MARYLAND AT THE AECs: Cakewalk’s Championship Win; Day 4 Overnights; and Day 5 Ride Times

Dark bay mare show jumping in Kentucky.

The big news of Day 4 at the 2026 American Eventing Championships in Kentucky is that we have a Maryland-bred CHAMPION in the house!

High Point Hanoverians’s Oldenburg mare Cakewalk (OHBS name Cake Walk) won the Training Rider division in Kentucky this afternoon by finishing on her dressage score of 30 flat. She was ridden by Catherine Ramsay of Culpeper, Virginia. The pair’s primary rival was the 2017 Irish Sport Horse gelding Fernhill Cool Confection (Sligo Candy Boy x Princess Cool Diamond (Coolcorron Cool Diamond)), who ran a mere 0.3 points behind Cakewalk from start to finish. That horse already has victories at the international levels and rising star Maddie Temkin took him to the top of the CCI2* division at Tryon in May this year. Cakewalk served him dessert after stadium though — she held the talented Irish Sport Horse off with a razor thing margin for three days straight. Cakewalk is world class!

OTHER CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL SCORES

Advanced: The highest level of comptition at the 2026 AECs, the Advanced Level, finished off under the lights in the Rolex Arena. The time was tough to make again, and only 5 entries managed to do so. Our Team Maryland entries finished respectably in the middle of 21 horse field that included two Olympians, each riding two different horses. A job well done.

  • Woodge Fulton and Cash Point were in eighth place after cross country but incurred an unlucky 4 jumping penalties and 1.6 time penalties in stadium to finish in ninth.
  • Bonaire also incurred 1.6 time penalties but added a few more unlucky jumping penalties (12) to finish behind Fulton in twelfth place.

Training Horse: The field in this division shrank from 25 entries to 21 entries over the course of three days. One horse retired during the dressage phase, one horse retired on cross country, one horse withdrew before stadium this morning, and one horse was eliminated on a technicality during its stadium round. Both of our Team Maryland riders were among the 21 entries to complete.

  • Crescenda and Linden Wiesman held on to fourth place from the moment they stepped into the dressage ring to the moment the last rider left the Rolex Arena today. They received no jumping penalties and no time penalties in either of the jumping phases. The pair finished on their dressage score of 30.4.
  • Woodge Fulton and her second ride of the competition, Balou du Etoiles, moved up from tenth to finish seventh. Her stadium round was also double clear, so she on final score of 32.7.

Training Rider

  • Cakewalk beat everyone. That’s all there is to say.

Training Amateur: The gutsy riders who managed to complete the Amateur Training cross-country course yesterday — two riders fell, one withdrew, one retired, and two were eliminated on technicalities — also managed to complete their stadium rounds today.

  • Jessica Goldberg and America Runs on Duncan yo-yo’d around the leader board a bit this year. They were 19th out of 44 after dressage, they moved up to 14th after cross county, and today they incurred four jumping penalties to drop back down to finish in 17th place.
  • Donald Ruths and Raven climbed slowly and patiently up from 40th place after dressage, to 20th place after cross country, to 13th place when it was all said and done. They finished on their dressage score of 38.5.

Junior Training

  • The only Maryland rider in the Junior Training division, Kendall Fansler, ended her competition with her first entry in the division, Cooley Bounce (Grange Bouncer x Smart Fair Lady (Master Imp xx)), without any jumping penalties. They ended on their dressage score of 35.7, in seventh place.
  • Unfortunately, Fraser did not end on her dressage score with her other Junior Training entry, Milchem Giovanni (Tyson x Milchem Dreamer (Silvano)). They picked up 20 penalties on cross-country to finish in 18th place.

STANDINGS AFTER CROSS COUNTRY

Novice Amateur Master:

  • Arlo Bello, the only Team Maryland entry in the Novice Amateur Master division, showed his Thoroughbred pedigree by running the cross country course in just a freckle over 5 minutes — the third fastest time in the division. The fastest round within the time allowed was 4:54 minutes (a 2012 Rheinlander named Cadillac Boy). The second fastest was 4:58 minutes (the 2013 Thoroughbred Queens All Mine). Arlo Bello was just a twinkle in the eye behind her, with a time of 5:08 minutes , to move into ninth place.

Novice Amateur: The cross-country course in this division thinned a talented field of entries from 42 to 36. Four riders fell, two retired on course, and one withdrew before starting.

  • One of the 36 entries that completed the course was our own Dayna Blumel and her Thoroughbred Brave Sand Rider. The pair incurred neither jumping penalties nor time penalties and, as hoped, put their Thoroughbred speed to work to move up from 40th after dressage to 29th after cross country.

Novice Rider: This large division suffered only a few casualties on cross country today. Only one rider fell today, and only one was eliminated on a technicality.

  • Amy Gaynor and her grade Appendix QH Studly Dudley moved up from 12th to 10th after cross country. They added no jumping or time penalties to their dressage score of 31.6.
  • Fan favorite Silver Bop moved up from 25th after dressage to 20th after cross county. Silver Bop’s Thoroughbred athleticism and speed caried them around the course with no jumping penalties and no time penalties.
  • Elizabeth “Liz” Espinosa and her 2017 Oldenburg Benediction had no jumping penalties on cross country but picked up 2.8 time penalties. They finished in 29th place. Espinosa has often commented that “Ben” is bred for dressage, not jumping, so she does not expect a speed demon in this phase. But his warmblood strength and control will be an in stadium tomorrow.
  • Mallory Gaines and Land Rush started the day on a competitive dressage score of 31.9. They had one refusal on cross country, however, picking up 20 penalties to send them down to 42nd place.

Novice Junior

  • Kelsey Klein of Owings Mill and her Clydesdale Simply Starbucks were sixth after dressage. They incurred no penalty points on cross country day and kept their score of 31.6 — which also kept them sitting in sixth.

STANDINGS AFTER DRESSAGE

The Beginner Novice divisions got under way today. Five Maryland-bred horses and eight Maryland riders went down center line.

Jr Beginner Novice (Under 14)

  • Rhetorical Question G and Arabella Armstong started their competition in second place with a very competitive dressage score of 28.6. The entry in first place, the Irish Draft Finnegan’s Irish Dream (Pairadox Cassanove x Glamour (Gaellant Quest)) put down a score of 28.1, only .5 pionts ahead of her, which puts Rhetorical Question G in striking position to take over the lead tomorrow. She has a strong chance of doing so. Rhetorical Question G has been up against the strong East Coast fields at Full Gallop Farm in South Carolina, Pine Top in Georgia, Waredaca in Laytonsville, Gennessee Valley in New York, and similar. In 2019 she also won Novice divisions at New Jersey and Gennessee. Finnegan’s Irish Dream has also won Beginner Novice divisions this year, but they have been against fields that are not as competitive as on the East Coast. He has also gone up to the Novice level but only once and retired on course. In addition, Rhetorical Question G’s dam is a full Thoroughbred, which gives her a speed advantage over Finnegan’s Irish Draft breeding. Rhetorical Question G starts her cross country course at 2:04 tomorrow; Finnegan goes six minutes after her, at 2:10. Fingers crossed.
  • BW Sir Samuel, and Alexa Sestokes are in 12th place after dressage. They have finished on their dressage scores in each of the their last three starts this year, and they have gone double clear on stadium in every one of their life-time starts. We’re looking at you tomorrrow Sir Samuel! His cross-country ride time is 2:08 p.m.
  • Sadly, the third entry for Team Maryland in this division, Lillia Rodgers, was eliminated in dressage today. We do not know why — the opportunities for elimination in the dressage ring are plentiful.

Beginner Novice Rider

  • Ashley Beheler and her homebred Jubilee are in seventh place after dressage on a score of 31.6. Beheler and Jubilee head out on cross country at 1:04 p.m. tomorrow.
  • “Full Mooner” Gina Franz and her Thoroughbred gelding Jack in the Box are in 29th place after dressage on a score of 38.3. We are hoping that she and Jack in the Box ride “full Thoroughbred” on course tomorrow to move up the leaderboard a little. They head out on course at 1:08 p.m.

Beginner Novice Junior

  • Ella Riley and Master of Illusion are in 29th place after dressage. Their cross-country start time tomorrow is 9:42 a.m.

Starter Amateur

  • Stephen Fulton, the Full Moon Farm’s “Fulton farrier-in-residence,” had to withdraw his Dutch Warmblood gelding FMF Asparagus before their competition started because of a possible abscess. Horse Sport Maryland may or may not have joked with Fulton that it’s too bad he doesn’t know any good farriers.
  • On a more positive note, Laura Wilson and her One Ear Wonder are in third place after dressage, only 3.1 points off the leader. They go out on cross country at 5:14 late tomorrow afternoon. One assumes that One Ear’s youth in the wild will make for a sure footed trip around the track tomorrow, potentially giving him a leg up on time. Can One Ear Wonder’s one ear win for them in Kentucky again?

Starter Rider

  • Katrine Davis is another member of Team Maryland in a good position to win a championship title. She and Paint Misbehavin’ are in first place heading into cross country tomorrow. Their start time is 5:46 p.m.

Above: Katrina Davis giving Paint Misbehavin’ a good stretch and a patch after dressage. PC US Eventing.

Junior Starter

  • Another potential division Champion, Accordingly, taught his young rider Shelton Repetto how best to win a championship by taking her to first place after dressage, 1.3 points ahead of the second placed horse. What a good horse.
  • Sydney Santos and Sweet Frijoles are in fourth place after dressage on a solid score of 30.1. Santos and Sweet Frijole have only finished a competition on a better score than that once, at Waredaca in May, which they won. The pair has finished without any jumping or time penalties in each of their last four starts. Things are looking good for their cross country ride at 3:42 p.m. tomorrow.

Above: Accordingly enjoying his new role as a school master for Shelton Repetto. PC US Eventing.

CHAMPIONSHIP FINALS ON SATURDAY

2026 championship titles will be awarded tomorrow in the Novice Amateur, Novice Master Amateur, Novice Horse, Novice Rider, Junior Novice, and Junior Novice (15 and Under divisions.

The order-of-go on Saturday morning will in reverse order of standing.  The group start times for those divisions in which Team Maryland is riding re the Junior Novice group at 9 a.m., the Novice Rider group at 10 a.m., the Novice Amateur Master group starts at 1 p.m., and the Novice Amateur group begins at 2:00 p.m.

PC: US Eventing

Contact Us