Aiken Fall Festival Kicks Off to Gorgeous Weather and a Week Packed with Special Events

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Marksman and Liza Boyd. All pictures by Shawn McMillen

September 12th, 2011 ~ The first week of competition for the 2011 Aiken Fall Festival came to a close yesterday.  The two week hunter jumper show series is managed by J. P. Godard and his Equus Events and took place September 8-11 at Highfields Event Center in Aiken, SC.  This week’s sold out show was jam packed with many special classes and events and the horse-centric town of Aiken makes it a prime stop on everyone’s calendar.  Exhibitors were delighted with the gorgeous weather and the Aiken Fall Festival really stepped it up to make all of its guests feel welcome with good southern hospitality and most importantly a well-organized event.  All attending were treated to nightly parties and daily hospitality including breakfast, daily snacks, and an ice cream party on Saturday all courtesy of the show’s hospitality sponsors; Allison Mills, Beaver River Farm, Booth Parker, Christison Stables, Willoughby Stables, DFG Stables, Debi Friedman, Gagne International, Gamboa Veterinary Services, John and Leslie Kasper, Liz Tarumianz, Summit Springs Farm, LLC, The Farm House, The Stables Restaurant, The Wilcox, Travinia Italian Kitchen, and Wendy Arndt and Team IEC.  While the VIP tent events are free to exhibitors, donations were taken for this week’s beneficiary Children’s Place of Aiken, SC (www.childrensplaceinc.org). “We are extremely excited with our turnout this year,” said show organizer J. P. Godard.  “We are completely sold out this week and even with putting up more stalls next week, we still have a waiting list. In these tough economic times I feel people are picking and choosing what shows to attend and Equus Events is really striving to put on events that are the benchmark in our area.”

The week kicked off on Thursday with the featured class being the $5,000 Open Welcome Jumper Stake.  Josh Dolan of Hilton Head, SC guided his Skylands Con Chino Z to the blue taking top honors over Christina Jason and her Tamino who finished second with Claire Lee White and High Roller finishing in third.  After the class everyone was invited to an Exhibitor Welcome Party at The Stables Restaurant and Beer Garden at the Rose Hill Estate in downtown Aiken.  The party featured food, libations, and the sounds of local Aiken band Preston and Weston with a few Aiken Fall Festival exhibitors even taking to the mic a time or two!  A great time was had by all and many thanks to The Stables Restaurant for the wonderful party.

The hunter derby ring was the place to be Friday evening for the $2,500 National Hunter Classic along with a Low Country Boil under the VIP tent sponsored by Debi Friedman, Booth Parker, and Liz Tarumianz.  As spectators under the tent enjoyed the party, the field of 21 entries were set to compete over the course designed by Toledo, OH native Joseph Carnicom.  The first round course featured many natural obstacles reminiscent of the hunt field and included 5 options, lots of galloping lines and flowy tracks while the second handy round featured a trot jump and more options for tight turns to show off the handiness of the horse.  Two of the evening’s busiest riders Liza Boyd and Daniel Geitner out-rode the rest to take home the top four places in the class.  Liza and Marilla Van Beuren’s Marksman rose to the top of the pack with a first round score of 87 and a second round score of 90 to give them a two round total of 177 to edge out local Aiken professional Daniel Geitner and Mrs. Janet Peterson’s Damocles who came in second with a two round total of 175.  Liza also took home the third place ribbon with Stephanie Saunders Heartbreaker and Geitner garnered the fourth place award on Robin Hughes Zo Doro.

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Fieona and Hardin Towell

On Saturday evening the jumpers were back on center stage again in the $15,000 Aiken Premiere Jumper Classic sponsored by Fenwick Equestrian.  Travinia Italian Kitchen sponsored a fabulous party under the VIP tent for exhibitors and spectators to enjoy while having a front row seat in on the action.  17 horse rider combinations turned out to compete over the Joseph Carnicom designed course out on the grass field.  Hardin Towell of Camden, SC kept up the winning ways of his sister Liza as he and Kelly Maloney’s Fieona jumped to the blue with a quick and clear jump off time of 34.082 just edging out hometown favorite Mr. and Mrs. Charles Bostwick’s Sympa and Daniel Geitner with their time of 35.156.  Vick Russell and Helen Landon Terranova’s Creed were third and Tamino and Christina Jason rounded out the top 4.

The final feature event of the weekend was the 2011 South Carolina Hunter Jumper Association’s Governor’s Cup Medal Finals which took place Sunday morning in the main hunter ring.  Riders and trainers were also treated to the annual Governor’s Cup breakfast as the Aiken Fall Festival also included a tribute to those that tragically lost their lives on the 10 year anniversary of 9/11.  The top 14 riders who had accumulated the most points in the SCHJA Governor’s Cup Medal throughout the 2011 year were invited to compete in the event.  The course designed by Joseph Carnicom consisted of a first round featuring forward lines, tight turns, and interesting jumps including split rail fencing, coops, and brush boxes. The top 10 riders were invited back for second flat phase and at the judge’s discretion they opted to bring back 4 riders for additional testing.  In the end, Allie Augustine, a 17 year old high school senior from Mount Pleasant, SC, took home top honors in the prestigious class.  Allie trains with Charles Hairfield of Seabrook Equestrian and received a custom cooler, Aiken Fall Festival plate, and her name engraved on the Governor’s Cup perpetual trophy.

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Allie Augustine

Equus Events and the Aiken Fall Festival would like to thank many of its dedicated sponsors for all of their support.  Champion winners this week received Fenwick Equestrian High Performance Scrim Sheets donated by Fenwick Equestrian.  Other major sponsors include: The Wilcox Hotel, Restaurant and Spa, Travinia Italian Kitchen, The Stables Restaurant at Rose Hill Estate, The Farmhouse, Integrity Fine Equestrian Linens, Dietrich and Company Insurance, Carolina Outdoors and Golf Cars, Dr. Juan Gamboa, Mrs. Pastures Horse Cookies, Finish Line Products, and Equi In Style, LLC.

The competition continues this week on Thursday, September 15th with a $5,000 Open Welcome Stake, Hunt Night on Friday, September 16th, and the $15,000 Aiken Fall Festival Jumper Classic on Saturday evening September 17th.  Equus Events welcomes the public to come and enjoy the show.  For complete horse show results or more information on next week’s events please go to www.equusevents.com or call 803-643-5698.

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