November 17, 2024—It was a red-letter weekend for Cornelia Fletcher (USA) and the 14-year-old Oldenburg mare Daytona Beach 8 at the The Event at Terranova. After being out of the competition field for a little over a year to give birth to her daughter, Sparrow, last June, the 26-year-old eventer and her plucky mare had a dynamite comeback, claiming the win in the CCI4*-L today on a final score of 41.4.
One of only two pairs to jump double clear in show jumping, their sharp, accurate round cemented their victory in the CCI4*-L. The pair, who placed 15th out of 17 horse-and-rider combinations during the dressage phase, delivered a powerhouse cross-country ride on Saturday to surge into second place overnight.
“She’s such a smart show jumper, and today she went in and did what she does best—jumping double clears,” Fletcher laughed. “She definitely helped me out yesterday during cross country, and I helped her out a little today in the jumping. I think that really shows our partnership and the bond we’ve developed, and I’m so grateful the stars aligned for us this weekend. It means a lot to me after being out the game for a bit.”
Fletcher: Getting Back Into Competition
Going into TerraNova this year, Fletcher aimed to deliver solid rides to help her get back into the swing of eventing competition—and to reconnect with Daytona in the high-intensity competition environment. “This weekend, I really wanted to prove to myself and to Daytona that we could go double clear—being as fast as we could and jumping all the jumps the first time,” Fletcher said. “So I was happy that we were able to stay on track and unbelievably thrilled at the win.”
While Fletcher noted that Daytona felt a bit tired today after yesterday’s cross country, Fletcher has striven to build up the mare’s fitness over the last few years by competing in three five-star events throughout 2022 and 2023. “I knew she was going to lose a little while I was out, but my husband, Jacob, rode her for me to keep her in shape,” she said. “We decided for our comeback event we’d do a four-star long instead of a five star, but now part of regular fitness routine includes weekly gallops, long trot sets, water therapy and treadmill work.”
The Motherhood–Competition Balancing Act
Balancing the new responsibilities of motherhood is never easy, but Fletcher’s far-reaching support group has been behind her every step of the way. She noted that becoming a mother has altered the way she thinks about her riding.
“In the long run, it will make me even more compassionate, and I think it’s actually improved my riding,” she said. “It will also make me a little bit more careful, because generally, I tend not to be careful out there on cross country. So being a mother definitely adds a new bit of dimension to it all.”
Fletcher credits her husband, Jacob, who’s also a four-star eventer as well as a grand prix show jumper, with enabling her to make her post-Sparrow competition debut. “He put his show season on the backburner in order for me to try and come back after essentially taking 12 months off to compete here this fall. It’s definitely been challenging, but as I’ve said, it truly takes a village in this sport—they don’t lie about that.”
While sharing the same passion as your spouse is bound to present its challenges, Fletcher said—in the end—she can’t imagine being married to someone who doesn’t know the sport and understand the time commitment, sweat and tears that go into competing at this level. “Plus, he’s so mathematical, he adds the precision to training that I sometimes lack,” she said. “I truly don’t think I could do this without him.”
Disappointment Ensued, but Superb Rides by Jessica Phoenix and Fluorescent Adolescent
After sailing through Alec Lochore’s CCI4*-L cross-country course with flying colors on Saturday, overnight leaders Jessica Phoenix (CAN) and her 16-year-old piebald Canadian Sport Horse mare Fluorescent Adolescent had two heart-breaking rails at Fences 9A and 9C—the first and last elements of the triple combination—in show jumping to finish in second on 47.1.
“Those were two very costly rails,” Phoenix said. “At the end of the day, eventing is one of the hardest sports you could ever choose to compete in. But it’s also one of the most rewarding. When everything comes together on one weekend, it’s something to treasure.”
Phoenix and her flashy chestnut-and-chrome mare didn’t walk away with top honors in the Terranova CCI4*-L this weekend. But she was thrilled with her performance over the past three days and extremely proud of the maturity “Lacey” showed in all three phases.
“She gives so much and is always trying to learn what you’re teaching her,” the top-ranked Canadian eventer said. “She is a fierce competitor and is so clever and ambitious. On cross country, she’s like, ‘Lady, stay out of my way and just show me where the flags are!’. She really is a special girl.”
Additional Results
Brooke Burchianti (USA) and the 11-year-old gray KWPN stallion Cooley Space Grey took third following Sunday’s show-jumping competition. They had one rail down and .8 time faults, finishing on a score of 49.6.
Phoenix also finished fourth overall with Sara Irving’s Aeronautics. They had 12 jumping and 1.6 time faults on a final score of 60.8. Ireland’s Tim Bourke hung on to fifth place with Lisa Takada’s Monbeg Libertine (64.6). They had one rail down and 2.4 time faults.
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Thanks to Dechra US Equine for our coverage of The Event 2024 at TerraNova. It includes rider interviews, competition reports, horse spotlights, photos, videos and more!
