Battle of the Sexes
Charity Event at Holland Eventing By Pam Gleason
The Battle of the Sexes is over, and the women have won.
T
hat, at least, was the result of the inaugural Aiken Battle of the Sexes charity eventing competition that took place at Holly Berry Farm in the Bridle Creek Equestrian community on March 17. The St. Patrick’s Day happening featured two teams of eight riders. The format was a foreshortened “jump-jump” type affair. Riders completed a short cross-country course, including banks, logs and water jumps, ridden to an optimum time of 90 seconds. At the end of the cross country, they jumped into the stadium and immediately began a jumper course in which the fastest time won. Knocking down rails counted as two seconds-worth of time faults, which kept the scoring simple. Riders competed against one another in pairs: A representative from the men’s team would ride, followed by a representative from the women’s team. The rider with the fastest time of the pair scored one point for his or her team. The team with the most points at the end of the day was declared the winner. The Battle of the Sexes was put on by the Garrett family, the owners of Holland Eventing and Holly Berry Farm, to benefit local charities, celebrate the end of the Aiken eventing season, and to test the waters for holding a larger and more public event at the facility in the future. The Garretts invited the riders and their friends to a ringside cocktail party under a tent before and during the competition. After it was over, everyone stuck around for a dinner party in a different tent. The Willcox did the catering, and Byron Bush, the owner of Bright and Bold Entertainment, provided music. The course was set for horses that were “Preliminary appropriate,” according to Joanie Morris who organized the competition. The riders included some big names and international riders. The men’s team, called Kev’s Kicking Cowboys, consisted of Dr. Kevin Keane (Captain), Phillip Dutton, Ryan Wood (Australia) John Nunn, Dave Voss, Doug Payne and Nilson da Silva (Brazil.) The women’s team, Allison’s Aiken Angels, was captained by Allison Springer, with Colleen Loach (Canada), Colleen Rutledge, Kate Brown, Kate Chadderton (Australia) Holly Payne and Erin Sylvester. The competition started out with a tight contest between Doug Payne and Allison Springer, but as the afternoon progressed, the women pulled ahead decisively. Some of the men privately pointed out afterward that they had brought greener horses, since they had understood that it was intended to be a schooling event. Meanwhile, they said, the women came with their seasoned competitors. It
was also noted that the women’s team was made up entirely of professionals, while the men’s team had a mix of amateurs and professionals. The women, for their part, said they were just having fun – this was a competitive group, and what could be more fun than winning? Riders and spectators alike enjoyed the novel format, the spectacular facility and the opportunity to ride on a team with their colleagues. Although in many ways the Battle of the Sexes was decidedly low key and laidback, it was also a highly appreciated fundraiser for two Aiken charities. Holland Eventing and the Garrett family donated $15,000 in prize money, with $10,000 going to the winners and $5,000 to the second place team. Allison’s Angels won $10,000 for SPCA Albrecht Center for Animal Welfare, while Kev’s Kicking Cowboys brought in $5000 for the Aiken Horse Park Foundation.
April-May 2019
The Aiken Horse
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