Boyd Martin Becomes the First Rider to Win American Eventing Championships Advanced Two Times on Two Different Horses

American equestrian star Boyd Martin created history at the 2021 USEA American Eventing Championships (AEC) presented by Nutrena Feeds. Notably, he came to defend his 2019 $60,000 Adequan USEA Advanced final title. Martin recently competed in his third Olympic games at the Tokyo Olympics 2020. Prior to this, he also represented Team USA at London Olympics 2012 and Rio Olympics 2016 in the equestrian event.

In 2019, he clinched the gold medal in the Pan American Games. Just a month after his Olympic appearance, Boyd has created history in the USEA American Eventing Championships.

An unexpected win for Martin

Equestrian sport is not only about the rider but also their horses. Athletes have a strong relationship with their horses, which helps them to compete in a more efficient way, as there is better coordination.

Going into the USEA American Eventing Championships, Boyd was not sure about winning. There were plenty of magnificent horses and their riders who were ahead of Boyd. There is a lot of pressure to win at the event, making it tough for riders to thrive.

Boyd faced an unexpected challenge at the event. Martin was leading the dressage event with his horse Long Island T, but he fell from him on the cross-country. But he did not let the fall stop him as returned with another horse in the cross-country event.

Martin jumped the clear cross-country with On Cue. Interestingly, Martin had started off the weekend in the eight-place but smoothly moved to the fourth position. Notably, he added only 6.4-time penalties to the final dressage score of 27.3.

On Cue and Boyd Martin win $60,000

Boyd became the first-ever rider to win the AEC Advanced class two times, notably on two different horses. Boyd was thrilled with On Cue’s performance and called her, “everything you dream of in a horse.”

According to Boyd, she is elegant, bright, galloper, and a mover. The doors for On Cue and Boyd opened up when the leader, Fylicia Barr, dropped two rails. While Doug Payne and Quantum Leap ended the race at the reserve position.

Also read: US Equestrian’s Roxanne Trunnell Makes Paralympic History in Tokyo