Andrina Calder Competes Against the Best
at Menfelt Horse Trials by Jennifer Ward

Frederick, Maryland - Canadian eventing athlete Andrina Calder, 16, of Toronto, ON, held her own against some of the biggest names in the sport, finishing fourth in the Open Intermediate Championship division at the Menfelt Horse Trials held in Frederick, MD, from September 4-5, 2004.

Having qualified for the U.S. Area 2 Championship division throughout the season, 16 of the best horse-rider combinations contested the Open Intermediate Championship. With a score of 42 penalty points following dressage, Calder was sitting in eleventh position following the opening phase. A challenging cross-country course meant that no rider was able to make the pre-determined time allowed. Coming the closest were division leader Kim Severson and Calder, both incurring 8.8 time penalties. While Severson maintained her lead, the strong cross-country performance catapulted Calder into fourth position in the standings. In Sunday's final show jumping phase, the order of placing remained unchanged, leaving Calder, who had just one rail down, in fourth position overall with a three-phase total of 54.8 penalty points.

"My dressage could have been better, I was a little tense going into the ring," reflected Calder who was riding her long-time partner, HerzPrinz, a 13-year-old American Trakehner gelding. "The cross-country was awesome, it was just amazing! It was a really tough course but I thought it rode well. My watch didn't work, so I had no way of knowing what my time was. The dressage and the cross-country were held on the same day and we only had an hour in between so I was a little worried about that, but my horse was great."

Severson, the 2004 Olympic Individual Silver and Team Bronze Medallist for the United States, won the event riding Upper Register while Phillip Dutton, a two-time Olympic Team Gold Medallist for Australia, placed second riding I'm Happy As Larry. The legendary Bruce Davidson, an Olympic and World Championships veteran, was third with Jam, finishing with a three-phase score of 51.7 penalty points.

"I was a little nervous," admitted Calder about her feelings before the start of competition at Menfelt but, surprisingly, it was not the field of seasoned veterans that was causing her pre-event jitters. "In my last outing, I didn't have such a good go, so I was anxious to get everything back to normal. Now, I am back in the right frame of mind."

Calder, who turned 16 this year, was prevented by age requirements from competing at the intermediate level until 2004. In March, she enjoyed her first intermediate level win, claiming victory at the Red Hills Horse Trials held March 12-14 in Tallahassee, FL. She had won her first event of the season, the Preliminary Young Rider division held at the Canterbury Horse Trials in Newberry, FL, in January.

Calder will now look forward to contesting the American Eventing Championship in Raeford, NC, from September 16-19, before competing at her first FEI two-star event, the CCI** Radnor Hunt International Three Day Event, held October 6-10 in Malvern, PA.

For the past five years, Calder has trained with 2004 Olympic Team Bronze Medallist Darren Chiacchia at Independence Farm with locations in Buffalo, NY, and Ocala, FL. In 2003, she was named the United States Eventing Association (USEA) Junior Preliminary Rider of the Year, and celebrated both individual and team victories in the CCIY/J* division of the 2003 North American Young Riders' Championship.