THE SHOW SNOOP.
Edition 1, Issue 3; March 19th-21st, 2009
Culpeper, Virginia
On the morning of the show in Culpeper, Virginia, I woke up with a head cold the size of Monaco. I was seriously considering just staying in the damned hotel and sleeping it off, but, since I am a masochist with a one-track mind, I dragged myself out of bed, guzzled a couple pints of coffee, drugged myself up, and headed out to the show grounds. To be honest, I'm very glad I decided to slug on through what was undoubtedly the worst head cold of my life. The classes at Culpeper were a perfect chance to get a look at newcomers to the circuit and see some displays of incredible talent on the part of both horses and riders.
WALK TROT CANTER.
[/b] rode his horse Method Acting to first place. He and the big black made a striking picture in the jam-packed arena, and members of the crowd were obviously not the only ones who were impressed. Apparently he's an old friend of Kaylee Parker's? I'm not clear on all the details, gossip isn't my forte. Second place was earned by
Adriana Sheppard and her dashing Paint The Town. He's a striking boy with practically perfect hunter gaits...if only he wasn't such a crabbypants.
Thomas Chevalereaux on Salty Eyes earned third place, the gorgeous pony and her equally gorgeous rider more than able to stand out in an arena of many bigger horses. (Call me, Chevy!) Speaking of standing out,
Isaac Rook and his Saddlebred Wicker Man were awarded fourth place; this pair complement each other so nicely and get noticed everywhere they go.
Kaitlyn McHail won fifth place on her gelding Electoshock; rumor has it she used to ride in the big-time classes with her mare before they had an accident, so it might be a while before we see her competing in anything tougher than the Pre Greens. Sixth place went to
Kaylee Parker riding Toy Soldier and seventh to newcomer
Jesse Deguire on Bon Voyage, Mister Bones.
Caleb Pierce earned eighth riding his mare Maelstrom and was followed in the placings by girlfriend
Molly Parker on Time After Time (yes,
girlfriend, check the Facebook statuses).What a cute little coincidence.
Anthony Sullivan had a difficult class on his ex-racer For Boston, barely managing to place. The muscular bay was rather skittish the entire class and incredibly tense at the trot, that gorgeous canter the only thing that salvaged the ride.[/ul]
LARGE PONY HUNTER.[/i] breed. Caveat spectatorum. ANYway. The blue ribbon in the Large Pony Hunter class was won by
Jesse Deguire and Bon Voyage, Mister Bones. I didn't really take much notice of these two in the flat class, so this course showed me just how nifty this little Quarter Pony is. He has an incredible front end with amazingly level knees, though he seems to have this funny habit of jumping with his back legs akimbo.
Thomas Chevalereaux's round on Salty Eyes was as flashy and fun to watch as ever, the little mare making a show of her incredible extension. Mickey doesn't particularly like to canter, it seems, but she obviously has a thing for jumping. Mia Gilles and Ladybug nabbed third place; she and her mother (fortunately nothing like the freak show moms) have been doing quite well with the Connemara they share in Pony classes. Eva Hollier and Lite Brite earned fourth place with a smooth round, Kaela Duarte and Keep the Faith won fifth, and Andrew Cameron riding Lucky Penny rounded out the class in sixth place.[/ul]
AMATEUR OWNER & ADULT AMATEUR HUNTER.[/b] and Color My World, the darling chestnut overo and her owner absolutely gliding over every fence. Mia has this smooth, easy way of moving and a big jump that is just wonderful to see. I'm telling you, watch out for these two.
Adriana Sheppard earned herself second place with a great ride on Paint The Town. It's always a pleasure to watch this team, as Rino's gaits are smooth and fluid and Adriana is a solid, confident rider. Michael Taix and Juniper, who he officially purchased shortly after Tucson, placed third after a smooth round. June is as talented as she is pretty, bred and trained to be a top hunter. As these two get to know each other, I'm sure they'll quickly advance into Regular Working Hunter. Kelsey Gould and her leased mare Sabrina swiped fourth place away from barnmate Alicia DeWitt and her Thoroughbred gelding I'm No Romeo, who instead received the pink rosette. Both riders train with Jennifer Nichols at Oceanview Farms, who's been consistently cranking out successful junior hunter riders. In her first show ever, Alyssa Barton claimed sixth place after a solid ride on Dapper Dan, the Morgan gelding her family purchased a few months ago. The gap between purchase and showtime gave the two a chance to get to know each other, and this showed in their round.[/ul]
PRE-GREEN HUNTER.[/b] on Toy Soldier, who has only improved as he and Kaylee have trained and competed together. The gelding is currently up for sale, and anyone in the market for a young horse with many years of competition ahead of him and definite potential to do well in higher level hunter classes should definitely take a look at this one.
Kaitlyn McHail's round on her cute dappled boy Electoshock was smoother than silk. This horse may be green, but he's very quiet and willing with big, easy movement. He's a great horse, and he and his rider earned the red ribbon.
Molly Parker and Wonderwall took third place, looking good as always. Molly has really brought this guy along nicely since she got him off the track, and I can't wait to see what he can do as he matures further.
Caleb Pierce's first foray back into the world of jumping classes on Seven Deadly Sins went quite well, the pair earning fourth place in their first class over obstacles together. The Arabian/Trakehner cross is elegant but powerful, and took every fence with ease and poise; I have a feeling that he's bringing her along slowly more for himself than her. Winning the fifth place ribbon must've made
Anthony Sullivan feel a whole lot better about this show; For Boston seemed to have calmed down by the time they entered the arena for the Pre-Green class, and the two settled down to work for their ribbon. Sixth place was awarded to Elizabeth Meier riding Smooth Criminal, her new Trakehner gelding. Liz is a good rider with a great eye for talented young horses, so these two will definitely be placing and advancing quickly.[/ul]
REGULAR WORKING HUNTER.[/b] earned the blue ribbon for her round on Paperdoll. Dolly is kind of a cow on the ground, but she makes up for it with her amazing performance under saddle. She and Lizzie are a picturesque pair; whatever trainer matched them up is a genius.
Adriana Sheppard and Paint The Town earned their third red ribbon of the show in this class, and the yellow went to
Lenore Castel on Quintessential. The two seem to be coming back from their run of less than desirable placings, and Quinn looked in top form. Lenore's friend
Isaac Rook on Wicker Man placed just behind her in fourth, the stallion graceful, supple, and obedient, and his rider his usual calm and cool self. Fifth place honors were given to
Molly Parker for her course with Nine In The Afternoon, the seasoned show horse smoothly obeying his rider's every command.
Kaylee Parker and her gelding Princeton had a rather disappointing round, the two just barely scraping into sixth place. That's okay, everyone has off days, even riders as accomplished as Kaylee.[/ul]
$5,000 NATIONAL HUNTER CLASSIC.[/b] and Nine In The Afternoon really amped up their performance from earlier in the day. Their round was smooth and wonderful to watch, as Andy has beautiful, consistent form over jumps and he and Molly are very much in sync with each other. If I could ride like this girl, I could die happy.
Isaac Rook and Wicker Man also pushed up in the placings to earn the red ribbon. At first glance you wouldn't expect a horse as flashy as this one to be able to tone down his motion and take jumps of a good four feet, but the round the two put out in this class is exactly the kind of thing that would prove you wrong.
Lizzie Marks took home the yellow rosette as a reward for her round on Paperdoll, as polished as their round in Regular Working Hunter but not quite enough to earn her another blue ribbon. Fourth place was awarded to
Kaylee Parker and Princeton, the team inching up two placings from earlier in the day.
Adriana Sheppard and Paint The Town couldn't keep their run of second places up for the Classic and instead came in at fifth place, followed by trainer Clara Howard riding Dylan Kistler's gorgeous bay Westphalian Off the Wall. Apparently Dylan had some family business to attend to that kept him from competing, so I'm sure he'll be happy to hear about the sixth place.[/ul]
PONY JUMPER.[/b]'s Weser-Ems mare Salty Eyes. She can be a complete bitch, but goddamn if she isn't the cutest, flashiest little bitch ever. She and Chevy took home the blue in the Pony Jumper class after a display of her incredible scope and tight bascule.
Jesse Deguire and Bon Voyage, Mister Bones earned second place, just a split second slower than Chevy and Mickey. Zombie is a quick ole' bugger who funnily enough prefers to speed up his short strides instead of lengthening out. Jacqueline Abrams and her Arabian Charisma won the yellow ribbon after a quick round, the chestnut proving that Arabians can indeed jump. I love this little guy's technique; he positively flies around the course and snaps his knees up tightly for every jump. Windy Ridge Farms student Katherine Moffat steered her little Paint gelding Pajama Party with the confidence and calm of a much older rider to earn fourth place. Noah Jeffries and Speed Demon earned fifth place with a time exactly one second slower than that of Kate and PJ, and Evanne Keppler on her palomino Welsh pony Luke Skywalker rode off with sixth.[/ul]
JUNIOR & AMATEUR OWNER JUMPER.[/b] on his Westphalian stallion Method Acting. This horse has amazing scope, always jumping with inches to spare between him and the fence. Considering how good a horse Ace is and their record so far, I'm convinced that these two are really going to clean up in whatever classes they enter.
Maria Riley and Color My World were knocked into second place by Brayden and Ace's amazing round, though that's not to say that she and her overo mare didn't perform just as wonderfully as they always do. Collette Nicholson on Dirty Diana just barely edged Briana Nolte on High Voltage out of third place, their time only a split second faster than the fourth place team. Jake Lincourt and his beautiful black mare Nine to Five earned fifth place for their round, a lower placing for them than normal, and I'm not sure whether Jake wasn't riding his best or if Nina wasn't feeling quite herself. Charlotte Marcantonio and Odysseus made an incredible effort to place after months of competing with very little success, and it definitely paid off at Culpeper as the two earned sixth place.[/ul]
OPEN JUMPER.[/b] took first place after his ride on Absolution, the round blindingly fast and practically error-free. Until this class I'd never seen Daniel ride, but after such a wonderful display of horsemanship I can see just how good a rider he is. And what about that mare, Abby? She's great herself, and even though they don't compete in Hunters so it doesn't particularly matter how pretty they look, I really like the picture she and Daniel make. Second place was awarded to
Lenore Castel and her Holsteiner stallion A Clockwork Orange. Alex was definitely feeling his oats today and Lenore did an excellent job keeping him in check and channeling that energy into every fence on the course.
Nova Bente on her mare Seraphine won the yellow ribbon in their first show on the circuit. This team burst out of absolutely nowhere to earn a damn good placing in a highly competitive class. I'm on the road with the Coventry riders, and I hadn't even noticed this newcomer around anywhere. Oops. Well, I certainly noticed her after the placings were announced. Another newcomer to the circuit,
Ackley Steiner, placed fourth after his round on his striking mare Gorgon Eyes. All I can say for Mr. Steiner is that he'd better be very careful; not only does he ride, he has an accent. A British one. He's going to have women crawling all over him.
Andy Marks and Baton Rouge took fifth place, another startlingly low placement for a very strong team at this show. New team Carolyn Janney and Billie Jean took the green rosette.[/ul]
$5,000 GRAND PRIX.[/b] and A Clockwork Orange. The round those two put out is exactly the kind of thing that made dragging myself out of bed in the morning worth the trouble. Lenore and Alex were in top form, the big black having worked off his excess energy earlier in the day and now totally tuned into his rider, his incredibly long stride propelling the pair powerfully around the course.
Nova Bente on Seraphine claimed second place after a brilliant round, and there is a lot to be said about this new team. To place so well in classes this competitive your first time on this circuit when your nerves are having a freakfest speaks to a steady, confident rider with a good horse under her.
Andy Marks was obviously disappointed with his performance in Open Jumper, and he and Baton Rouge came back from fifth place to snatch up the yellow rosette with a round about two seconds faster than their previous one.
Ackley Steiner earned fourth place for his ride on Gorgon Eyes. As gorgeous as this mare is, she is a huge bitch, as I have learned walking down the barn aisle occupied by Coventry riders. Which, if you think about it, speaks greatly to Ackley's talent as a rider, as she's much better behaved under saddle than on the ground. Clara Howard also took the reins of Invincible for owner Marie Howitt, though I'm not quite sure why Howitt was unable to ride. Vince and his trainer ended the day with a sixth place in the Grand Prix.[/ul]
Despite the fact that I was stuffed up and drugged up, the show at Culpeper was probably one of the most enjoyable I have ever attended. The only thing that I noticed was missing was a round from Jason Adomait. Where has that guy gone off to? If you see him, please let him know we miss him around the showgrounds.[/blockquote]
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