Winner’s Circle
West Coast USEF National Junior Hunter Championships
Showpark Grand Prix Grass Field Lends itself to the Hunters
It is not very often that hunters travel softly across the grass in
the Grand Prix field of the Showpark horse show venue, but this
week they did. A rare opportunity to try their hand on big open grass
expanses reminiscent of the hunt fields of old, even though you might
have to use a little imagination to actually see it that way.
The Grand Prix field is huge and at this point is one of the very few
grass fields available in Southern California for hunters to compete
on. The footing is very acceptable in spite of the fact this region has
had very little rain in the last few months. For a grass field in this
area to keep the cushion necessary for horse showing at the top level,
it takes lots of water and we have had very little. This leaves it to
management to keep working diligently in the forward motion of soft
footing that is still compact enough to give a solid base to horses
jumping. Blenheim EquiSports has accomplished that.
With a field of fourteen older Large Junior Hunters, fourteen
younger Large Junior Hunters, seven older Small Junior Hunters and
seven younger Small Junior Hunters, we got a chance to see wonderful
trips from top hunters, all gathered to challenge each other for the
coveted top prize.
Sage Flynn was Champion, and is the story here for today. She is
very young, has only ridden a few years and is relatively new to the big
ring. Her Classic round scored a ninety from one judge, the only horse
to score that high in the competition. Couple that with two eighty-
eight scores and her Classic total was two hundred sixty-six, a full
fourteen points ahead of the next in line. Of nine total competition
scores posted overall for each horse, Sage was in the high eighties for
six of her nine scores.
Reserve Champion was The Frog Prince, ridden by Shelby Wakeman, also having super scores for her trips. Every round but
one scored in the eighties for her entire competition, with only one score lower, a seventy nine. The gallop of this horse is really
fun to watch and it seems Shelby “sees” a distance from way, way back in the corner and then just floats along to the jumps.
Third, Alison Baileys on Tache Rouge, was also a top competitor. This rather slight chestnut is all business in the ring and
Alison rides it extremely well. Staying right in the middle of the balance, she never gets in its way over the jumps and then
does a slight two point to gallop on along to the next fence, to meet it right on the rhythm. Mary Morrison has been Alison’s
trainer since her early days in the saddle. Stabled at home in San Juan Capistrano, Alison meets John French on the road
where he has piloted Tache Rouge to countless Championships.
Olivia Esse was forth on Country Grammar. Again scoring in the eighties most of the time, she just rides right on along
and loves every minute of it. Randy Durand has been her trainer since her first ride on a horse and has guided her career
across this country to amazing success in the ponies and now in the hunters.
The awards were plentiful, beautiful and appropriate for this level of competition. A saddle to the winner, coolers and a
marvelous brass statue of a hunter hacking its way across the field. Nice touch to get back to our roots on occasion.
Overall Results
2007 USEF Junior Hunter Championships West Coast
1st Enchanted – Sage Flynn 255.50 (Handy 79, U/S 85.750, Classic 88.667)
2nd The Frog Prince – Shelby Wakeman 249.45 (Handy 82.667, U/S 81.333, Classic 84.167)
3rd Tache Rouge – Alison Baileys 243.675 (Handy 73, U/S 82.667, Classic 85.583)
4th Country Grammar – Olivia Esse 243.100 (Handy 79.33, U/S 84.5 Classic 80.667
5th My Cap – Kim McCormack 242.8 (Handy 85.00, U/S 66.33, Classic 84.33)
Top to Bottom:
6th No Limit – Tina Di Landri 242.75 (Handy 80, U/S 80, Classic 81.833)
Hunter Saddle
line up; Alison
7th By Design – Shelby Wakeman 242.50 (Handy 73.167, U/S 84.33, Classic 84)
Baileys & Tache
8th Cool Blue – Paris Sellon 242.10 (Handy 80.7. U/S 79.833, Classic 80.167)
Rouge; Sage Flynn
& Enchanted;
9th Black Pearl – Hilary Sosne 242 (Handy 79.667, U/S 79.667, Classic 81.667)
Kendra Arnold &
10th Small Talk – Tatiano Dzavik 241.40 (Handy 80.667, U/S 88, Classic 77.333)
Godspeed.
Photos copyright Kathy Hobstetter
30
Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60