United States Eventing Association

Elkton, Md.—Oct. 16— Caroline Pamukcu added another USEA Young Event Horse (YEH) Championship title to her résumé today at Fair Hill, piloting HSH Straight Arrow to victory in the 2026 USEA YEH East Coast 4-Year-Old Championship. The 4-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding, owned by Pamukcu and Sherrie Martin and bred by Jacinta O'Donoghue, led the competition from start to finish, ultimately securing the championship title on a cumulative score of 89.21.

Pamukcu and HSH Straight Arrow (Datsdwhy x Imnotafraid Fortuna) established themselves as early frontrunners in the competition, earning a dressage score of 16.22 to take the lead after the first phase. The gelding continued to impress during the conformation evaluation, receiving an 8.14 to maintain his position atop the leaderboard heading into the jumping and galloping test.

With the championship title within reach, Pamukcu guided the young gelding through the final phase, where he earned a 14.10 in show jumping, 28.20 in cross-country, 13.55 in overall evaluation, and 9.00 in general impression. His combined jumping and galloping score of 64.85 was the highest of the division, securing his place at the top of the final standings.

HSH Straight Arrow's journey to becoming a YEH champion began in Ireland, where Pamukcu's business partner, Kelly Hutchinson, discovered him approximately two years ago. Pamukcu has always been drawn to horses with Thoroughbred bloodlines, and the young gelding immediately caught her attention.

"She knows I'm a huge fan of having a horse that's Thoroughbred on one of the sides," Pamukcu explained. "She sent me a picture of his head in a stall, and I was like, 'Buy it! I want it! Buy it! This one!'"

Hutchinson oversaw the gelding's early education in Ireland, gradually developing him until he was ready to make the trip to the United States and continue his training under Pamukcu.

While Pamukcu has spent much of the year traveling to international competitions, including the FEI Eventing World Championships in Aachen, Germany, the development of her young horses has continued at home thanks to the efforts of her team.

"I have to say, huge kudos to my riders at home," she said, crediting her longtime rider Mason Reidy and dressage trainer Samantha Saint Jock. "They've done everything because I was between Worlds and Burghley and all of the other FEIs, I was gone."

With such a busy competition schedule, Pamukcu admitted that she has been doing a fair amount of catch riding this season, including aboard her young horses at this week's Championships. However, she had every confidence in their preparation.

"They're such quality horses, right? And I have such a good team," she said. "They kind of know how I like things. That's why I'm really proud of my team. I can be away for months at a time, and then I can show up and compete them."

Pamukcu is no stranger to success in the YEH program, having developed several young horses through the Championships who have gone on to compete at the highest levels of the sport. Among them is HSH Blake, her 2020 YEH 5-year-old champion who represented the United States at the 2023 Pan American Games, the 2024 Paris Olympics, and the 2026 FEI Eventing World Championships.

For Pamukcu, the YEH program provides an important foundation for developing the next generation of upper-level event horses, giving them a clear progression of goals throughout their early careers.

"I think it's super important to get a young one, and then produce them, and then have a target every year," she said.

That philosophy has shaped HSH Straight Arrow's development, with the East Coast YEH Championships serving as the culmination of his 4-year-old season. Following today's competition, Pamukcu already has a plan in place to give the gelding time to rest and mature before beginning the next chapter of his career.

"As soon as both my 4-year-olds were done with cross-country, they got their shoes pulled," she said, explaining that the horses will now enjoy eight weeks turned out in the field before potentially returning to work in Florida. From there, she hopes to continue their education through the 5-year-old season and eventually prepare them for a 6-year-old championship, whether internationally at Le Lion or in the United States.

Nicholas Hansen and his own Irish Sport Horse gelding Excel Star Obsidian (Jorado x DS Piper) claimed the reserve championship title on a final score of 86.15. The pair sat in 12th place following dressage and conformation; however, the jumping and galloping test proved to be their opportunity to shine. Hansen and the 4-year-old earned a 13.20 in show jumping, an impressive 27.90 in cross-country, 13.25 in overall evaluation, and 9.10 in general impression. Their combined score of 63.45 in the final phase propelled them up the leaderboard to finish as reserve champions.

Known around the barn as "Ian," Excel Star Obsidian joined the Hansens' program in December 2025 after Nicholas and his wife, Hannah Hansen, traveled to Ireland to try a selection of young horses through Courtney Cooper of Excel Star Sport Horses. Having already developed two other young horses sourced through Cooper, the couple was eager to find another promising prospect.

"He far and away was our favorite," Nicholas recalled. "We brought him to the States in December of last year, where we rode him a couple times in a couple shows through the Ocala circuit. I have more of a dressage specialty, and my wife is a four-star rider, so it's been really awesome to sort of tag team with each other to produce these guys."

Ian's size and powerful movement made him a natural fit for Nicholas to take the reins during the young horse's early development.

"I think he could be described a little bit as a man's horse," Nicholas explained. "He needed the support from me, he has an enormous stride. He's just a really large-moving horse that, at the time, I think suited my riding a little bit more, and I think I also was able to give a more supportive, sort of confident ride over some of the scarier things like the ditches and going up and down hills."

That confidence was on full display during the jumping and galloping test at Fair Hill, where Ian navigated the championship track in a new area of the venue with ease.

"I've been very impressed with him overall in just his mindset and how he is able to take things in," Nicholas said. "There's not a whole lot that gets to him, which I think is really beneficial, especially in the young horse classes. Fair Hill is such a cool place to ride. It's such a big environment, a historical environment. Bringing him to this show really showed off his confidence in his body and his natural ability to jump big and go fast."

With the championship behind them, Nicholas is already looking ahead to Ian's next steps. The couple is preparing to relocate their operation from central Pennsylvania to their farm in Reddick, Florida, where Ian will enjoy a short break before returning to work in November. Nicholas hopes to compete him at Rocking Horse in December, with plans to continue developing him toward the Training level and potentially the 5-year-old YEH Championships next season.

As for how long Nicholas plans to keep the ride before Hannah takes over, the couple has already been joking about that possibility.

"We had joked about it today, actually, that I could take him through Prelim unless he's really good, and then maybe I'll go Intermediate," Nicholas said.

When reflecting on this monumental finish for Ian, Nicholas noted it would not be possible without a core group of people.

"I want to give a thank you and shout-out to our good friend and client, Todd Hopkins, who's been a longtime supporter of ours and who has a share in Ian. She's been very supportive throughout this whole process and was here today. Also, thank you to the whole team, the volunteers, everyone who made this show a success, and the sponsors who made it happen!"

Rounding out the top three was Elinor O'Neal aboard her own German Sport Horse gelding Quite Everglade (Quite Great x Babette) bred by Marion Dopfer. The pair were in third place following dressage with a score of 15.96 and moved into second after receiving an 8.29 in conformation, the highest conformation mark among the top three finishers. In the jumping and galloping test, the pair earned a 12.90 in show jumping, 24.30 in cross-country, 13.10 in overall evaluation, and an impressive 9.50 in general impression. Their final score of 84.05 secured third place overall.

Quite Everglade and O'Neal were also presented with The Go Get 'Em Award in memory of Don Trotter, which recognizes the 4-year-old horse with the highest gallop score at each of the East and West Coast Championships. Generously provided by Stillwater Farm, the award includes a trophy and prize check and honors the memory of Donald Trotter, who passed away in 2019.

The Jockey Club's Thoroughbred Incentive Program (TIP) Award was presented to Madison Temkin's own Rock D'Oro (Bold D'Oro x Rockport Babe). The pair finished eighth overall in the championship on a score of 81.74, earning recognition as the highest-placing eligible Thoroughbred in the division. The award encourages the retraining of Thoroughbreds for new careers following their time in racing or breeding, with the winning horse receiving a ribbon and TIP show cooler.

The YEH Championships continue to serve as an important stepping stone for the next generation of eventing talent, providing young horses with the opportunity to gain valuable experience in a championship atmosphere while showcasing the qualities that could one day carry them to the upper levels of the sport.

Competition continues with the USEA YEH East Coast 5-Year-Old Championship, where another field of promising young horses will vie for championship honors.

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About the USEA Young Event Horse (YEH) Program

The Young Event Horse (YEH) Program was first established in 2004 as an eventing talent search. Much like similar programs in Europe, the YEH program was designed to identify young horses aged 4- and 5-years-old, that possess the talent and disposition to, with proper training, excel at the uppermost levels of the sport. The ultimate goal of the program is to distinguish horses with the potential to compete at the four- and five-star levels, but many fine horses that excel at the lower levels are also showcased by the program.

The YEH program provides an opportunity for breeders and owners to exhibit the potential of their young horses while encouraging the breeding and development of top event horses for the future. The program rewards horses who are educated and prepared in a correct and progressive manner. At qualifying events, youngsters complete a dressage test and a jumping/galloping/general impression phase. At Championships, young horses are also evaluated on their conformation in addition to the dressage test and jumping/galloping/general impression phase. Click here to learn more about the Young Event Horse Program.

The USEA would like to thank Platinum Sponsor, The Dutta Corp., as well as Contributing Sponsors ARMA, Bates Saddles, CrossCountry App, FLAIR Equine Nasal Strips, Gallagher's Water, Gorsebridge Go For Gold, The Jockey Club, Kerrits, Marshall+Sterling, Schneiders Saddlery, SmartPak, WeRideTogether and Standlee, and Prize Sponsor 100xEquine for sponsoring the USEA Young Event Horse Program.

About The Holekamp/Turner Grant

Founded in 2015 by Timothy and Cheryl Holekamp of New Spring Farm and Christine and T.J. Turner of Indian Creek Farm, the Holekamp/Turner Grant provides a USEA Young Event Horse (YEH) Championship competitor with the opportunity to represent the United States at the FEI Eventing World Breeding Championships in the 7-year-old CCIYH3*-L Championship at Mondial du Lion in Le Lion d’Angers, France. With the sole purpose of paving a clear pathway for U.S. team horses to progress in the sport of eventing, recipients who are North American bred will be awarded the full cash grant of $17,500, while imported horses are awarded $8,000. Additionally, The Dutta Corp. offers a prize to the Holekamp/Turner Grant recipient, consisting of a $10,000 flight credit from the Eastern United States to Europe.