Tag Archives: jersey boy

Jersey Boy Named 2012 USEF National Horse of the Year

Jersey Boy was named the 2012 USEF Horse of the Year. Photo: Carrie Wirth/PMG

Buffalo, NY – January 21, 2013 – In a fitting end to a spectacular year, SBS Farms is pleased to announce that their leading mount Jersey Boy was named the 2012 USEF National Horse of the Year. During the USEF Annual Meeting, Jersey Boy was presented with the prestigious award after earning the admiration of voters with big wins and sustained successes. The impressive 11-year-old gelding’s accomplishments in the hunter ring are unparalleled.

The discipline of hunters is deeply rooted in tradition, and there are names that are synonymous with the sport that bring about thoughts of admiration, tradition and horsemanship. Jersey Boy is one those names, a horse that has become renowned in the hunter world, and a gem to his hometown of Buffalo, New York.

He’s been described as the “quintessential Derby horse” and his record proves it – ranked as the Highest Grossing Horse for Lifetime Earnings with an astounding $196,640 in earnings in 2012, recognized as the winner of the George H. Morris Perpetual Trophy for three consecutive years and honored as the 2011 National Show Hunter Hall of Fame Horse of the Year, as decided by the most prestigious professionals of the equestrian sport.

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Flexible, Jersey Boy Named 2012 USEF Horses of the Year

Flexible & Rich Fellers (Shannon Brinkman/USEF)

Louisville, KY – At the USEF Annual Meeting on Friday horses Flexible and Jersey Boy were named 2012 USEF International Horse of the Year and USEF National Horse of the Year respectively. These two winners, determined by a vote that was open to the public, were superstars of their disciplines in 2012 and earned the admiration of voters with big wins and sustained successes.

Flexible (Cruising x Flex)
1996 Irish Sport Horse Stallion
Owners: Harry and Mollie Chapman
Discipline – Show Jumping

He’s a little horse that wins big and in 2012 he won the hearts of fans all over the U.S. Flexible’s victories at U.S. Olympic Team observation events in Del Mar (the $50,000 Surfside Grand Prix and the $100,000 Hermes Grand Prix of Del Mar) and at Spruce Meadows (the $35,000 Husky Energy Cup and $200,000 CN Performance Grand Prix) never seemed in doubt and earned him a ticket to London where he and rider Rich Fellers led the U.S. Team. Their 8th place finish in the Olympic Individual Jumping competition made them the highest placing American pair, but it was a performance earlier in the year against Olympic Gold medalists Steve Guerdat and Nino des Buissonnets at the Rolex/FEI World Cup Jumping Finals that was the highlight of their 2012 campaign.

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SBS Farms Looks Forward to the Upcoming 2013 Show Year

Jennifer Alfano and Jersey Boy win the $100,000 USHJA International Hunter Derby Finals during the Bluegrass Festival Horse Show. Photo By: Kendall Bierer/Phelps Media Group

Buffalo, NY – January 1, 2013 – SBS Farms, Inc. exemplified the meaning of victorious during the 2012 year. The team took home top honors at the most prestigious horse shows and events across the nation, with Jennifer Alfano and Jersey Boy rising to the pinnacle of their career with their win at the 2012 USHJA International Hunter Derby Finals in Lexington, KY, in August. Trainer Susie Schoellkopf and professional rider Jennifer Alfano are now gearing up for the 2013 show season, where they will showcase their skills, and those of their students in the hunter and jumper venues.

Last year, Jennifer Alfano and Jersey Boy stole the spotlight during the final week of the Jacksonville Winter Series, held at the Clay County Fairgrounds in Green Cove Springs, FL. The pair rode to the top of the standings during the $25,000 USHJA International Hunter Derby at Jacksonville Winter A to Z. They also took the reserve championship in the High Performance Hunters. Alfano also showed Sharon O’Neill’s Rose Hill to the Second Year Green Working Hunter Championship.

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Remember to Cast Your Votes for the 2012 USEF Equestrian of the Year and Horse of the Year

Jennifer Alfano and Jersey Boy are nominated for the 2012 USEF Equestrian of the Year and Horse of the Year awards. Photo By: Hunter Messineo

Buffalo, NY – December 27, 2012 – Time is running out to vote for the 2012 USEF Horse of the Year Award and the 2012 USEF Equestrian of the Year Award. Voting will run through midnight (EAT) January 7, 2013, with the champions claiming their crowns on January 18 during the 2013 USEF Annual Meeting as part of the 2012 USEF Awards Celebration.

To place your vote for Jennifer Alfano as the 2012 USEF Equestrian of the Year, please visit http://www.usef.org/_IFrames/eoty/. To place your vote for Jersey Boy as the 2012 USEF Horse of the Year, please visit http://www.usef.org/_IFrames/hoty/ and type in your email address to access the voting portal.

This is the first year that Alfano has received the coveted Emerson Burr Trophy, as well as had the honor to claim a place among the eight nominated athletes of the equestrian sport. As a two-time World Champion Hunter Rider in 1996 and 1997, Alfano has nabbed the coveted Leading Hunter Rider Award at the Pennsylvania National Horse Show, the National Horse Show and the Ocala HITS winter circuit. She was the Top Grossing Rider with over $400,000 in earnings in 2010, and currently sits second in the USHJA Lifetime Rider Standings with an astounding $299,650 earned in International Hunter Derby winnings, with $70,000 earned in the 2012 year alone. The National Show Hunter Hall of Fame voted Alfano 2009 and 2011 Hunter Rider of the Year.

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Jennifer Alfano Nominated as 2012 USEF Equestrian of the Year

Jersey Boy Nominated for 2012 USEF Horse of the Year

Jennifer Alfano and Jersey Boy are nominated for the 2012 USEF Equestrian of the Year and Horse of the Year awards. Photo By: SportFot

Buffalo, NY – December 14, 2012 – Professional hunter rider Jennifer Alfano and the stunning Hanoverian gelding Jersey Boy have become household names in the hunter industry over the years. With their recent victory during the 2012 $100,000 USHJA International Hunter Derby Finals – a feat which had eluded the pair in their lengthy list of accolades – it is no wonder that the dynamic duo has been nominated for the 2012 USEF Equestrian of the Year Award and the 2012 USEF Horse of the Year Award. Voting will run through midnight (EAT) January 7, 2013, with the champions claiming their crowns on January 18 during the 2013 USEF Annual Meeting as part of the 2012 USEF Awards Celebration.

This is the first year that Alfano has received the coveted Emerson Burr Trophy, as well as had the honor to claim a place among the eight nominated athletes of the equestrian sport. Alfano is no newcomer to the honor of awards in the hunter ring, consistently proving herself as the crème de la crème of the hunter industry.

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National Show Hunter Hall of Fame Names Jennifer Alfano Rider of the Year

Jennifer Alfano was presented with Rider of the Year and her top mount Jersey Boy was presented with the High Performance Hunter Horse of the Year and Overall Horse of the Year during the National Show Hunter Hall of Fame. Photo Credit: SportFot

Buffalo, NY – May 31, 2012 – The National Show Hunter Hall of Fame awarded numerous honors last night at their annual dinner held at the Merion Cricket Club in Haverford, PA, but it was SBS Farms, Inc. who truly shined. Jennifer Alfano was named Hunter Rider of the Year, and her top mount Jersey Boy was named High Performance Horse of the Year and Hunter Horse of the Year.

The NSHHF continues to foster the appreciation of the sport through the establishment and maintenance of esteemed awards. The winners of the yearly and overall awards are carefully selected by the vote of trainers who have had champions in the divisions at the shows that have been nominated for the Hall of Fame Horse Show of the Year award. The committee was pleased to honor Alfano with the overall Rider of the Year award, as well as the Horse of the Year Award for three-time winner, Jersey Boy.

“We knew he was getting the High Performance Horse of the Year, but to hear them announce him as the Overall Horse of the Year was amazing. This is something that Jersey Boy definitely deserved for all of his hard work,” Alfano explained. “There are so many wonderful horses out there, and so many strong competitors in each of the divisions, for him to have won this award is fantastic.”

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Jacksonville Winter Series – Hunter Derby Jan. 14, 2012

Jennifer Alfano on Jersey Boy © Teri Rehkopf, HorsesintheSouth.com

I finally got to see an indoor hunter derby under the lights at the huge covered arena at the Clay County Agricultural Center in Green Cove Springs, FL (just south of Jacksonville) at the annual Jacksonville Winter Series.  I missed it last year due to other commitments I had, but made it to the USHJA $25,000 International Hunter Derby this year. Read more about the derby and the Jax Winter Series here.

Every year I get to see the  hunter classes and the grand prix jumping, but I haven’t seen a hunter derby other than what I can see online. I was really cool and not what I expected – a lot faster! Hard to shoot pictures and figure out a good spot to be in, but I got a few good shots anyway.

I was really great to see some of the hunter riders here that we put articles online about. It’s amazing that some of these riders can do so many different horses all in one class, too! Kelly Farmer rode 6 horses; Jennifer Alfano, who won the class on Jersey Boy, rode 4 horses; Liza Boyd rode 2 horses. Talk about being in shape – what athletes these women are. They are all winners in my eyes, including the 15 year old young lady that rode!

As usual, the North Florida Hunter Jumper Association put on a great dinner before the show with viewing access to the whole ring. I will definitely be making it to the next hunter derby that we have in close proximity.

Kelly Farmer on Bases Loaded © Teri Rehkopf, HorsesintheSouth.com

We are overwhelmed with shows in our area and I wish I could go see them all. On my list next is to go to a combined driving show. Here’s hoping we have good weather since these aren’t in a nice covered arena. I have been shooting pictures in the covered arena during a rain with the wind blowing hard and gotten slightly wet and cold. That’s no fun, lol. We Floridians aren’t used to the cold. It went from 21 degrees in the morning 2 days ago back up to 78 degrees today!

This weekend is my dressage club’s schooling show and it’s supposed to rain. We desperately need the rain here as we are so dry and my pastures need it, but can’t it be when it’s not the day of a show?