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Local Riders Win a World Championship
Local Riders Win a World Championship
The big prize for the ladies was a olden Spur awarded at the General Assembly in Paris, headquarters for Fegentri.
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The lady riders: U.S. Skylar Mckenna, Great Britain Jessica Gillam, Czech Republic Tereza Grbavcicova, Italy Danila Cherio, Hungary Virginia Drexler and Don Yovanovich.
Photo by Hoofprints, Inc.
By Don Yovanovich
A U.S. team of flat and steeplechase riders recently traveled to Oman, Switzerland, Germany, France, Norway, Sweden, Turkey, Morocco and Mauritius for the Ladies Nations Team of the Amateur Riders Club of America. The four riders included Eilidh Grant of The Plains and Emme Fullilove of Round Hill along with Bethany Baumgardner and Erika Taylor from Maryland.
Sponsored by Longines, the competition for ladies, gentlemen, and teams is presented by the Federation Internationale des Gentlemen-Riders et des Cava lie res (Fegentri) formed in 1955 and based in France. The 26-member group aims to promote amateur riding, encourage camaraderie and share the passion of race riding. Photo by Hoofprints, Inc. In the winner’s circle at Delaware Park: Ge- rard Galligan , trainer Ricky Hendriks, Bethany Baumgardner, and Don Yovanovich.
The U.S. women of the Amateur Riders Club of America (ARCA) competed in 14 races in ten countries of 26 races offered in 2019. They won four races in three countries, with four seconds and one fourth place finish leading up to the finals.
These races are the equivalent to the Olympic Games for horse racing. Because there are few amateur races in America, the odds of the United States winning a World Championship is a long shot at best. But determination, skill, and smart decisions brought them victory.
The trips to the foreign venues are remarkable, with opportunities for these young, aspiring riders, who could only dream of riding on some of the most famous and prestigious race courses in the world.
“It’s insane the places we get to go and the horses we get to ride,” Eilidh Grant, 29, told Country ZEST. “Galloping up the backstretch at Chantilly [the famed racecourse near Paris, France] I thought I should pinch myself to prove it’s real. It’s been an amazing journey.”
Grant scored three of the four American wins and had two seconds. Baumgardner had the fourth win and one second. Fullilove and Taylor scored additional points to secure a final score of 75 points, just one point more than France in second place. France has been a perennial leader in Fegentri, with a lucrative amateur program of over 300 races a year in France alone. They’ve won at least one championship category almost every year.
The 2019 schedule started in Oman on April 6 and concluded on the small island of Mauritius for the December 1 finals. Residents of the island relish their horse racing and treated the riders as super stars. This U.S. victory marked the first time the Nations Award has ever been given, and team members agreed it was very special to be the first team to win.
The defending U.S. ladies team surely will have a target on their backs for 2020, but they’re ready.
Erika Taylor, 30, said “This program has given me so many great opportunities,” she said. “I’ve been so grateful for the past five years to travel around the world to such incredible places.”
The goal for the team is to create life-changing experiences. Not only are there opportunities to travel and make friends, but the platform is intended to give the riders a chance to make a critical decision, whether or not they can make a living from race riding.
More than two-dozen professional jockeys had their earliest race experiences within the ARCA program. Many of the very best riders in the Middle Atlantic region are graduates of this program.
In Maryland, riders Trevor McCarthy, Forest Boyce and Weston Hamilton all began as amateurs, as well as other riders who keep their tack at Penn National, Parx Race Course, Charles Town or Delaware Park. In 2018, Hamilton was the first ARCA graduate to win an Eclipse Award as Leading Apprentice of the Year. Julio Correa, who rode in ARCA races in 2017 and 2018, was a runner up for the 2019 Eclipse Award.
Said rider Emme Fullilove, 21, “Being part of the U.S. ladies team was easily the best part of 2019. I had the pleasure to ride races in Oman, Sweden, and Germany against ladies from other countries. It’s an incredible learning experience to see how horse racing and training is done around the world.
“While during the race we’re all competitive, off the course we’re all friends. Even after the season is over, we keep in touch. Not only is it a privilege to ride against a top group of competitive international amateurs, it improved my riding a lot. Fegentri gives us the opportunity to travel, learn, and create memories and friendships that last a lifetime.”
Race and steeplechase trainer Don Yovanovich is based in Middleburg. He’s executive director of the Amateur Riders Club of America, a 501 C3 public charity. He selected and coached the U.S. Ladies team to victory. For more information, he can be reached at: dony13@aol.com. “We appreciate any funds friends are willing to contribute,” Yovanovich said.
Eilidh Grant of The Plains on Backcat.
Photo by RJ Umberger /EQUI-PHOTO
