© Jessica Nemzoff, Phelps Media
Nations Cup team in Buenos Aires, Argentina riding Quincy B. In April of 2009 they finished 19th in their first Rolex/FEI World Cup Final, then followed this with a close second place to McLain Ward and Sapphire in the $100,000 Budweiser Grand Prix of Devon. They capped the 2009 season with a win in the $50,000 Holiday and Horses Grand Prix in Palm Beach, Florida. This year the pair earned a place on the show jumping
Hillary and her father
long list for the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games after strong performances in the USEF Selection Trials for the U.S. Show Jumping Team.
HARVARD AND HORSES The past few years have been a balancing act. In addition to a rigorous show schedule, Hillary recently finished her degree in government at Harvard University. To make it happen, she scheduled her classes Monday through Wednesday and then flew to shows to compete. She reports, “I wanted both so badly that it was feasible.” Now a professional, she is looking forward to having
more time to fine tune her riding and get more experience. Her sport horses are in Warren, Vermont at her trainers’ facility and her sales horses are at home in Sussex, New Jersey where she and her fiancé, Dutch horse dealer Roy Wilten, are trying to start a sales business. “I’m part of a big family and my dad has been support- ing me financially for nearly 23 years, and to really play at this level takes a lot—that’s why I am looking for owners and sponsors, so I can take the heat off of them,” Hillary remarks. “The million dollars [in prize money] doesn’t really see my pocket, it’s just the honor.” Hillary is also trying to make wedding plans. She laughs,
“It’s hard for me to pick which show coat to wear in the morning, let alone make a decision about a wedding!” She does know that Mark Badgley [of Badgley Mischka] is going to design her wedding dress. “He came to a send-off party for the World Tour and told me he follows my riding career, and offered to design the dress; I thought that was hysterical considering I’m one of his biggest fans!”
THE HORSES Hillary is lucky to have five grand prix horses. “The five horses couldn’t be more different to ride,” she says. “Quincy is very calm, while Marlo, Marengo and Corlett are very hot. Denny is somewhere in between. Their personalities are equally different.”
MARENGO Marengo is a 12 year-old Holsteiner gelding by Quanto out of a Daimer mare. In July Hillary and Marengo won the
Warmbloods Today 59
$30,000 Battenkill Grand Prix at the Vermont Summer Festival. They are no strangers to the winner’s circle there having won two grand prix events in 2009. He has also won some speed classes at the Hampton Classic. “Marengo is my speed horse, and he is always very competitive,” says Hillary. “He is such a trier always giving me 110 percent. He is so versatile and a naturally quick horse. He loves the speed classes—we’re always on the same page; we both like to go fast. If I’m not perfect to a jump, he’s a winner: he always wants to leave up the jumps and be competitive. He also knows he’s good at what he does.” Around the barn, she says, “Marengo is a troublemaker,
always throwing something around the stall. He pins his ears when a stranger walks up to the stall. His temperament and personality are what help make him such a winner.” Previously Marengo was shown in the amateur division
and originally purchased for Hillary’s sister to be her amateur horse. When Heather stopped riding Hillary ended up with Marengo as well as Heather’s junior jumper at the time, Corlett. “It was a remarkable twist of events but I couldn’t have picked out better horses for me if I tried,” she remarks.
CORLETT A 13-year-old Sachsen mare by Consul out of a Longo XX mare, Corlett rose from the junior ranks and has proven to be an outstanding competitor. “She’s so athletic and smart,”
© Sophie Durieux
© Sophie Durieux
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