36/ MAY 2019 THE RIDER


Together Again: Waylon Roberts And Lancaster At The Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event In 2011, two-time Cana-


dian Pan American Games medalist, Waylon Roberts of West Grove, PA, was tasked with training a large and chal- lenging chestnut


for sale.


Through twists, turns, and a few changes in ownership, that horse found his way back into Way- lon’s hands in time for the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event, presented by Mars Equestrian, held in Lexington, KY, from April 25-28, 2019. Lancaster (Yavari x Indo-


rado) is a 12-year-old Canadian Sport Horse gelding owned by


Michelle and John Koppin. He was born at Ashland Farm in Kanata, ON, as “Baxter K”, and is still called that name around the barn today. As he grew to be a spunky


three-year-old, breeder Paul Morgan recognized that Baxter might not be the right fit for the amateur market, for which Ash- land Farm primarily produces their horses. But Paul recog- nized Baxter’s potential as a high performance eventer, and consequently decided to bring him to Sue Ockendon, the Event Organizer for the Bromont


Horse Trials, to train and resell. “I said to Paul, ‘This is


truly an international horse, we’ve just got to get him into the right hands,’ because he was tough to ride as a young horse,” remembered Sue. “So Waylon got on him to straighten him out –Waylon’s what I call a super star, he’s so talented. He gives that horse the best ride he can, and Baxter is becoming exactly what Paul thought he could be when he sent me the horse.” Waylon explained, “When


Baxter was sent to me initially as a four-year-old, he was very


nervous during mount- ing and then quite re- active to the leg. So if I was ever in the wrong place, he’d try to plant me on the ground. It wasn’t long before we


came


through these issues and he quickly became a barn favourite. He’s always been a very sweet and kind horse on the ground.” With Waylon


working his magic, a much more rideable Baxter caught the eye of Boyd Martin when the


American


Olympian came to Canada in search of a new horse. Through Boyd’s partnership with owners, Ronald and Densey Juvonen, and with Michael Pendleton in the irons, Baxter rose up the levels and leapt into the international spotlight at the 2015 Plantation Field International Horse Trials. The next year, Waylon serendipitously crossed paths with his former charge at the Horse Park of New Jer- sey.


“Mike was taking Baxter [to the Interme-


Canadian Waylon Roberts of West Grove, PA, tackled the 2019 Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event, presented by Mars Equestrian, in Lexington, KY, from April 25-28 with Lancaster, née “Baxter K”, whom he trained as a four-year-old. Photo Credit: Cealy Tetley


diate level]. Unfortunately, he had a few rails in the jumping phase and Boyd approached me to make an offer on the horse,” recalled Way- lon. “Boyd had said when he bought him as a four-year-old that he felt bad about taking a 4* (now 5*) horse from me. I decided to go have a sit on him at [Boyd’s training centre, Win- durra] and thought that I might be able to get a tune out of him. He’s a fabulous mover and has plenty of scope, but does require a certain ride to get the jump out of him. The stars must have been aligned, because Michelle Koppin was in town from Michigan for an event and I approached her about purchasing Baxter. We vetted him and brought him home the next day.”


When Waylon reclaimed the ride on Bax-


ter in 2016, their training sessions were much different than their earlier days together spent developing basic skills. “Obviously, he was much more educated


by the time I got him at nine,” remarked Way- lon. “He has matured a lot and is one I look forward to riding and hanging out with every day. All the intermediate movements were on him, so it’s just been building from there. It’s mostly been about strengthening the gaits and the connection. We’ve been focusing on getting the flat work to where he keeps his mind on me and not the scary flowers or whatever it is he thinks he sees, as well as perfecting the ride to the rails and getting the control at speed just right for cross-country.” The 2019 Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day


After a brief stint with American Olympian Boyd Martin, Waylon reclaimed the ride on Baxter in 2016. Photo Credit: Shannon Brinkman


first attempt at a 5*. It means a lot to me because this is the first time I’ve reached a Minimum Eligi- bility Requirement at this level and he felt like he learned a lot over the week.”


weekend to finish in the top 25 at the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event CCI 5*-L. Photo Credit: Cealy Tetley


Waylon and Baxter came through a challenging Waylon continued, “I think there is a lot more


Event CCI 5*-L offered the perfect setting to put Baxter’s training to the test. While Waylon had pre- viously tackled North America’s premier eventing weekend, it was Baxter’s first time navigating the famous terrain. On April 26, a strong dressage score of 32.7


penalties had the duo starting out tied for 10th place with Hallie Coon (USA). Sue commented, “Baxter’s got the dressage skills, so that means he could be in the top 10 anywhere in the world, and that is so im- portant for Canada right now.” Several cross-country time penalties on April


27 and a few rails down in the next day’s show jumping phase brought Waylon and Baxter’s final score to 71.5 penalty points. The pair finished 24th, a respectable placing made even more noteworthy when considering that approximately a quarter of the total CCI 5*-L entries, comprised of top combi- nations from around the globe, were eliminated, re- tired, or withdrew throughout the challenging weekend. “I’m so proud of Baxter for how he stepped up


for me this week at Kentucky,” said Waylon. “Be- tween his owners, Michelle and John, his groom, Maddie Scott, and I, we couldn’t be happier with his


in him to improve on this result and this perform- ance showed a lot of heart. He was amazing for the first half of the cross-country course and his confi- dence kept building in that huge atmosphere. We got our wires crossed at the Head of the Lake and both got pretty tired at that moment, so I could have un- derstood if he said, ‘Hey bud, I’m not going to just cart you around here,’ but he stayed super honest and forgave me for a few misses at the end of the course. I think that shows how much he just wants to do the right thing for me.” Paul, who has kept tabs on his home-bred


horse’s career, added, “It’s fantastic for Waylon and the horse; we’re delighted to see a Canadian doing so well with a horse born and bred in Canada, and registered as a Canadian Sport Horse.” With the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day


now crossed off Baxter’s bucket list, Waylon plans to build on his 5* experience in preparation for a run towards the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. Waylon concluded, “In the end, the horses tell


you what they’re going to do for you. So as long as I ride him right, I think he has a lot of potential.” Joining Waylon riding for the maple leaf was


Jessica Phoenix of Cannington, ON, and Bogue Sound, Amara Hoppner’s 12-year-old Thorough- bred gelding sired by Crafty Shaw, who were the highest-placed Canadian combination in 15th place.


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