International Horses of Honor
Cortes 'C' (SusanJStickle.com)
2002 Belgian Warmblood gelding
Owner: Abigail Wexner
Cortes ‘C’ enjoyed a banner year in 2014, cruising to some of the most coveted titles in the sport of show jumping. Abigail Wexner’s scopey Belgian Warmblood gelding began his campaign by twice collecting victory in the Ruby et Violette WEF competition at the FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival with Beezie Madden. Then in August at CSIO5* Hickstead, Cortes ‘C’ jumped a double clear to seal victory for the U.S. in the Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup and two days later again produced two clears to seal a historic victory in The Longines King George V Gold Cup. Next on the docket was the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games, where Cortes ‘C’ had a single rail in nine rounds to propel the U.S. to Team Bronze and Madden to Individual Bronze, and with four impressive clears in the Final Four he earned the “Best Horse” title. The final victory of the season for Cortes ‘C’ came in the CP World Cup Qualifier at the National Horse Show, as he and Madden earned victory in a jump-off for the ages.
Spooks Gotta Whiz (Andrea Bonaga)
2007 AQHA/APHA stallion
Owner: Michell Anne Kimball
2014 was a standout year for Spooks Gotta Whiz. In April, he won the Adequan/USEF Open Reining National Championship and Selection Trial for the 2014 WEG U.S. Reining Squad with Shawn Flarida. The pair headed to Normandy and took the FEI Reining World Championship by storm. With his teammates on the Adequan U.S. Reining Squad having already secured the Gold medal, Flarida and Spooks Gotta Whiz did not hold back when it was their turn, giving the sold-out venue a master class of FEI pattern six. A score of 229.5 would give the U.S. team a final score of 677.5, an amazing 14.5 points better than Silver medal-earning Belgium. Their work was not done there, as they still faced the Individual Final at the end of the week. The pair posted an incredible 233.5, the highest score in WEG reining history, earning the Individual Gold and bragging rights for the next four years.
Uminco (PicsofYou.com)
2001 KWPN gelding
Owner: Leslie Berndl
In 2014, Uminco once again showed that he was one of the most formidable horses on the Single Horse Driving circuit. With driver/owner Leslie Berndl, the KWPN gelding again travelled across the country from California to Florida to kick off the season with a second-place finish at the Sunshine State CDE, followed up with an impressive victory at the Kingdom of the Sun CDE. The pair had its final prep for the USEF National Single Horse Driving Championship at Live Oak International, where they again earned a second-place finish. Umnico headed to the Southern Pines CDE looking to retain his National Title and he did just that, displaying impeccable form throughout the scoring a wire-to-wire victory. The pair next headed to Europe, where it competed at CAI3* Piber before making its third FEI World Driving Championships for Singles appearance, helping the U.S. a 10th-place finish after leading the Americans in the dressage.
National Horses of Honor
Elis GV (Jon McCarthy Photography)
2009 Friesian gelding
Owner: Beth Kornegay
Elis GV is the first homebred for Jim and Beth Kornegay of Grandview Farm and the Friesian gelding is already proving to be quite the competitor. With an exceptional temperament, Elis GV carried seven junior riders, an adult amateur driver, and his trainer Bruce Griffin into the winner’s circle a multitude of times in 2014. This season alone Elis GV scored 11 IFSHA National and World Championships, eight IFSHA Reserve National and World Championships, two IFSHA National Top Fives, 24 Regional Championships in three Regions, seven Regional Reserve Championships, and six Regional Top Fives. His results were across a variety of disciplines including carriage pleasure driving, dressage, dressage hack, drive & ride, driven dressage, english show hack, hunter pleasure, western pleasure, western dressage, dressage, sport horse in hand, trail in hand, and working trail. Although busy in the show ring, Elis GV continued to show his exemplary character by being a mount in a therapeutic riding program, further demonstrating his versatility.
Macadamia (Howard Schatzberg)
2010 American Saddlebred gelding
Owner: Glasscock Financial Services, LLC
In just his second show season, Macadamia and rider Steven Wheeler wrapped up 2014 with five first-place finishes, including a win in the Three-Gaited World's Grand Championship at the Kentucky State Fair World’s Championship Horse Show against older, more seasoned horses, such as World Champions HS Daydream’s Heads Up and My Hail Mary. He will go down in history as one of the youngest horses to be a World Grand Champion as a four-year-old. The American Saddlebred stallion also won the Junior Three-Gaited over 15.2 class at the same show, as well as the American Saddlebred Three-Gaited Junior Horse titles at the Bonnie Blue National, Rock Creek, and Blue Ridge Classic Horse Shows.
Nutcracker Sweet PF (Undulata’s Nutcracker x Ames Déjà Vu)
Nutcracker Sweet PF (Ferrara)
Owner: Juliette Dell
Named the Arabian Horse Times Half-Arabian Saddle Seat Horse of the Year, Nutcracker Sweet PF excelled throughout 2014, with six championship titles and three more first-place finishes under her belt. She and owner Juliette Dell took home the Half-Arabian/Anglo-Arabian (HA/AA) English Pleasure Champion Junior Exhibitor to Ride (JTR) 18 & Under title at the 59th Annual Scottsdale Arabian Horse Show, as well as HA/AA English Pleasure Junior Owner to Ride 14-18 and HA/AA English Pleasure JTR 14-18 Championship titles at the Arabian & Half-Arabian Youth National Championships. At the U.S. National Arabian & Half-Arabian Championship Horse Show, in a beautiful class of athletic and high-trotting horses in the HA/AA English Pleasure Championship, she and rider Jimmy Stachowski earned the red roses.