Nancy Hooker and Corianos Boy. Photos © The Book LLC.
Devon, PA – May 26, 2014 – The 2014 Devon Horse Show & Country Fair continued with its fifth day of competition on Monday featuring a win for Nancy Hooker of Wellington, FL in the $7,500 NAL Adult Amateur Jumper Classic aboard Heather Hooker’s Corianos Boy. Alissa Kinsey of Danville, NH took home the division’s overall championship after back to back wins on Sunday and Monday afternoon with Grisset. Showcasing the best horses and riders in the country, the Devon Horse Show hosts 11 days of top-tier competition across multiple breeds and disciplines in Devon, PA through Sunday, June 1.
Monday evening’s feature competition was the $7,500 NAL Adult Amateur Jumper Classic, sponsored by The Capital Grille King of Prussia, with 20 entries competing over a course set by Olaf Petersen, Jr. of Germany. Showing under the bright lights of the famous Dixon Oval, nine entries advanced to the tie-breaking jump-off, and four cleared the short course without fault. First to jump off, Nancy Hooker and Corianos Boy set an unbeatable pace in 32.24 seconds for the win.
Lynn Seithel and Midori finished second in 32.83 seconds. Wendy Chapot Nunn and Chado Farms’ Face Value placed third in 35.01 seconds, and Katie Carson and Aburhal earned fourth place honors with a time of 35.70 seconds.
“I knew I was beatable,” Hooker said of her lead-off round over the short course. “I left the door open a little bit, and there were some real competitors out there tonight. It was nerve-wracking to go first and hope. When I was getting ready for the jump-off I said, ‘Well, I am just going to have to make everybody chase me and hope they make a mistake.’ That’s what happened to a few people. I was hoping it would hold up, but you never know. I was on pins and needles.”
“I was going to stay on my horse and just stay in the schooling area, but my trainer made me come up and watch,” Hooker noted. “Ken Berkley helps me with the jumpers. He was very excited. All winter long he has been after me to ride for the win. He really takes his job seriously, and it was so rewarding to have him be almost more excited that I was. It is a real accomplishment for him too, to have us all do well.”
Although Hooker has shown at Devon in the hunters and won a class in the Amateur-Owner Hunter division in 2013, this was her first time competing at the show in the jumpers. Corianos Boy, a 12-year-old Holsteiner gelding (Coriano x Martel), is a new mount owned by her daughter, Heather, who is away at college.
“It was my daughter’s horse and she showed it here in the High Junior Jumper Classic a few years ago,” Hooker detailed. “She has gone away to college, so I stole him. I am wearing her clothes and riding her horse. She’ll be here Thursday and Friday showing in the Amateur-Owner Jumpers on her other horse. I started riding this one in Florida. It’s a team effort. He lives at home with me, and I take care of him every day. I took care of him when she rode him, so he has been my baby for a few years.”
“He was kind of without a job, so I thought, ‘Let’s try it,’” Hooker continued. “Everybody kind of doubted whether or not we would get along and what would happen, and we are really just starting to click. He has a very powerful jump. He jumps way high and cracks his back. He’s a little difficult to stay with, but we are starting to build some confidence in each other and it is really showing in our performances the last month or two. We have had better and better results in the ring.”
The Adult Amateur Jumpers showed in two classes on Monday, with a win for Alissa Kinsey and Grisset in the afternoon class, sponsored by A. J. Blosenski. Fifteen entries showed over the speed course with eight clear rounds. Kinsey and Grisset jumped the fastest round in 51.97 seconds. Lucy Mitchell-Innes and Casey Curtis’s Riley II finished second in 52.78 seconds, and Charlene Graham guided Capricette to this place honors in 52.83 seconds.
Kinsey and Grisset also won the division’s opening class on Sunday to accrue the most points overall and earn the Adult Amateur Jumper Championship along with The Judy Hill Groves Memorial Challenge Trophy. Hooker and Corianos Boy were the reserve champions.
Driving classes were also held on Monday. The Horse Pairs Championship went to the Werry Phaeton, owned by Mr. & Mrs. Glenn A. Werry Jr., and driven by Glenn A. Werry, Jr. The Single/Pair Pony Driving Championship was awarded to the Koehler Gig, owned by Lisa Koehler, and driven by Nicole Cable.
The 2014 Devon Horse Show will continue on Tuesday with the presentation of championship honors in the First Year, Second Year, and Green Conformation Hunter divisions. The High Performance Hunters, Regular Conformation Hunters, and Open Jumpers will also compete in their first day of competition. For full results, please visit www.devonhorseshow.org.
For those unable to attend the Devon Horse Show in person, the Dixon Oval is being live streamed live streamed at www.usefnetwork.com.
Shownet will be shooting individual video clips for purchase through the website www.shownet.biz of both the Dixon Oval and Gold Ring. If you have any questions, please contact info@shownet.biz or ask for Tony in the exhibitor lounge at the side gate.
Lauren Fisher for Jennifer Wood Media, Inc.
Jennifer Wood Media, Inc.
Equestrian Public Relations
info@jenniferwoodmedia.com