10 Horses to Watch at Traverse City Horse Shows

These international superstars are headed to the rings at Flintfields this summer

By Anna Faller | July 5, 2025

With its stalls of designer shopping, chef-worthy dining, outdoor games, and beyond, the Traverse City Horse Shows (TCHS) at Flintfields Horse Park in Williamsburg has become a summertime destination. Of course, most folks are there for the riders and the horses—more than 1,500 in peak season—the latter of which represent dozens of colors, countries, breeds, and titles.

For the casual visitor, keeping track of high-octane events and four-legged competitors can feel like searching for a needle in, well, a hay bale, so we’ve done the heavy hoof-work for you. Here’s our short list of 10 can’t-miss horses expected for the 2025 shows. Saddle up!

Hunter Division

Hunters place focus on showcasing the elegance and grace of the horse. Judges evaluate them based on movement, style, and disposition.

1. Cupcake
Age: 11
Breed: Danish Warmblood
Main Event(s): Hunter, Jumper
Why Watch: With his rich bay coat and aristocratic stature, Danish-bred gelding Cupcake was all but built to shine in equestrian Hunter divisions! Owned by The Bright Lights Group (Lexington, Kentucky) and decorated equestrian Alex Granato, Cupcake showed on the international stage and competed through four-star level jumping classes before making a recent swap to the Hunter ring—a move that has so far proved to be cake! In fact, the pair just claimed the $10,000 USHJA National Open Hunter Derby during opening week of the Traverse City Spring Series, with Cupcake receiving the Platinum Performance Horse of the Week award. Look for him again in July during the GLEF World Championship Hunter Rider (WCHR) week.

2. Story Hour
Age: 9
Breed: Hanoverian
Main Event(s): Hunter
Why Watch: Characterized by their athleticism, amenable temperament, and elegance, Hanoverian horses are known for making easy work of equestrian sport, and Story Hour from Casalico is the cream of the performance crop. Owned by Double E, LLC and equestrian “go-to” trainer Donald Stewart (a Leading Hunter Rider of the National Horse Show in the nineties), this natural winner of a mount, as described by the World Equestrian Center, took the 2025 season by the bit early on, claiming top honors at the $20,000 Golden Ocala 3’6”-3’9” Hunter Derby (Ocala, Florida). And with just a few weeks of TCHS completed, the brown gelding’s already earned multiple top-five finishes in the Junior Hunter 3’6 division. As for the rest of the season? This story has only begun!

Equitation Division

Equitation classes serve to assess the skills and form of the rider. While still an important factor, the horse’s performance takes a backseat here.

3. Styled
Age: 9
Breed: Warmblood
Main Event(s): Hunter, Equitation
Why Watch: With rider Nick Haness aboard, Dutch Capitol gelding Styled was on everyone’s radar for an American debut during opening week of TCHS, which included clinching top spot in the GGT Footing 3’ Hunter division. Imported from Germany and owned by junior rider, Caroline Freeman (Los Angeles, CA), this up-and-coming equitation horse has quickly ridden to victory stateside, headlined by multiple wins at the Temecula Valley (California) National Premiers I and II in April, and so far, several top-five scores in the Traverse City Spring Series Green Hunter 3’ division and a second-place finish in Hunter Equitation 12-14 with Freeman aboard. (Per TCHS, she has her eyes on her first equitation finals with Styled this fall!)

4. Oki D’Eclipse
Age: 11
Breed: Belgian Warmblood
Main Event(s): Jumper, Equitation
Why Watch: If horses were corporate stereotypes, Belgian Warmblood Oki D’Eclipse would be the personality hire—but don’t let all that charisma fool you! Owned by Sea Horse Investments and partnered with accomplished junior riders like Taylor Cawley, this bay gelding (Catoki x Eluna D’ Eclipse) has been cleaning up competition in Equitation events throughout the last year, including multiple first-place finishes at the 2025 Winter Equestrian Festival (Wellington, Florida) as well as a pair of top honors at the prestigious 2025 Devon Horse Show in Pennsylvania. As for Flintfields Horse Park, TCHS scheduling is still in the works, but Oki’s signature long stride and “infectious presence,” per Practical Horseman, are hard to miss!

Jumper Division

Jumpers encapsulate the elements of speed, agility, and accuracy. The competitors aim to pilot a course of jumps in the shortest time, ensuring no faults to their time.

5. Lyjanair
Age: 11
Breed: Holsteiner
Main Event(s): Jumper (FEI)
Why Watch: With “The Master of Faster”—aka fifteen-time FEI World Cup Final contender Richard Spooner at the helm—Show Jumping Syndications Int’l’s Holsteiner Lyjanair might as well have wings! The mount of Olympic silver medalist Rolf-Göran Bengtsson before joining Spooner’s lineup, the bay gelding’s giraffe-like stride helped the pair claim a second-place finish at the CSI2* 1.45m Welcome Stake Grand Prix Qualifier (Mill Spring, North Carolina) in May, before riding to victory at the TCHS $117,000 Four G Surfaces CSI3* Grand Prix during opening week of the Traverse City Spring Series. Keep your eyes peeled for this dynamic duo at TCHS’s upcoming CSI5* events (in particular, the $340,000 Longines FEI Jumping World Cup).

6. Playboy JT Z
Age: 10
Breed: Zangersheide
Main Event(s): Jumper (FEI)
Why Watch: Though his name might suggest otherwise, Belgian-born gelding Playboy JT Z doesn’t play around in the ring; on the contrary, at just 10 years old, he already has serious star potential. Though the North Star gelding is still progressing through competitive jumping’s Grand Prix ranks, he and elite rider Charlotte Jacobs managed to claim the top spot in the TCHS $75,000 Meijer CSI2* Grand Prix in 2024, before returning for a win at the CSIO 4* Nations Cup (Wellington, Florida) in March. As this bay Zangersheide continues his ascent through the FEI class’s four-star levels—with one top-ten finish in the TCHS’ $32,000 CSI 4* Two-Phase already clinched—his game is the one to beat!

7. PST de Muze
Age: 10
Breed: Belgian Warmblood
Main Event(s): Jumper (FEI)
Why Watch: If you’ve got the need for speed, Belgian-born bay mare, PST de Muze, has taken an early driver’s seat. Working with accomplished Spanish jumper Francisco Goyoaga Mollet, Sigma Stables’ Muze claimed her first international win in the $32,000 FEI Speed CSI 3* event in early June, followed closely by a third-place finish in the three-star Four G Surfaces Grand Prix. A natural fleet-foot, Muze is an easy hoof-in for upcoming five-star competitions, including the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup qualifier and the CSI5* American Gold Cup in September. Top Gun, eat your heart out!

8. Greya
Age: 11
Breed: Oldenburg
Main Event(s): Jumper (FEI)
Why Watch: Easily one of the most decorated equine competitors expected for the 2025 TCHS season, striking gray mare Greya, a long-time member of Olympic veteran Kent Farrington’s string, has bested scores of elite jumpers to earn top marks in five-star arenas worldwide. Notably, she had a first-place finish at the TCHS CSI5*-W Longines FEI Jumping World Cup in 2024, as well as victories at both the CSI 5* Grand Prix (Wellington, Florida) and the $400,000 Kentucky International CSI5* 1.60m Grand Prix in Lexington. For those hoping to catch this boss mare in action, the TCHS Tournament of Champions in early fall is a good bet!

Pony Division

These equestrian events are specifically for ponies, horses a specific size based on the event.

9. Prestige
Age: 14
Breed: Belgian Riding Pony
Main Event(s): Large Pony Hunter
Why Watch: If names are any indication of a horse’s potential, Prestige is more than living up to his! Foaled in Belgium and owned by Swede Ventures LLC, this chestnut gelding is no stranger to a little wow factor, with previous accolades including the Overall Grand Pony Hunter National Championship at the 2024 USEF Pony Finals (Lexington), and in early June, a handful of first-place finishes at the Split Rock Hunter Jumper Classic I. Look out for Prestige in the TCHS pony divisions.

10. So Enchanted
Age: 16
Breed: Welsh Pony Cross
Main Event(s): Small Pony Hunter
Why Watch: They say the best things come in small packages, which is more than true of So Enchanted! Owned by Sprucedale Inc., this chestnut with chrome mare, aka “Lex,” is known in the ring for her signature sass, a penchant for treats, and a distinctly-competitive shine that’s earned her dozens of honors. That includes the small pony and grand pony championships at the 2022 Pennsylvania National Horse Show, as well as multiple top-five finishes at the prestigious 2025 Devon Horse Shows (PA).

For more information, ticket sales, and show schedules, visit traversecityhorseshows.com. Find Flintfields Horse Park at 6535 Bates Rd. in Williamsburg.

Photo courtesy of Megan Giese Media/TCHS