2001 Jackson Horse Trials CIC** Winner
Mogie Beirden-Muller and Derravarragh

Last year a crash on the cross-country course at Galway left Mogie Beirden-Muller of Danville, Calif., wheelchair bound for two months with a broken femur. Riding and walking were difficult and the 36-year-old trainer faced a winter of intense rehabilitation involving lap after lap of swimming in a pool.

That effort paid off at Jackson when she won the CIC** on her eight-year-old Irish Thoroughbred, Derravarragh. She said she would have been happy to simply finish the competition. Winning it was superb. “To me, getting around this course clean put a lid on any fear factor lingering from my crash,” she said. “Me going around clean meant more than winning.”

The water combination on cross-country worried her, but during the ride Beirden-Muller said she, “kept his feet moving and his balance in motion.” Derravarragh has been eager and willing all season, she said. The pair finished the open preliminary division at Oak Ridge in Santa Rosa, Calif., finished sixth in the CIC* at Herron Park in Kalispell, Mont., and competed at intermediate at Whiskey Hill Horse Park.

Derravarragh is a complicated horse and Beirden-Muller said it has taken her some time to develop a good warm up routine that would improve their dressage.

“I figured it out here, and that really helped our dressage,” she said. Their dressage score of 46.5 placed them first, and they held onto the lead despite a 7.2 time penalties on cross country and 2 penalties in show jumping for a final score of 55.7.

Drawn to Jackson by the excellent organization and the good footing, Beirden-Muller said the long trip from California is worth it every year. “They really do a stellar job,” she said.