About the Author: Julie Alonzo, President of WE United, competes at the Intermediate level with her home-bred Andalusian mare CDC Memoria.
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between horse and rider. I love it!”
Washington residents and three-day eventing enthusiasts Kelsy Smith, Chesna Klimek, and Becky Mathews agree that Working Equitation is a natural fit for their interests.
Smith has successfully competed through Preliminary level in eventing and also completed international-level CIC1* and CCI*. She and her self-trained horse Huxley were the United States Eventing Association's annual high point winners at Preliminary level in the Area VII Northwest region in 2013 and 2014.
Klimek started competing in three day eventing at age 11 on her first Haflinger pony, Starfire. She and Pippin, another Haflinger pony gelding she trained herself (American Haflinger Registered name Waidring SCH) competed through Training level eventing and were the Training level Champions in the United States Eventing Association Area VII in 2010—the only pony in the Championship division.
She and Pippin started working equitation in 2015. “To me three-day eventing and working equitation share a common purpose—to test the partnership you have with your horse and your versatility,” Klimek said. “You have to navigate three distinct phases in both disciplines, and you have to do so with correct training fundamentals, an eye for safety and strategy, and mental toughness.”
Mathews has put her background as a competitive eventer and designer/creator of cross country and stadium jumping jumps to good use in Working Equitation. She has started training her eventing horses for Working Equitation and has organized several very popular Working Equitation events in her state.
Becky Mathews' design for a Working Equitation bull obstacle, for example, immediately gained world-wide acclaim, with photos being shared widely in the international Working Equitation community across the globe.
Mathews’ bull has since inspired several others to create “sibling additions” to the WE bull herd for use in different locations.
Becky Mathews – Eventing
Photo by Maggie Rikard
Becky Mathews – WE
Photo Michael T
Photography