KALISPELL — One horse, three events, and one place to show them all off at the event at Rebecca Farm, which brings in riders from across the western United States and Canada for equestrian competition.
Rebecca Farm is home to the biggest eventing competition west of the Mississippi River.
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While there are many local riders, like Elise Shaw from Montana, others travel long distances for a chance to compete in one of the biggest equestrian fields.
“It's incredible, I mean, we're so lucky to have it just really close near where we live in Montana,” Shaw said. “So many people are coming from across the United States, I mean, it's just an incredible experience to be here every year.”
Eventing is essentially an equestrian triathlon that tests the skills of both riders and horses.
One of those events is dressage, where Bend, Oregon, native Sylvie Kresser and her horse Jenda have learned takes an incredible amount of discipline to master.
“You want to see a horse being steady in the contact, which means their head is on the vertical and responding to the rider,” Kresser said. “You want to see them tracking up, which means their back leg is stepping in the spot where their front leg left, and overall, you just want to see the horse being relaxed and. Movements and carrying a nice even steady tempo.”
After showing off the horses' technical ability, riders get to display their athleticism in cross country and show jumping.
Washington native Evie Moorhead and her horse, Gettin’ Jiggy With It, enjoy the freedom of running through open fields with obstacles.
“It's very much just between you and your horse being able to get through it,” Moorhead said. “Honestly, it just is the most freeing feeling because you are out there for so long just between you and your horse. You feel the wind in your hair, and it's just amazing.”
Moorhead has competed at Rebecca Farm for five years, with this one likely being her last; she continues to enjoy the camaraderie and fun the Event has brought her.
“Being able to just be walking down the street and you see a former Olympian,” Moorhead said. “It's truly just kind of shows the unitedness of the sport and just having such a big event is also just so fun as it allows people to come together in our sport.”
