The Kentucky Horse Park’s Rolex Stadium turned into a road construction site of Laura Wilson and One Ear Wonder’s freestyle on the final day of competition of the 2025 Mustang Classic. Road work signs, flags, barriers that doubled as jumps and even a mock steam roller filled the arena as the duo performed their routine. After the scores were tallied, One Ear Wonder lived up to his name for Wilson as the pair won the 2025 Mustang Classic to take home a slew of prizes and $50,000 in prize money.
Wilson and One Ear Wonder Develop a Bond
Eventer Wilson finished sixth in last year’s Mustang Classic with Sporty Shorty, and she was able to find another talented partner for this year’s event in One Ear Wonder. After placing the highest bid in an internet adoption in November 2024, Wilson brought the flashy palomino gelding home to Maryland to begin his training. Since “Wonder” was rounded up from the Twin Peaks herd management area in California without his left ear, it is unknown what happened to it. Despite missing an ear, Wonder progressed in his training with Wilson.
“He is pretty willing,” Wilson said of Wonder. “As long as he has time to think about it and comprehend what I’m asking him to do, he is game to do anything.”
With a solid partnership developed, Wilson and Wonder aimed for the Mustang Classic. The pair began the competition in impressive fashion by winning the dressage phase and finishing third in the show jumping phase on Thursday. The five-year-old gelding was unsure about some parts of Friday’s working equitation course, but Wilson patiently guided him through each obstacle. They finished a respectable 13th place in the working equitation phase and earned their spot in Saturday’s final.
Wilson and One Ear Wonder Construct a Winning Freestyle
For their freestyle, Wilson and Wonder began by “waking up” for a day of road work followed by navigating various obstacles from jumps to the mock steam roller. Wilson felt the performance went according to plan and was thrilled with the result.
“I did everything that I wanted to do and he, in my eyes, did it perfectly,” Wilson said. “I couldn’t be happier. He really put his best foot forward and tried his heart out for me.”
Wilson and her team of family and friends discussed ideas for the freestyle in the lead up to the event and settled on the road work theme. They wanted to up the ante, so they created the mock steam roller about three weeks ago.
“It’s quite new, and he picked it up very fast,” Wilson said of Wonder pushing the mock steam roller.
The whole routine came together about a week and a half ago. Wilson admitted she was a bit nervous with the different parts of the routing being fairly new, but it wasn’t an issue for Wonder.
“I was worried he wouldn’t do well under the pressure, but he did so well,” Wilson said. “I’m so happy with him.”
Wilson and One Ear Wonder finished the competition the same way they began it on Thursday—as winners. Having an event that showcases mustangs and their versatility reminds Wilson why she continues working with these unique horses.
“I love their story,” Wilson said of mustangs. “I find it amazing that they are rounded up, taken from their homes and they learn to love their new homes.”
Elisa Wallace and Nodin Earn Reserve Champion Title
Elisa Wallace, last year’s Mustang Classic champion, secured another stellar result at this year’s event by finishing as the reserve champion with Nodin. The duo was remarkable consistent all week, placing second in the dressage, show jumping and working equitation phases.
For their freestyle, Wallace used a song from one of her favorite movies: “Men in Black.” With plenty of alien props and suits to match those from the agents in the movie, Wallace and Nodin looked the part. Their choreography came together shortly before the event, but Wallace focused on having fun and highlighting her and Nodin’s strengths.
“He’s good at jumping and I’m good at jumping, so we tried to utilize the things that we are good at,” Wallace said.
Wallace asked Nodin to hold some difficult lines while they jumped during their freestyle, and the four-year-old gelding rose to the occasion. While a slight wind posed a challenge with some lightweight props and caused some minor bobbles, Wallace was proud of her horse.
“Overall, I was super pleased how he held it together. He felt like a little baby horse, but he was like, ‘OK, Mom. Let’s go!’”
Sam Rock and Smart Cookie Finish Third
Sam Rock, the 2024 reserve champion, had another standout year at the Mustang Classic, having two horses in the top 10. She was third with Smart Cookie and sixth with Just Blazin. Both horses had strong performances throughout the competition, finishing no worse than seventh place in the preliminary phases and with Smart Cookie winning the working equitation phase. Ultimately, it was Smart Cookie who helped Rock collect the overall third-place finish.
Rock competed in the 2025 Mustang Challenge—a Western-focused competition for mustangs—in July with both horses, which also has a freestyle finale. She used the same freestyle themes of “Moana” for Smart Cookie and “Sonic the Hedgehog” for Just Blazin, though she adjusted the routines to have an English flair.
“We had built the props, and it just made sense to use them again,” Rock said. “But I added elements like jumping to change the routines.”
Rock began practicing her freestyles about a month out from the event. While most moments of the freestyles went smoothly, she had to adapt during Smart Cookie’s routine when the six-year-old mare was startled by Moana’s boat.
“I didn’t go quite as planned when I went out there, but we improvised and it worked out,” Rock said.
About the Mustang Classic
Created to showcase mustangs’ talent and versatility in equestrian sport, the Mustang Classic, held at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Kentucky, offers competition in English disciplines including dressage, show jumping and working equitation. The twist, however, is that all mustangs must have been purchased or adopted through a Bureau of Land Management (BLM) holding facility or satellite event and are required to be in training between 100 days and one year.
View the final results here.
Relive the excitement of the Mustang Classic by watching every phase of the competition. The entire event can be viewed on demand with an EQUESTRIAN+ (equestrianplus.com) subscription.
To learn more about the 2025 Mustang Classic, click here.
