California Girl Tamie Smith Takes Three Carolina Titles at Setters’ Run Farm Carolina International CCI & H.T.

For Immediate Release – March 21, 2026

Raeford, NC – There are approximately 2,300 miles and seven or eight states (depending on your route) separating Temecula, California and Aiken, South Carolina. A few weeks ago, CCI5* winner and Tokyo Olympic traveling reserve Tamie Smith packed up 16 horses between her own and those of some students and drove for three days to reach their temporary home for the next few months. 

Smith makes trips to the east coast from her home base in Temecula as frequently as her schedule allows. As she describes it, she makes the trip in order to measure herself and her horses against the more densely-populated (in terms of eventing athletes) East coast. 

On Saturday at the Setters’ Run Farm Carolina International CCI & H.T., Smith made good on this leg of a trip that’ll keep her on the East coast through May, taking home victories in three of the FEI divisions.

Lillet 3 Triumphs in CDP Eventing Stables CCI4*-S

At 10 years old, Lillet 3 (S.I.E.C. Livello – Princess L) already has an impressive career. The mare, now owned by Molly Duda, initially began her eventing career with German Olympic medalist Andreas Dibowski. She won at the CCI4* level with Dibowski in 2024 before she was sold to the U.S. for Smith to ride. As with any horse, Smith says, it takes time to form a partnership; this weekend, she says, the mare really felt like her horse.

Prior to this weekend, Smith and Lillet 3 had collected three FEI wins, including the CCI4*-L at The Event at Rebecca Farm in 2025. To start the 2026 season, she finished first and second, respectively at the Intermediate and Advanced/Intermediate levels in California. With these results in mind, “I came here to compete,” Smith said. 

“I think as riders, we’re always aiming our horses for different results at different competitions, but I came into this competition with all my horses to be competitive,” she continued. “She’s just  unbelievable. She’s so fast. She’s such a blood horse, and her stride is beautiful – she’s so rideable. So I was hoping that what happened today would happen, and she just feels like my horse.”

Smith and Lillet 3 finished the weekend on a score of 29.7, adding just three seconds’ worth of time penalties to their initial two-phase score. This is about on par with their average finishing score over the last few FEI events, so it’s safe to say this is a definitive pair to watch, especially with the FEI Eventing World Championships looming large in August. 

US Olympian Caroline Pamukcu and her Paris Olympic horse, HSH Blake, are also vying for a coveted spot on that World Championships team (truthfully, this is the case for just about every rider competing in this division) and made good on their efforts this weekend to finish on the podium in second. Their finishing score totaled 30.4 penalties, with 5.2 time penalties added on Saturday’s cross-country.

“My goal [this weekend] was to have a nice, relaxing dressage test on all of [my horses],” she stated. “In show jumping, I wanted them to use their bodies and be relaxed to the best of their ability. And same with the cross-country – I wanted to go out there, and I want them to be prepping for the five-star. Derek [di Grazia] did a masterful job, like he always does [designing] the cross-country. He asked you all the right questions, without being too big and too aggressive. It really gave them all a lot of confidence for going to Kentucky.”

Pamukcu is planning to take HSH Blake (Tolan R – Doughiska Lass), who is owned by Pamukcu, Sherrie Martin and Mollie Hoff in the CCI5* at Defender Kentucky next month.

Third in the CDP Eventing Stables CCI4*-S were 2025 champions Jennie Brannigan and FE Lifestyle (Leo von Faelz – Berina A), a 16-year-old Holsteiner gelding owned by Tim and Nina Gardner. After beginning the weekend in ninth place, Brannigan and FE Lifestyle steadily climbed up the standings, adding 2.8 time penalties to their score for the podium finish.

Brannigan herself didn’t have the most ideal of offseasons. She underwent surgery to repair a serious injury to her ankle, and also suffered a knee injury she’s been recovering from. “It’s been a pretty rough time for me, for sure,” she said. “I was non-weight bearing for nine weeks, and really have been just focusing on riding a couple, including [FE Lifestyle]. It was a fairly serious injury to be coming back from, so I’m just trying to do the best job I can. ‘Foxy’ is not getting any younger, and I feel like he’s got a good shot for this year, and I want to give it to him. I didn’t want to ride recklessly, so I just went as quick as I could with that while still riding to do well here. But I am thinking about [Defender Kentucky CCI5*].”

Spiro P Gallops to Cordelia Family Foundation CCI3*-S Win

Tamie Smith has known and worked with the 9-year-old Spiro P (Spiros Z – Ugomein) for several years, having coached his usual rider, fellow professional Megan Sykes, throughout her career. So when Sykes needed to step away from the saddle to attend to some personal matters, Spiro P joined the caravan heading East with Tamie as the planned rider. While she came to be competitive, she placed no lofty expectations on the German Sport Horse gelding and instead focused on giving him a positive experience. That positive experience equalled Smith’s first victory of the day as she and Spiro P moved up from second to first on a final score of 29.7 (consistency at its finest, with the same finishing score as CCI4*-S winner Lillet 3). 

“He couldn’t have been better,” Smith enthused. “He was unbelievable. I mean, to be able to get on a horse and be competitive like that after riding him for a few weeks is just a testament to the hard work that [Sykes] put into producing him. I texted her today afterwards, and I said, ‘You better hurry back, or you’re not going to get your horse back!’” 

Australia’s Ema Klugman was second in the CCI3*-S with Team Fern’s RF Redfern on a score of 30.0. Canada’s Waylon Roberts rounded out a truly international CCI3* podium with his own Fernhill Salt Lake, finishing third on a score of 32.7. 

Solaguayre Cantata Shows Future Promise in Breezeway Sporthorse Diagnostic Clinic / Friendship Veterinary Imaging Center CCI2*-S

The 9-year-old Solaguayre Cantata is another horse acquired by Smith in 2024 during a bit of a restock on horses for her pipeline of development. The mare, owned by Juliane Guariglia, led from start to finish in the Breezeway Sporthorse Diagnostic Clinic / Friendship Veterinary Imaging Center CCI2*-S, finishing the weekend on her dressage score of 24.6.

“She was just a total professional, which is really fun, because as a three-year-old, she was a nightmare!” Smith laughed. “She was a little bit green at [Bouckaert Farm in Georgia] a couple weeks ago, so I didn’t know what to expect. But she just ate it up and felt like all business. She has done one Intermediate, and I was glad that I did the two-star this weekend, because the three-star was quite strong. But she just loped around and was unbelievable in all three phases, just like she just knows that the party is all for her.”

Meg Pellegrini piloted her own Gorgeous DHI to second place in the CCI2*-S, finishing the weekend on a score of 26.6. US Olympic medalist Phillip Dutton finished third with Caroline Moran’s Darwinn on a finals core of 31.1. 

Ireland’s Lee Maher Captures First FEI Victory in Dechra Veterinary Products CCI1*-S

Irish rider Lee Maher’s been training and competing horses for most of his life, but he’d not yet won an FEI level event – until Saturday. 

It all came down to cross-country, where overnight leader Boyd Martin collected a few too many time penalties with Tamy Pollard’s Buba D’Mues and relinquished the potential victory. This opened the door for Maher, who was second coming into cross-country and went clear inside the optimum time with Home Track Farm’s HTF Charming Cooley (Timone – Corline Z), a 7-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding. The pair took home the victory in style, finishing on a score of 29.7.

Maher relocated to the US from Ireland in 2021 to work for Caroline Pamukcu. A few years into his time in the States, he struck out on his own and launched EquiSales International, which he operates with his husband, fellow eventing athlete Chris Talley out of Allison Pratt’s Home Track Farm in Dyke, Virginia. 

“I feel like I’ve been working for this for a really long time,” Maher said. “So it makes it happier to know that [HTF Charming Cooley] won. We’ll take it day by day, but hopefully he will go and do the two-star Long at Ocala [International Festival of Eventing in April], and then we go back to Virginia to make a little summer plan.”

“It’s amazing because we spend the winter in Ocala, so it’s the first time that we come this far north and gallop on the hills and this amazing grass arena that we got to jump on yesterday,” Maher continued. “We don’t get that opportunity very much in the States, so it kind of brings me back to my roots, where we jump on the grass all of the time in Ireland.”

Australia’s Hayley Frielick and Dunedin LB Muze moved up into second place with another clear inside the time, finishing the weekend on a score of 30.2. Boyd Martin finished up in third with Buba D’Mues on a score of 30.2. 

National Divisions Continue Competition

Here’s a look at the Saturday leaders of the National divisions. The remaining divisions will complete their competition with cross-country or show jumping on Sunday.

Performance Veterinary & Zoetis Advanced: Madison Temkin and Fernhill Bertus (56.5)

Stackhouse & Ellis Bespoke Saddles: Ariel Grald and Obalix (27.6)

DMP Equine Insurance Open Preliminary: Devin Robel and Gilou (27.3)

DMP Equine Insurance Preliminary Rider: Mandolin Whitten and Top Rox (23.9)

Modified: Hugh Wrigley and FE Go My Way (25.5)

Dubarry USA LLC Open Training: Susan Plumb and Cooley All In tied with Logan Harris and LT Mint Julep (26.5)

Dubarry USA Training Rider A: Dorothy Greenshields and Glensmill Kroon Girl (32.2)

Dubarry USA Training Rider B: Meili Gregg and Cooley Triskele (31.8)

Hardgrove Family Open Novice: Ariel Grald and Karino (22.3)

Hardgrove Family Novice Rider: Shannon Reid and Jenesis HF (30.9)

The 2026 Setters’ Run Farm Carolina International CCI & H.T. concludes on Sunday, March 22 with cross-country for Novice through Preliminary beginning at 8:30 a.m., and show jumping for the Advanced and Intermediate competitors beginning at 9:00 a.m. in the Edith Overly Memorial Arena.