April 5, 2025—Boyd Martin and Commando 3 came out on top of the CCI4*-S competition at the Stable View Spring International Horse Trials in Aiken, South Carolina, following an exciting day of cross-country competition. They added eight time penalties to reclaim the lead they had after dressage and finished on a 38. Martin and Federman B also added eight time penalties to finish on a 38.8 in second place, and he and Luke 140 finished in fourth after accumulating 11.2 time penalties to finish on a 40.4.

“It was a fantastic course today. Helen West did a brilliant job designing this track. It was inviting and kind but really challenging, and I feel like the horses had a good run around it,” Martin said. “All three of my horses performed well and felt happy and fresh at the end. It was a good fitness run and had a lot of the Kentucky questions with the double of skinnies in the water, a major coffin and out the back we had an oxer, corner and a narrow that was very Derek di Grazia. I think she’s done an incredible job with preparing horses for Kentucky.”

The CCI4*-S division began at 12:45 p.m., and Arden Wildasin and Billy Beaufort were the first ones out of the box. They were quickly followed by Martin and Federman B, who elicited gasps from the Pavilion as they had a scare at the Defender Columbia Coffin where Bruno caught a leg on the A element and Martin was almost unseated. He used his years of riding experience to navigate the rest of the question with no penalties and drew cheers from the audience. Ultimately, the CCI4*-S saw three glance-offs at the D element of the Coffin Question and a few other refusals and flags throughout the course.

Julie Wolfert and Team Pivot’s SSH Playboy were the quickest round of the day with only 1.2 time penalties to finish third on a 39.3. “He felt amazing out there. I knew it was going to be a big, technical track, but he ate it up. It’s exactly what I want to feel like preparing for a five star. I still have adrenaline going an hour or two later,” she said. “It takes so many years to get to this level, but once you’re here it just feels like heaven on earth.”

Wolfert is preparing for her first five star later this month at Kentucky. “It will be my first five star,” she said. “I’ve never been in this situation before so I’m really thrilled and I’m just going to bubble wrap him until then.”

Helen West also shared her thoughts on how her CCI4*-S course rode. “I thought there was enough out there. The technical fences took some riding, but the Defender Columbia combination, although it was a proper test and the angle was quite acute, rode more forgiving than I anticipated which is a great thing. We had a couple of glance-offs there. Boyd’s first horse, Federman B left a leg but he was still able to navigate B,C and D and he read the question. Overall, I was absolutely thrilled with how that all went.”

Sydney Hagaman and Charmeur Claim Stable View CCI3*-S Win

The CCI3*-S saw Sydney Hagaman and her own Charmeur finish in first on a 35.5. Chris Talley and FE Marco Polo were close behind on a 36.8. To round out the podium was Emilie Mudd-Guy and Quite Nice 11 with a 37.4.

“I thought the horses read the questions well. I expected the angled brushes on the Academy Alp to cause a few more problems. The angle on the first brush was quite strong for a three-star question, but the horses read it so well. Even there, riders were able to make a mistake and the horses still stayed on the line,” West said of her three-star course. “The horses looked happy and were traveling well which is a testament to the work Stable View has done to the grounds. I went up to the finish and spent a lot of time up there. They were finishing full of running and ears pricked. All in all, it was a really good day for the sport.”

Isabelle Bosley and Connor Clinch CCI2*-S Victory

The CCI2*-S division jumped in the morning over Chris Barnard’s course and finished the day with cross country over Mogie Bearden-Muller’s track. Isabelle Bosley and Connor held their lead and went double clear to finish on their dressage score of 24.4. Mya Poulos and DHI Rock Dancer added 2.4 time penalties to finish second on a 29.4. Mia Farley and Nikita finished in third on a 31.1 after adding 6.4 time penalties.

The Advanced saw Woods Baughman and Hopak de Greenbay Z hold their lead to finish first on a 47.7. In the competitive Intermediate division Kimmy Cecere and OS Hermintage finished first on a 36.9.

For more of our coverage of the 2025 Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event, click here. 

Thanks to Kent Nutrition Group and Blue Seal for our coverage of the 2025 Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event, including lead-up events, rider interviews, competition reports, horse spotlights, photos, videos and more!