Friends, we are in the very middle of fall 3-day season! With every day leading up to the big event carefully planned, we thought we’d check in with one rider who is not only headed to the 5* division with an established 5* horse but is also bringing a 5-year-old for the 5-year-old championships. 5* rider, Booli Selmayr was kind enough to speak to us on the differences between prepping an upper-level veteran vs. an eventing newby for the championship.
First, the horses:
Millfield Lancando
16-year-old Irish Sport Horse Gelding
17 FEI Events, including 2- CCI5*
Millfield Lancando at Bromont 4*S Photo Credit: Sam Sedgwick
Uptown Girl
5-year-old Holsteiner Mare
7 USEA events, including 1- 5 Year old class
Uptown Girl Photo Credit: Brant Gamma
It’s clear when speaking to Booli that she knows her horses very well, their personalities, their quirks. And she has one very clear goal for them both: for the experience at the show to be exactly like practicing at home.
Of course, how that experience plays out will be (and should be!) different for each horse.
About Millfield Lancando, AKA Lance, Booli says, “He knows his job. So everything about his prep will focused on tweaking and fine-tuning him, while at the same time preserving his legs.”
At the event, Booli has established patterns that will bring out the best in Lance. For example, his first ride at the event is always low-key and stretchy, in jump tack. In this way, Lance will know what to expect as the week progresses. “He’s not learning how to shoulder in here!” Booli laughs, “The buttons are already there.”
For Uptown Girl, AKA Sabrina, Booli has a different process and is ready to call an audible at any moment. “I have low expectations for her, and reward every effort.” So far this process has resulted in a 2nd at the Novice Horse Championships at the American Eventing Championships and an easy qualification at one Young Event Horse (5-yr old) Event.
She’ll get to do lots of trail riding at Maryland with Booli, getting lots of chances to look around and take in the sights. “She’ll be doing much of what she does at home at the show, hacking around and learning about her career as an event horse. And if she’s in the ribbons at the Championships this week, I’ll be delighted. If not, I won’t lose too much sleep over it. I know she’s one for the future.”
One prevailing idea that we loved about speaking with Booli is that she isn’t trying to do anything different at a Championship than she would at home. And this is something that gives her horses comfort, they know what to expect from her at all hours.
We can’t wait to cheer on both horses! Follow along with their progress at https://www.maryland5star.us.
