United States Equestrian, with support from the US Equestrian Foundation and US Eventing Team Foundation, is sending four rider-and-horse combinations to Europe this summer as part of its 2023 European Development Tour. The team will compete in the FEI Eventing Nations Cup™ Poland CCIO4*-NC-S at the Strzegom, Poland, Horse Trials from June 21 to 25 and will then travel to Germany to observe the CHIO Aachen.
Below is an overview of the four rider-and-horse combinations representing the US during its European summer tour.
Cassie Sanger
Cassie Sanger is the youngest member of the US Equestrian team for its 2023 European Development Tour. The 18-year-old equestrian, still a senior in high school, won the 2022 RevitaVet USEA Young Rider of the Year while competing with Fernhill Zoro, the 2008 Irish Sport Horse gelding with whom she will ride in Poland. Sanger, trained by Darrah Alexander in New York, began riding Fernhill Zoro in 2022 and finished third with the horse at her first-ever CCI3*-L at the 2022 Maryland 5 Star. However, Sanger has known Fernhill Zoro since her days training under the tutelage of Alexander.
The duo immediately clicked last season, winning and then placing top-five in a pair of Preliminary level events. They subsequently won the blue ribbon at the Ocala Winter II H.T. in Florida and finished top-three in seven of their next nine horse trials. They won the CCI2*-L at Bromont, Quebec, during the summer 2022. Because she’s still in high school, Sanger’s parents play a major role in her equestrian career.
For a story in January, Sanger told USEventing.com that her biggest supporters are her parents, who help her keep up the tight schedule that’s necessary to balance school, training, and a social life. While her dad takes a more backseat role, Sanger jokingly refers to her mother as her “momager” because she is actively involved in Sanger’s equestrian career. She recalled a time when, during her preparation for the Maryland event, her mother would stay at the barn and ice her horses when Sanger had to rush back to school for tutoring or a study session.
Jenny Caras
An experienced eventing rider from Cartersville, Georgia, Jenny Caras has been successful on the international stage dating back to 2013, when she was an individual bronze medalist and team gold medalist at the Adequan®/FEI North American Youth Championships. The 28-year-old rider has also competed in CCI4*-L events at Jersey Fresh International, Richland Park, and Carolina International, and was champion at the Bromont CCI4*-L in 2018 with Fernhill Fortitude, with whom she placed third in the CCI4*-L at The Dutta Corp. Fair Hill International.
In Poland, Caras will be riding Trendy Fernhill, a 12-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding that has three victories in 17 career eventing starts.
Andrew McConnon
A Vass, North Carolina-based equestrian with more than a decade of professional experience, Andrew McConnon began his eventing career in 2011 and earned third-place finishes in the 2013 and 2014 CCI2*-S at Chattahoochee Hills. He lived in Great Britain in 2016 and 2017, during which time he competed in the CCI2*-L at Houghton Hall. More recently, he won the YEH-5 divisions at Five Points Horse Trials and Full Gallop Farm and the Virginia Horse Trials CCI1. He was also a member of the Adequan® USEF Futures Team Challenge in 2020.
McConnon will be competing in Poland on Ferrie’s Cello, an 11-year-old Warmblood gelding owned by Jeanne Shigo. McConnon and Ferrie’s Cello have two top-10 finishes in their last three events.
Caroline Pamukcu
Also a former USEA Young Rider of the Year, Caroline Pamukcu will be competing in Poland with HSH Blake, an eight-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding she owns along with Sherrie Martin and Mollie Hoff. Pamukcu boasts an impressive eventing resume that includes her selection as the youngest rider to the USEA High Performance Training List and winning gold at the 2013 North American Youth Championships.
Now 29 years old, Pamukcu has competed in the FEI Eventing Nations Cup™ at Houghton Hall and has second-place finishes in the CCI4*-L divisions at Rebecca Farm and Jersey Fresh. Pamukcu focused more on growing her business during the late 2010s, but is now more committed than ever. She hopes to qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics and is training with dressage legend Betsy Steiner, Olympic eventer Peter Gray, and Olympic show jumper Anne Kursinski.
The Alternates
US Equestrian named four horse-and-rider combinations as alternates for the 2023 European Development Tour. These duos will replace any of the four regular team combinations that are unable to travel overseas this summer.
The alternates are as follows: Mia Farley and BGS Firecracker (2010 Irish Sport Horse mare); Mia Farley and Phelps (2013 Thoroughbred gelding), James Alliston and Nemesis (2014 Canadian Warmblood gelding), and Allie Knowles and Morswood (2008 Irish Sport Horse gelding).