• Save

Hunt Tosh and Bordeaux Lead First Day of USHJA Green Hunter Incentive Championships

Hunt Tosh and Bordeaux. Photo by Shawn McMillen Photography.

Lexington, Ky. – Aug. 14, 2018 – The 2018 Platinum Performance/USHJA Green Hunter Incentive Championships brought 145 hopeful entries to the Walnut Ring at the Kentucky Horse Park, with Tuesday’s round of competition serving as the first of three phases for the 3’ and 3’3” exhibitors. A former overall champion in the event, Hunt Tosh navigated Douglas Wheeler’s Bordeaux to a masterful trip to capture the early lead ahead of the lofty field, ultimately capturing the blue ribbon and the lion’s share of the day’s prize money.

Riding 62nd in the order of go as one of the final horse-and-athlete pairs at the 3’ height, Tosh and Bordeaux were chasing Christopher Payne and Moore Park, owned by Still Water Farm, LLC, as the early front runners with cumulative marks of 259.50 from the three panels of judges. Course designer Bobby Murphy presented a 9-fence track to competitors that offered two obstacles from which to choose as fence one, and the pattern proved to lend itself nicely to Tosh and the 4-year-old chestnut gelding as they pulled in impressive scores from the watchful eyes of the judges. The pair earned a total 272 points to catapult to the lead almost halfway through the class.

More than 80 partners would take their turns around the ring in an attempt to usurp Tosh and Bordeaux as the leaders but, though a handful earned scores that broke the 260-point threshold, none would prove successful. Tosh and Bordeaux finished the afternoon as the only pair to break 270 points.

No stranger to the winner’s circle, Tosh is a veteran rider in the Platinum Performance/USHJA Green Hunter Incentive Championships and won the inaugural event in 2013 aboard both Crisp and Casanova, tying himself for the top honors. This year, Bordeaux was the third of Tosh’s five rides of the day, four of which placed within the top 50 in Tuesday’s rankings. As if Tosh’s performance with Bordeaux was not impressive enough, the fact that the horse is only 4 years old certainly adds to their feat. The chestnut Warmblood only just entered his first horse show past winter in Florida, and is already on a fast track to accruing plenty of accolades. Though the horse has little experience, Tosh credits his quiet and brave demeanor as a factor of their win and will try to take advantage of the horse’s natural ability when they return to the ring Wednesday.

Courtney Lenkart and Lori Mathews’ Alisto nabbed the reserve spot with impressive marks of 268, followed by Patricia Griffith and Callie Seaman’s Endeavor in third position with 263.50 points. Three-time champion Scott Stewart and Samantha Schaefer, with the reins on Rivers Edge’s Everwonder and Take 3 LLC’s Trademark, respectively, are tied in the subsequent two slots with 263 points apiece.

Contact: Rebecca Walton
phone 561.753.3389 fax 561.753.3386
rjw@phelpsmediagroup.com

Leave a Reply