger and amateur riders an opportunity to become familiar with championship level scoring systems.
On Thursday Carolyn Kelly on her horse Rulanda won the speed round. In second was Catie Boone on Naleida and in third was Maria Schaub with Marga. They were the only riders to have had fault-free rides. Friday’s action was a test of power combined with speed. Kelly’s Rulanda rose to the occasion to go double clear in the fastest time of the three horse jump-off, Keeping Kelly in the lead. Natalie Johnson’s horse Jeremy jumped double clear to bring her placing up from tenth on Thursday and Amelia McArdle’s Pilot jumped double clear to put her into third place after a ninth place finish on Thursday. Catie Boone’s Naleida had some trouble in the jump-off, accumulating 12 faults to know her down in the ranks. Maria Schaub had a rail in the first round and that left her in 15th place at the end of Friday’s class.
Today, the top 25 riders came back in reverse order of the amount of points they had accumulated, so that riders with the least amount of points going last in the order of go. Leader Carolyn Kelly had one rail in Round A and was clear in the Round B, so she was able to hold onto her lead for the win and the $12,000 first prize. Natalie Johnson had a rail and 2 time faults in round A and came back with a clear in round B to hold on to second place overall. Amelia McArdle had some trouble in the last two rounds and added 11 faults to end in fourth. Whitney Weeks on her horse Sublime was able to move from tenth place on Friday by adding only 8.50 points to her score after the two rounds on Sunday to end in third place overall.
Also on Sunday at the Tournament, Beacon Hill Horse Transportation presented the “Groom’s Award” to Kent Farrington’s groom Alex Warner. Warner received a check for $250 as well as wooden grooming tote made and donated by David R Fowler Custom Tack Trunks filled with gift items.
Each fall the Syracuse Invitational Sporthorse Tournament welcomes the top-ranked equestrians from across the US and the world to downtown Syracuse to compete at the War Memorial Arena in the Oncenter Complex. The event features a full slate of high-level competition, entertainment, shopping and exhibitions. A 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization, the Syracuse Invitational benefits Cornell University Equine Hospital and Vera House. More information is available at www.syracuseinvitational.com.
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