Category Archives: Hunter/Equitation

Charleston Summer Classics – Hunters Rule Finale Week

Julie Curtin and Vince Win $2500 USHJA National Hunter Classic; Paige Parker Dubbed Most Supreme Pony Kahuna Champion

Julie Curtin & Vince ©Flashpoint Photography

Johns Island, SC — July 24, 2011 — The final week of the Charleston Summer Classics held at Mullet Hall Equestrian Center was much like an adventure packed vacation itinerary. One moment you’re enjoying the sport with friendly competitive rivals, then shopping together for the social gatherings.

This was also the week where the Wee Warriors of the Pony divisions battled for the coveted titles of Grand Pony Kahuna and the glory of being named Most Supreme Pony Kahuna. “I started the Kahuna competition as a fun method for our pony riders to prepare for the USEF Pony Finals, the scoring uses the same numerical judging system with daily accumulated points moving forward to their respective division Classic rounds. We award a Supreme Grand Kahuna in each of the six divisions and an overall Most Supreme Grand Kahuna Champion. The prizes are nice – Essex Classic Shirts, custom Cooler, featured in an Ad – but the best reward is the knowledge and experience they can take into Pony Finals,” Classic Company president Bob Bell said.

The 2011 Most Supreme Grand Pony Kahuna is Paige Parker partnered with Champlain Sovereign, owned by The Hill Farm. This marked Paige’s second occasion as top Pony Kahuna having won the title in 2009 with Cherrybrook Skye Blue.

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HITS Culpeper July Wrap-Up

Rave reviews for new Grand Prix footing, riders use Culpeper as their stepping-stone to qualify for the Pfizer Million and Diamond Mills Hunter Prix Final, while sponsors Pfizer Animal Health and Purina Mills enjoy some southern hospitality

© ESI Photography. Kevin Babington and Mark Q on course in the $40,000 Strongid C 2X Grand Prix.

CULPEPER, VA (July 22, 2011) – HITS Culpeper enjoyed two strong weeks of competition during its July shows – the Showday National and the Cavalier Classic – with higher than expected entries as exhibitors flocked to Culpeper, Virginia from all corners of the country. An action-packed schedule, which included two more qualifiers each for the Pfizer $1 Million Grand Prix and Diamond Mills $500,000 Hunter Prix Final, along with new Grand Prix footing, made Culpeper a “must show” for many exhibitors looking to punch their ticket to this year’s Grand Finale in September.

The Showday National opened up the two-week series and was the first opportunity riders had to test out the newly resurfaced Grand Prix ring. “I thought the footing was excellent and the horses all jumped well,” said Ramiro Quintana of West Palm Beach, Florida who, aboard November Hill Farm’s Versace, captured the $1,000 Level 6 Morningside Training Farm Jumpers during the Showday National. “With all the improvements that are being made in Culpeper I am sure it will once again be considered one of the top destinations in American show jumping.”

Culpeper catches Pfizer Million fever
During the Showday National, Kevin Babington of Gwynedd Valley, Pennsylvania wasted no time at all getting comfortable with the new Grand Prix footing when he rode his own Mark Q to the blue in the $40,000 Strongid C 2X Grand Prix, presented by Pfizer Animal Health, and picked up his second of eight Grand Prix needed to become eligible for the Pfizer Million. Silvio Mazzoni of Leesburg, Virginia was all business on Sunday when he won the $40,000 Purina Mills Grand Prix, presented by Pfizer Animal Health, during the Cavalier Classic aboard his own Remonta Habano, which propelled him into the top 10 of the Pfizer Million Rider Rankings with more than $26,000 in prize money.

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$20,000 USHJA Hunter Derby Brings Tradition, Excitement to Grand Prix Ring at Horse Shows by the Bay

Kelley Farmer and Clearly. Photo Credit: Katie Anich/PMG

Traverse City, MI – July 22, 2011 – With few clouds in the sky and a light breeze, it was a lovely afternoon for the $20,000 USHJA International Hunter Derby at Horse Shows by the Bay Series III. The Flintfields Horse Park grounds were buzzing all day with excitement for the evening’s event, which challenged 21 entries with a traditional course in the Grand Prix ring. Kelley Farmer made a clean sweep of the top four spots on Clearly, Praise, Red Sky, and Bases Loaded. Amazingly, Farmer and her first three rides produced a three-way tie involving an overall high score of 387. Peter Pletcher smoothly jumped into the next three places on Copperfield, Primero, and Tell All, accumulating several highly impressive scores of his own. An enthusiastic crowd turned out for tonight’s derby, making the class a definite favorite among spectators and riders alike.

The event kicked off with an exhibitor party, generously sponsored by Outback Steakhouse of Traverse City, which featured great food, drinks, and conversation. The first horse took the course at 5:30pm, with high scores dominating the scene from the very start. Kelley Farmer and Bases Loaded hit a home run with a combined score of 180 in their first round. Bases Loaded is owned by Am Free, Inc. Peter Pletcher and Copperfield, who is owned by Jennifer Noski, also turned in a great early combined score of 171 in the first round. Carson Gibson and Caden, owned by Shadyside Farm, had a flowing first round that resulted in a solid 163 combined score. Farmer returned on Clearly, owned by Jane Gaston, to add a 185 combined score to her growing list of first round feats. Farmer’s highest first round score came on Red Sky, owned by Larry Glefke. A whopping 196 put Farmer in contention for a second derby win, but Pletcher was also a competitive presence in the Grand Prix ring tonight. On Tell All, owned by Susan Baker, Pletcher earned a 173.5, adding to the slew of stunning scores in the much-anticipated derby. Near the end of round one Farmer returned on Praise, owned by Selma Garber, and received plenty of praise for another high score of 191.

Continue reading $20,000 USHJA Hunter Derby Brings Tradition, Excitement to Grand Prix Ring at Horse Shows by the Bay

Kyle King and Ashley Jerome Tie in $25,000 Full Meal Deal Grand Prix

Ashley Jerome of Calgary, AB, and Santa Cruz tied for the win in the $25,000 Full Meal Deal Grand Prix held during the Mid Summer Classic II in Calgary, AB

Calgary, Alberta – Kyle King of Ocala, FL, and Ashley Jerome of Calgary, AB, tied to win the $25,000 Full Meal Deal Grand Prix held July 17 during the Mid Summer Classic II produced by Rocky Mountain Show Jumping at Anderson Ranch in Calgary, AB.

Run in a unique format, the $25,000 Full Meal Deal Grand Prix sees competitors jumping the exact same course set at four different heights – 1.10m, 1.15m, 1.20m and 1.30m.  All competitors, regardless of the height they were jumping, had the same time allowed to complete the course designed by Eric Hasbrouck.  Of the 67 entries that competed over the four divisions offered, a total of 20 jumped clear.

Working backwards for the jump-off, the 1.30m division went first.  Tami Masters was again clear in the jump-off in a time of 47.24 seconds riding Aurora to move into the lead.  King then jumped clear in the 1.20m division in a time of 47.09 to move to the top of the leader board.

In the 1.15m division, last year’s defending champion, Breanne McAllister of Calgary, AB, set a blistering fast pace with Zorro, stopping the clock in 44.48 seconds.  However, a rail down along the way left the 17-year-old in eighth position overall with the day’s fastest four fault jump-off effort.

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Margie Engle Beats Out 40 Starters to Take the Win in Friday’s $25,000 SmartPak Grand Prix at HITS-on-the-Hudson IV

© ESI Photography. Margie Engle and Ashland Farms' Lord Spezi on course in Friday's $25,000 SmartPak Grand Prix at HITS-on-the-Hudson.

SAUGERTIES, NEW YORK (July 23, 2011) — With competition taking place in 10 different show rings and more than 1,600 horses on the premises, the opening week of the HITS-on-the-Hudson summer series is going like gangbusters, proving that Saugerties, New York is the place to be this summer.

Olympian Margie Engle picked up right where she left off upon her return to HITS-on-the-Hudson when she piloted Ashland Farms’ Lord Spezi to an exciting victory in Friday’s $25,000 SmartPak Grand Prix, presented by Pfizer Animal Health. Engle and Lord Spezi had a very successful start to their season in Saugerties back in June when they won the $25,000 SmartPak Grand Prix and finished sixth together in the $100,000 Purina Mills Grand Prix during HITS-on-the-Hudson III.

“He [Lord Spezi] had the winter off and we showed together here Week III where we did really well together,” said Engle. “We’re back for the summer and looking to qualify for the [Pfizer] Million. He’s a funny horse, he has a cocky attitude, but in a good way. He knows when he does a good job. Sometimes, after a jump he’ll let out a little buck, showing off like ‘Wow! Look what I did’. He’s not a very big horse, but he has a very big personality.”

Friday’s win did not come easy for Engle as 39 other starters stood in her way at the outset of the class, including fellow Olympians McLain Ward, Peter Leone, Todd Minikus, Kevin Babington and Manuel Torres. International Course Designer Marina Azevedo of Brazil set a challenging course in the roomy Strongid C 2X Stadium that included a double combination early in the track, a water jump mid-way through the route and a triple combination at the second-to-last fence, which proved to be the downfall of many riders on the course.

Continue reading Margie Engle Beats Out 40 Starters to Take the Win in Friday’s $25,000 SmartPak Grand Prix at HITS-on-the-Hudson IV

Vichy & Alejandro Karolyi Victorious in $10,000 Open Jumper Welcome Prix

Alejandro Karolyi and Vichy. Photo Credit: Katie Anich/PMG

Traverse City, MI – July 22, 2011 – Today’s Feature Horse Shows by the Bay Jumper Event in the Grand Prix Ring wrapped up with Alejandro Karolyi emerging the victor on Vichy. Karolyi, who makes a return visit to Horse Shows by the Bay after attending the inaugural event in 2004, rode to the blue ribbon win for owner Torrey Pines Stable of Schonberg, Ontario, Canada.

The course, designed by Michel Vaillancourt, was held under Table II 2a/b which meant that once going clear, riders had the option of either jumping off immediately or coming back after the first round was held in its entirety. A total of seven went clear, with three staying in while the additional four returned after round number one.

Nick Novak, who eventually placed second, opted to stay in on Springfield Tennessee so it was this pair who jumped clear in a time of 36.783 that were the ones to beat for the riders who chose to return.

Karolyi and Vichy made quick use of the shortened track just beating out Novak to finish without fault in 35.675. “It was a nice course, Michel did a really great job,” noted Karolyi of his triumphant turn in today’s class. “There wasn’t a huge amount of clear rides, and I wish everyone had been able to make it to the jump-off, but the course still jumped super, and it was scopey enough, but with my horse everything came nicely. I think the triple combination was a little tough, but overall for us it was a nice ride. It was comfortable for my horse out there.”

Karolyi added, “It’s the first week I’m here, so it was my horse’s first turn in that ring. I’ve had her for five months now, since Florida. She started out as a bit of a speed horse, and she has come up to the grand prix level very nicely. Her biggest asset is that she is a really quick turner, so the jump-off was perfect for her because it was a turning jump-off in a lot of areas. She rolled back really fast to one jump, and then rolled back really fast to another, so we were in the clear.”

Continue reading Vichy & Alejandro Karolyi Victorious in $10,000 Open Jumper Welcome Prix

Performance and Conformation Hunters Have Red-Hot Day at Horse Shows by the Bay

Kelley Farmer and Clearly. Photo Credit: Katie Anich/PMG

Traverse City, MI – July 21, 2011 – With the weather hot and steamy today at Horse Shows by the Bay Series III, riders were literally rolling up their sleeves and getting down to business. Hunt coats were waived as the day progressed, adding visible intensity to the competition in the hunter rings. By day’s end, Peter Pletcher had earned the impressive Grand Performance Hunter title, blazing past the host of skilled equestrians entered in this week’s classes. Kelley Farmer continued to impress as well, sweeping the Conformation Hunter division with a scorching set of wins. Both the Performance Hunter and Conformation Hunter classes took place in the R. L. Polk Family main hunter ring at Flintfields Horse Park in Traverse City, MI.

With nine entries, the 3’6″ Performance Hunter division was bound to be both competitive and fun. Peter Pletcher and Sleepy P Ranch’s Primero earned the top honors with 31 points throughout the division. Primero and Pletcher have had a very successful time so far at Horse Shows by the Bay in the High Performance division. There was a tie for reserve champion this week in the 3’6″ Performance Hunters between Kara Roposa on Carentino, owned by Alexander Cooper, and Caroline Weeden on Condanas, owned by Lacey Gilbertson. Both horse and rider pairs earned a total of 16 points and with neither riding in the under saddle portion, they both had the same number of points over fences and were able to share the title.

Elizabeth Scoville and Bianca Buschor’s The New Yorker also had impressive rounds in 3’3″ Performance Hunters, taking home second place in both over fences classes today. When talking about her rides today, she said, “I think practice makes perfect, but perfect practices makes perfect. The New Yorker is a young, very inexperienced horse that actually has a little bit of mileage in the jumpers. We’ve been doing these types of hunter courses to give him the mileage that he needs, and what’s been really exciting here has been to see him understand his new job. Like now, for instance, to see him standing so calmly here at the ring, waiting for the jog and practically falling asleep, is so great because previously, he would start to get anxious when it was jump-off time. He’s been very excited here so far, we’ve been doing the greens and the performance hunters, and we just keep going back in until we get it right, and we got it right this afternoon.”

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Page Tredennick’s Splash Wins $5,000 USHJA National Hunter Derby

Page Tredennick's Splash took home the blue ribbon in the $5,000 USHJA National Hunter Derby sponsored by Nutrena. Photo credit: Flying Horse Photography

Jackson Brittan Finishes 1st and 2nd in the $5,000 Pony Hunter Derby

Parker, CO — Because the popularity of the hunter derby continues to grow, an entire day was devoted to this event during the final week of the Colorado Summer Circuit. From the ponies to the high performance horses, there was a big money derby in each division. The day was punctuated with the popular Pink Coat Luncheon sponsored by Littleton Equine Medical Center and produced by Foxfire Farm, as well as an end of day exhibitor’s party.

$5,000 USHJA National Hunter Derby Sponsored by Nutrena
Thirty-three horses competed in the $5,000 USHJA National Hunter Derby sponsored by Nutrena during The Colorado Horse Park’s Derby Day. Riders found a flowing course that utilized the hilly terrain of the large derby field at the park.

Emily Hertz rode Page Tredennick’s Splash to the win in the two-round class. The nine-year-old Dutch Warmblood/Thoroughbred gelding had only competed in one non-rated Derby prior to today’s class. “He really rose to the occasion,” Tredennick said. “He’s a ham — a sweet, sweet horse.”

While Splash may have wondered what he was doing in the large arena with long, flowing distances to the heavily decorated fences, he quickly got down to the business of showcasing his quality jump and beautiful canter. Hertz explained, “I thought he was perfect in the handy round; I couldn’t have asked him to be any better.”

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Silvio Mazzoni and Remonta Habano Capture the $40,000 Purina Mills Grand Prix, Presented by Pfizer Animal Health, at HITS Culpeper Week III

© ESI Photography. Silvio Mazzoni rides to victory aboard his own Remonta Habano in Sunday's $40,000 Purina Mills Grand Prix at HITS Culpeper.

CULPEPER, VA (July 19, 2011) – Silvio Mazzoni of Leesburg, Virginia and his own Remonta Habano captured their second Grand Prix victory at HITS this year by winning Sunday’s $40,000 Purina Mills Grand Prix, presented by Pfizer Animal Health, at HITS Culpeper. The duo also won the blue in the $25,000 SmartPak Grand Prix, presented by Pfizer Animal Health, at the Ocala Winter Classic this winter.

Prior to the start of Sunday’s main event, the Topaz Vaulters, an equine gymnastics spectacle, gave a special performance to kick off an afternoon of show jumping. Course designer Jose “Pepe” Gamarra of Ellenton, Florida made the $40,000 class his debut at HITS Commonwealth Park. His first round saw seven horse-and-rider combinations go clear and then return for the jump-off.

“The course was great,” said Mazzoni, who gained momentum for Sunday’s victory after a fourth-place finish in Friday’s $15,000 Brook Ledge Open Jumper Prix with Remonta Habano. “It was a very technical track, which asked a lot of the right questions.”

First to return in the jump-off was Alexa Lowe of Upperville, Virginia aboard Windsor Farm Sales’ Amicello. The team wasted no time in setting the Great American Time to Beat at 45.306 seconds with a clear effort.

Mazzoni followed and easily took the lead with a blistering time of 39.741 seconds.

Continue reading Silvio Mazzoni and Remonta Habano Capture the $40,000 Purina Mills Grand Prix, Presented by Pfizer Animal Health, at HITS Culpeper Week III

John Pearce Victorious in the $40,000 Griffis Apartment Funds Grand Prix

Small Affair Dominates the Hunters in Week Five at the Colorado Summer Circuit

Small Affair, shown here with John French, dominated week five of the Colorado Summer Circuit with two championships and two classic wins. Photo credit: Flying Horse Photography

Parker, CO — Have you jumped at a mile high? If not, you are missing one of the most talked about horse shows of the year. With its expanded six-week schedule, The Colorado Horse Park has been the summer vacation spot with big money for both hunters and jumpers. Of course, this show is also about the parties, including the Friday Afternoon Club at A Bit of Tack, sponsored this week by Arenus, and an exhibitor party that rocked for hours after the Grand Prix.

Week five of the Colorado Summer Circuit was highlighted by the $40,000 Griffis Apartment Funds Grand Prix. Twenty-nine entries contested the course designed by Dave Ballard. Among the trouble spots was the triple combination into the crowd, with a related distance to the Griffis Group jump, the final obstacle on the course. Maggie Jayne, Elgin, IL, who had four rides in the class, reflected, “I thought it was a nice, challenging course.”

John Pearce had no difficulty with the first round, qualifying both of his rides, Son of a Gun and Chianto, for the jump-off. Karen Cudmore also qualified two horses and Jayne, rode Thomas Edison to a perfect first round to join the World Equestrian Games veterans in the second round.

Karen Cudmore and Southern Pride were first to return. As always, the perennial winner gave the audience a thrill. The 1998 Holsteiner stallion cut an impressive figure, but he lowered the last fence in a time of 33.892.  Pearce and Son of a Gun were next. Although they had won last week’s $30,000 Grand Prix Presented by Nutrena, this week they too were foiled by the last jump. Although the pair’s time of 31.973 gave the rest of the class something to aim for.

Continue reading John Pearce Victorious in the $40,000 Griffis Apartment Funds Grand Prix