Aledo High School senior McKenzie Spain overcame an injury she suffered earlier this year to first qualify and then compete at the American Eventing Championships on Aug. 25-30 at Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Kentucky.
Spain and her 18-year-old horse Fox earned third overall with a dressage score of 33.2, which she was able to hold after clearing rounds in both the cross country and show-jumping sections while competing in the Training Junior-CH division.
Spain also competed with 7-year-old horse Leonardo Della Malaspina (Luca) and earned a ribbon as well.
“This was my first time actually competing at the American Eventing Championships,” Spain said. “I’ve qualified for AEC for the past five years, so finally getting the opportunity to compete there was really special. After qualifying for so many years I was excited to finally experience the championship and compete against some of the best riders and horses in the country. Being able to finish third in my first AEC made the experience even more memorable.”
Spain competes in the Area V region of the country and had to qualify from there despite dealing with injuries she suffered during the spring.
“I was dealing with a hand and wrist injury that I sustained from a riding incident. I spent most of the spring recovering, which meant I was out for a large part of the season and missed several qualifying competitions,” Spain said. “Once I was cleared to ride again I made it my goal over the summer to get back to competing and finish the qualifications I needed for AEC.”
Eventing is a sport where rider and horse compete in a triathlon of sorts with the phases being dressage, in which horse and rider need to complete an exact sequence of moves and be judged on how well they do it; cross country in which a horse and rider need to jump several obstacles as well as natural-looking fences or objects, without any penalties; and then show-jumping in which horse and rider need to jump 12-20 fences and be judged on how well they do it and their speed.
Spain has trained at the Curragh Equestrian Center in Fort Worth for the past 10 years. She has plans to continue this sport into college and beyond and hopes this is only another step on that path.
“I hope this result continues to motivate me to keep pushing myself and continue progressing in eventing,” Spain said. “Finishing third at AEC gave me a lot of confidence in my riding and showed me that all the work and setbacks along the way are worth it. I want to keep moving up the levels, take on new challenges, and continue learning. Ultimately, I hope this is just the beginning of what I’m able to accomplish in the sport.”
Spain is the daughter of Joslyn and Andrew Spain.
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