exciting to be here and see what goes on in the barns and to see things behind the scenes. It was a really cool experience. It was actually a lot like any other horse show, which is the funny part.” In preparation for the trip to Kentucky, she drove
cross-country with coach Tamie Smith before The Fork CIC*** in North Carolina and was based at Will Faudree’s Gavilan Farm in Southern Pines. During Rolex her parents, Dan and Sheila, who are vital supporters of her eventing, flew to Kentucky to cheer her on. Mackenna hadn’t seen them in a while so she was excited to have them there, and remarks that her sister, who couldn’t be there, checked in with her every day.
In the Spotlight At the big event, everything came together for their dressage test and they scored 43.7 to stand in second place after the first day of dressage and sixth after the second day of dressage. “He’s such a nice horse and I never
get the scores he can actually get,” she says. “When he did the trot work I was thinking, ‘Wow, that was really good, I’m excited.’ And then I thought, ‘Well, actually I still have to do all my flying changes, so this could end really badly!’ But he was perfect. We just had a really good week leading up to it; we had a couple of really good lessons and it all came together at the right time. It couldn’t have gone much better than that.” “He was going the best he’s ever
to be winning to have a good experience. We’ve grown together and I feel lucky that I’ve had so many opportuni- ties with him. I hope I can try again next year.”
FITNESS MAKES THE DIFFERENCE
At almost 61 years of age Dr. Kevin Keane, DVM of Penn- sylvania is possibly the oldest amateur ever to have successfully completed the Rolex CCI4*. In 2014, he debuted at the four-star level on Fernhill Flutter (aka “Butterfly) after many years of training with Phillip Dutton, while maintaining a veterinary practice serving some of the top riders in eventing.
been on cross-country too; it felt like I was going novice. He’s figured it out now—we’re not fighting each other. I’ve been working on his rideability and he was great the whole way around. I wasn’t going fast but it felt really fluid and fun. We’re still not sure what happened, but it looked like he misread the corner, according to the photos. When he left the ground at the second corner, it felt like something wasn’t quite right and I thought, ‘Wow, of all things, I really wasn’t expecting that to happen!’” “She handled everything well,” Tamie recalls. “She just had a bit of bad luck there. I thought she did a good job and kept her cool. It’s just unfortunate that our sport likes to humble us!” Landioso is fine, and Mackenna says she was not too
shaken by the fall. “When we get back to California, I’ll start him back up and I’ll do an Intermediate or two to get his confidence back and probably the three-star at Rebecca Farms this summer.” Mackenna is pragmatic about her Rolex experience. “I’ve learned a lot with this horse, and you don’t have
Veterinarian Keven Keane and Fernhill Flutter compete at their second Rolex this year, but sadly retire during cross country at fence 21.
He was no stranger to the Kentucky Horse Park, as he
had served as a veterinarian there numerous times over the past 22 years, but that didn’t keep him from feel- ing the excitement. Thankfully he has learned from his mentor how to stay calm and collected under pressure. In 2014, his Rolex experience played out exactly as hoped, and the pair completed the event to place twenty-fifth, giving them a solid first four-star finish.
Impressive Career(s) Kevin purchased Fernhill Flutter, a 2002 Irish Sport Horse gelding whose registered name is actually “Butterfly Orchid,” on a horse-shopping trip in Ireland. After trying several horses, Carol Gee of Fernhill Sport Horses contacted Kevin and suggested that he come and try the horse. Butterfly caught Kevin’s eye and he purchased the gelding and brought him back to the U.S., where their partnership has blossomed under Phil- lip’s watchful eye.
Warmbloods Today 23
Amber Heintzberger
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