Seventeen-year-old Spencer Smith headed into the 2014 fall season looking to produce strong results in the U.S.’s most prestigious equitation finals. The Wellington, Fla., native did just that as he earned the 2014 Pessoa/US Hunter Seat Medal Finals victory at the Pennsylvania National Horse Show and finished fifth in the ASPCA Maclay Final at the National Horse Show to earn the Wilson Dennehy Equitation Trophy. Additionally, he competed in the finals at the Platinum Performance/USEF Show Jumping Talent Search Finals East and the Washington International Horse Show. After you watch clips of his performances at all four Finals, read the Don Stewart-trainee’s thoughts about his performances.

Our fall circuit started in Upper Marlboro, Maryland where the Capital Challenge Horse Show is held. We had some nice rounds there, which really set the motion for the rest of indoors. From there my team and I went to USET Finals in Gladstone, New Jersey, which was a great show with a beautiful venue. I made some small errors there but my horse felt great, which gave me confidence for the next final. We left New Jersey and headed to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania for Medal Finals.

I arrived in Harrisburg a couple days before the Finals. My horse was feeling totally relaxed. When Sunday came around I was set to go 189th. I had a good first round and was called back in fifth. The second round was a tough course, but my horse handled it really well. Five riders were called back for additional testing; I was sitting in second. We had a good round and ended up finishing on top.

Washington finals were next on the map. I arrived in Washington and rode my horse. We did not change our preparation or plan from that of Medal Finals. My rounds were not bad but they were not enough to get into the final round and I ended up 11th. The show was great, a beautiful venue in the heart of the city.

The last final was the Maclay; that was a great class. After 150 rounds and three flat sections, the top 20 came back for another round of great jumping. I had a good round and ended up fifth.

The whole indoors and equitation finals experience really gave me a precedent for the pressure I might feel in a Nations Cup or representing my country in a big grand prix. The finals are a huge building block in any rider’s career.