Showcasing Young Talent: 2009 USEF National Junior Hunter Championships – West Coast

By Jackie McFarland

Over 40 juniors from various West Coast locales hunted their horses around the beautifully decorated courses this past Tuesday and Wednesday. In a unique setting where no trainer or rider has to rush off to another show arena, this collective group of top equestrians started their day with a special breakfast and ended it with a lovely reception hosted by Karen Healey Stables and Brookway Stables-Archie Cox.

The Handy Hunter phase began just before noon, with the Small Juniors in the older age group going first. Where last year the handy course took too much of a toll on horses, with spooky elements that caused refusals and even elimination, this hunter-friendly course had jumps made of shrubs and flowers, a natural post and rail, a trot jump and a hay bale bounce. In the younger division of small junior hunters Whitney Downs and Coffee Talk, trained by John Bragg, went flawlessly from start to finish. Picking a perfect pace and jumping each fence out of that gorgeous forward rhythm, the horse’s expression never changed and with scores of 86, 86 and 87 from the judges it was the trip that couldn’t be beat. The Under Saddle phase concluded Tuesday’s competition. It is notable that the top three scores after day one were all small junior hunters exhibited by younger riders.

Wednesday was both the start of the horse show and the completion of the Junior Hunter Championships. The final classic round went in the afternoon after the open horses competed. Starting with the large junior hunters, it was Small Town (Iwasaki & Reilly, owners) ridden by Caroline Ingalls that laid down the trip of the day, receiving scores of 86, 88 and 88. When it came time for the last division of the day, the top three younger small juniors had yet to show.

One important lesson of horse showing is to take the highs with the lows and both Corrine Miller and Whitney Downs deserve sportsmanship awards for their final round performances. Sitting second and first respectively, both of these young girls encountered unexpected spooks and dealt with them like champs. Corrine’s young mare Lucille peeked and jumped sideways as she cantered down to the first jump, which was a bit shadowy, and although she jumped it her scores certainly reflected the trouble. Whitney and Coffee Talk were once again having a trip for the history books, when heading to the last line her horse stiffened and spooked, forcing her to circle. With the horse still a bit startled, she had to ride him through the spook when making her second approach. Both girls rode well and dealt with the disappointment in a mature manner.

As the 2009 USEF Junior Hunter Championships on the West Coast came to a close Wednesday evening, four perpetual trophies were awarded and the overall Reserve Grand Champion and Grand Champion were presented with coolers and trophies. This is a special event that we hope continues to get more and more recognition in years to come. For more on the USEF, click here

And the Perpetual Trophy Winners are…

Huntover Farm Perpetual TrophyChampion in the Small, 15 & under
Breckenridge & Hannah Von Heidegger

Shalanno Farm Perpetual TrophyChampion in the Large, 15 & under
Peter Rabbit & Kilian McGrath

Rivers Edge Perpetual TrophyChampion in the Small, 16-17
Pringle & Amber Henter for Ashley Pryde

Magic Word Perpetual TrophyChampion in the Large, 16-17
Small Town & Caroline Ingalls for Iwasaki & Reilly

 

EquestriSol News: May 9, 2008

Available now in Hunter Jumper Magazine, with Pegasus client Catherine Tracy & Ghostrider on the cover, are new ads for Bay Rose and Fremont Hills and don’t miss Blue Ribbon Law, your equine law connection.

Upcoming ads include a nice series for Waldenbrook Farm as well as for Pegasus Show Stable in Show Biz Magazine. We just submitted ads for the Menlo Charity Horse Show Program, one of our top West Coast boutique shows. Look for these generous sponsors: Blue Ribbon Law, Round Meadow Farm, Pegasus Show Stable, Bay Rose and Joie Gatlin – Morley Abey Show Jumping.

And congratulations to Joie Gatlin, Kasey Ament, Laura Teodori and Mike Endicott all featured in this issue.

Good luck to the WCAR Spruce Team contenders! And it was great seeing everyone at the ROCK STAR Party at the Endicotts.

Don’t forget MOM’S DAY – the new moms at EquestriSol now have a much better understanding why moms deserve a day to be recognized. So give mom a hug and be nice to her, at least this Sunday!

EquestriSol is excited to announce the launch of two new web siteswww.karenhealeystables.com and www.lasallefarms.com.

We are working on many more exciting projects – including our own logo (did you notice it has changed?) and web site. We love to hear from you, so keep giving us your feedback. Our next EquestriSol newsletter is in the works for Memorial Day and during the June series at Oaks Blenheim. Summer is around the corner. Wow.

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