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Summer in the Rockies III Junior Hunter Championship Up for Grabs

Marnina Seller and Levitation.

Parker, CO – June 21, 2013 – The first day of Junior Hunter competition at Summer in the Rockies III set up perfectly for an exciting showdown on Saturday, as three different competitors each won a class to put themselves within reach of the championship. Marnina Seller and Levitation won over fences, Emily Ryan and Parrot Bay scored in the handy, and Amanda Hauser and Calido’s Son took first place under saddle after finishing second to Seller and Ryan in the earlier classes.

Seller and Levitation led off the division with a blue ribbon over fences. “He felt really good,” Seller said. “I did a warm-up before, which made him not spooky at the other jumps. He was really good at the first jump. The second jump he backed off a little bit. The five-stride was good, the seven was really good and I felt the two was one of my best twos I’ve ever done on him. And he ended up first!”

Seller said Levitation’s background as an equitation horse – the pair also competed in the ASPCA Maclay qualifier – helps with his rideability. “He stays consistent and makes riding to jumps easy,” she explained. “He’s not bouncy, so you can tell the distance really well.”

Seller, who trains with Laurie Jueneman, said she enjoys coming to the Colorado Horse Park for a change of scene and a chance to socialize. “I like being able to see my friends from down here and to have kind of a second life, since I live in Vail,” she said. She competes primarily around Colorado at the Horse Park, Colorado Springs, and Estes Park.

Going into Saturday’s final Junior Hunter classes, she hopes to build off Friday’s good performance. “I want to stay consistent,” she said. She plans to school over higher fences before the class to encourage Levitation to levitate just a bit more and pick up his feet. In the longer term, Seller has her sights set on Maclay Finals. She just moved up to 3’6″ this year and wants to do her best with the new challenge.

Emily Ryan and Parrot Bay
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Emily Ryan and Parrot Bay

Emily Ryan and Parrot Bay took third place behind Seller and Hauser in the first class and then improved in the handy to notch the win. “I thought the courses were good, especially in the handy,” Ryan said. “The handy was stronger than the first round, that’s for sure. My horse kind of covered up my mistake in the first round. He was good.”

Parrot Bay changed disciplines after Ryan bought him and is thriving in his new home in the hunter ring. “I bought him as a jumper/equitation horse, but he’s just so slow and pretty that we put him in the hunter ring, and he loves it,” Ryan said. “So he’s super, super handy, he’s really easy to turn, and he has a really nice pace to him.”

He made a smooth transition to the hunters and seems to enjoy the more relaxed pace. “I need to kick that horse to go forward!” Ryan laughed. “He’s very lazy. So now he’s a nice little hunter horse who does some equitation classes.”

“He has a really good presence to him,” she added. “He’s always happy – I’ve never seen his ears back. He’s extremely happy. He’s really soft and he’s really fluid. He can cover mistakes really well.”

Ryan is aiming for Sunday’s $15,000 USHJA International Derby. While nervous to be stepping up to that level for the first time, Ryan is confident in her horse. “I’m excited because it’s my first big derby and also his,” she said. “He’s obviously jumped bigger, but I haven’t. I’m a little nervous about the 4′ options, but I know he’ll be fine. He’s a good boy.”

Sitting just behind Seller and Ryan in the first two classes was Amanda Hauser, whose consistent rounds over fences and subsequent win in the under saddle class suggest she will be a top contender on Saturday. She noted a couple of areas from each round that she hopes to improve upon with Calido’s Son.

“At the beginning of the first round, I didn’t get his canter quite up, but after that he helped me out and moved up with me for the rest of the round better at the canter,” she said. “And then he used to do jumpers a while back, so when I did a couple of those shorter turns in the second round, he went into jumper mode a bit.”

“But he’s usually pretty good about coming back to you – he’s kind of lazy,” she added. “So one second he’s like, ‘Oh, yay, turns!’ and the next second he’s like, ‘I’m good.'”

Hauser, who trains with Heidi Hildebrand, also competes in the Modified Junior Jumpers. She and Hildebrand shared the ride on Calido’s Son to claim a recent championship in the Performance Working Hunter 3’3″ division at Summer in the Rockies II. Hauser is now on the hunt for her own championship when the Junior Hunters continue Saturday.

Isabel Johnson and Seraldo
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Isabel Johnson and Seraldo

In the ASPCA Maclay qualifier, Isabel Johnson’s practice paid off to land her the win on All Seasons Farm’s Seraldo. “The course was a lot of bending and turning and he’s a really stiff horse,” she said. “We actually spent a lot of time practicing our shape. I was glad it all came together. It turned out to be a really good course for me, so it was fun.”

Johnson and Seraldo navigated the twists and turns of the Scott Starnes-designed course with ease, putting together a smooth round. Johnson identified a tight rollback after the second jump leading into a five-stride line as the biggest challenge going into the course, but she put together a plan and made it work for her. “I went inside and it worked out really well,” she said.

Johnson, who trains with Paul Rohrbach and Corky Shaha at Wells Bridge Farm in Parker, is making a successful debut in the equitation ring this year. “This is my last year as a junior, but it’s my first year doing the equitation,” she said. “I’ve never had an eq horse. So our goal was just to qualify for the finals, and we are. It’s good to do that this early in the season. I hope to just keep getting better and have a good last year and do well at finals.”

Seraldo has proven to be a valuable equitation partner for Johnson. “He’s great,” she said. “He’s so rideable and adjustable. He’s really good at leaving right from the base and jumping well from there, so I can get him up the lines. He’s great in technical courses because he’s so easy to get forward and back.”

Junior riders also competed in a two-part qualifier for the Washington International Horse Show Equitation Finals. Riders began with the Washington Jumper Phase and then moved on to the Washington Hunter Phase. Elizabeth Adelson rode Bull Run’s Rubicon, owned by Four Fillies LLC, to the Jumper Phase win, while the Hunter Phase went to Alessandra Sozzi and Zygo. Kelli Cruciotti and Monterrey proved most consistent throughout both classes, picking up second in the Jumper Phase and third in the Hunter Phase en route to the overall victory.

Along with the conclusion of the Junior Hunters, Saturday at Summer in the Rockies III will feature the 3’6″ and 3’3″ Amateur Owner Hunters. Show jumping will be in the spotlight on Saturday with the afternoon’s $30,000 Summer in the Rockies Grand Prix, while the hunters take center stage on Sunday for the $15,000 USHJA International Derby, $5,000 USHJA National Derby and $2,500 CHP Pony Hunter Derby.

The Colorado Horse Park Summer in the Rockies Fast Facts

What: Summer in the Rockies AA-Rated Hunter Jumper Show Series

Event Dates:

Summer in the Rockies I June 5-9, 2013
Summer in the Rockies II June 12-16, 2013
Summer in the Rockies III June 19-23, 2013
Summer in the Rockies IV July 3-7, 2013
Summer in the Rockies V July 10-14, 2013
Summer in the Rockies VI July 17-21, 2013

Prize List:

Click here for an online version of the prize list. For a hard copy of the prize list, please e-mail prizelist@cohorsepark.com with your name, address and phone number and specify which prize list you would like (spring/fall or summer).

Entries:

Mail to The Colorado Horse Park, 7522 South Pinery Drive, Parker, CO 80134 or fax to (303) 841-7879. Opening date for Stall Reservations: April 1, 2013. Closing date May 20, 2013.

Contact Information:

Pat Boyle, Show Manager                          (847) 274-6834
Brian Curry, Show Manager                        (303) 918-2908
Show Office                                                 (303) 841-7461
Show Office Fax                                          (303) 841-1419
Colorado Horse Park Main Office                (303) 841-5550
Colorado Horse Park Main Office Fax         (303) 841-7879

Tentative Schedule:
Wed – Sun: Show starts daily at 8 a.m. unless otherwise noted

Directions:

Address: 7375 E Bayou Gulch Rd, Parker, CO 80134

From North: I-25S exit Ridgegate Parkway – go east under the freeway.  Ridgegate Parkway to S. Chambers Road, approx 3 miles (Traffic light) – turn right/south onto Chambers Road. At end of Chambers Road turn left/east onto Hess Road.  Hess Road to Parker Road/Hwy 83 – turn right/south onto Hwy 83 approx 4 miles to Bayou Gulch Road. (Traffic light). Follow signs to Colorado Horse Park.

From South: I-25N, exit Founder’s Parkway.  Founder’s Parkway to Highway 86, approx 4 miles (traffic light). Turn east/left onto Hwy. 86 to Franktown/Hwy 83. At Franktown go north on 83 approx. 7 mi. to Bayou Gulch Rd. (Traffic light), turn right/east onto Bayou Gulch Rd. Follow signs to Colorado Horse Park.

About the Colorado Horse Park

Celebrating its 20th Anniversary, the Colorado Horse Park was founded by visionary Helen Krieble who acknowledged the need for a high-volume horse show and horse boarding facility to serve Colorado.  The Colorado Horse Park welcomes more than 75,000 visitors per year and hosts over 40 competitions annually.  CHP features a derby arena designed by Olympic-designer Linda Allen and a cross-country course designed by Olympic Gold Medalist David O’Connor and eventing super-star James Atkinson. There are 300 permanent stalls with capacity for more than 1,000 stalls.

The picturesque property, located only minutes from the town of Parker, hosts international equestrian events in multiple disciplines. Visitors enjoy the beautiful Colorado Rocky Mountain surroundings and access to miles of trails and open space.  The Colorado Horse Park is committed to supporting equestrian education and amateur athletics, preserving open space, fundraising for local charities and supporting the community.

Mary Adelaide Brakenridge for Phelps Media Group, Inc. International

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