Building Racing’s Future by Regina Welsh
It’s hard to believe that it has been ten years, since Mason Lampton, George Strawbridge and George Sloan asked me to assist in starting an organization that would help amateurs learn to steeplechase race. Being the Executive Di- rector of an organization was a reach from the Biochemistry Master’s degree I was working on at the time, but not so far of a reach from my commitment to the sport of steeplechasing as a trainer and fan. One thing led to anoth- er and this crazy “idea” of Lampton’s quickly turned into a full-fl edged 501c3 nonprofi t or- ganization, which Lampton dubbed the North American Point-to-Point Association (NAP- PA). T e mission: to promote and perpetuate the sport of steeplechase racing, and foster its relationship with foxhunting. Joe Davies was one step ahead of
NAPPA in his revitalization of the Maryland Junior Hunt Cup, which ran for its 11th consecutive year in 2011. Davies created the Field Mas- ter’s Chase where the “fi eld” follows a “Field Master” at a solid hunting pace over a timber course suitable for the skill level of the entrants. Lampton heard about Davies’ idea and incorporated it into NAPPA. T e Field Master’s Chase became the foundation from which many riders, young and old, have learned to race ride. It was after the fi rst few years
rapher. Remy rode in the inaugural running of the Maryland Junior Hunt Cup and NAPPA Championship. She went on to graduate from the junior ranks and rode her fi rst sanctioned winner for top steeplechase trainer Jonathan Shepard in 2004. Remy has 94 sanctioned and point-to-point starts to her name, including six sanctioned winners. She has worked and ridden for many of the top trainers in the game.
Fritz Boniface - First NAPPA race: March 23, 2002, HCIB Point-to-Point Junior Horse Field Master’s Chase aboard Ambassadorial. Current Status: Licensed amateur steeplechase jockey working for Jack Fisher. Being from the well-known Boniface race- horse family, Fritz half jokingly once said, “I have no choice, I am an indentured servant,” in
long way. Like Remy and Fritz, Sam’s parents, Chrissy Keys and Bay Cockburn, were heavily involved in horses, so a career in the industry was far from a stretch. As an attendee of the 2008 NAPPA Young Rider Summer Steeple- chase Camp, Sam met trainers from outside his circle. He now has 64 sanctioned and point-to- point starts under his belt as a licensed amateur jockey. He tuned up his father’s horse Maxi- mize with a victory in this year’s the “Beat Up Cup” (a NAPPA alumni fl at race held at this year’s championships).
of NAPPA, that we realized the future of the sport was going to depend on the young riders. NAPPA took over the reins of the Maryland Junior Hunt Cup in 2002 and added divisions such as the Lead Line Trot and Young Rider Timber races. What started out as an event with 20 riders in a fi eld in Monkton grew to a full day of racing at Shawan Downs with 80 entries. Clearly, the kids where coming back year after year. Several of the “NAPPA kids,” as I call them,
have gone on to have quite successful careers in the horse industry. Here is a highlight of just a few of NAPPA’s graduates over the years.
Remy Winants - First NAPPA race: March 23, 2002, Willowdale Junior Horse Field Mas- ter’s Chase aboard Reggie. Current Status: As- sists mother Lilith with her training operation in Pennsylvania. A last name like Winants needs little intro- duction in the foxhunting and steeplechas- ing worlds. A life of horsing around was hard to escape with the lineage of parents Lilith Boucher and Woods Winants, trainer and am- ateur jockey respectively, and grandfather Peter Winants, former publisher of T e Chronicle of the Horse and well-noted steeplechase photog-
28 | THE EQUIERY | JULY 2011
Several NAPPA grads helped celebrate NAPPS’s 10th anniversary by riding in the “Beat Up Cup” at this year’s championship.
response to whether he’d be in the horse busi- ness or not. Fritz’s family dabbled in steeple- chase racing throughout the years, but fl at rac- ing was always their focus. Fritz took the road less traveled and pursued a steeplechase path in 2002 on Ambassadorial in the Junior Field Master’s Chases. He met his current employer, champion steeplechase trainer Jack Fisher, dur- ing the 2005 NAPPA Young Rider Steeple- chase Camp. To date he has ridden in 43 sanc- tioned and point-to-point races and won the Grand National, the Pennsylvania Hunt Cup, T e Queens Cup, the Timber Stake at Shawan Downs, and also has had an impressive ride in the Maryland Hunt Cup.
Sam Cockburn - First NAPPA race: May 24, 2003, NAPPA Championship Small Pony Field Master’s Chase aboard Socks. Current Status: Licensed amateur steeplechase jockey working for Bay Cockburn. NAPPA met Sam when he and Socks, a fuzzy little Shetland, gave the Small Pony Field Mas- ter’s Chase at the NAPPA Championship a whirl. We’re not sure where Socks is these days, but we know that Sam has defi nitely come a
Rosie Napravnik - First NAPPA race: March 23, 2002, HCIB Point-to-Point Junior Horse Field Master’s Chase aboard French Revolution. Cur- rent Status: Licensed professional fl at jockey. Possibly NAPPA’s biggest success story, Rosie rode pony races and jumped into the NAPPA circuit in 2002, fi n- ishing second in the NAPPA Championship Junior Field Mas- ter’s Chase that year. She went on to ride in open races at point-to- points and then moved to the fl at track. She was the Amateur Ap- prentice Eclipse Award nominee in 2009 and this year, she was the leading jockey at the Fairgrounds meet, highlighted by a win on Pants on Fire. A few weeks later, Pants on Fire helped Rosie be- come the fi fth female in history to ride in the Kentucky Derby. She took a day off from her busy fl at track life for the opportunity to ride against her sister, trainer Jazz
Napravnik, aboard her mother’s horse, Classic Storm, in the “Beat Up Cup.”
Scholarships Together with the Maryland Steeplechase Association, NAPPA helped develop a schol- arship program for Maryland’s young jockeys. T e most prestigious of the awards is the Jona- than Kiser Memorial Scholarship. T e recipient is awarded tuition to the NAPPA Young Rider Steeplechase Camp and a week as a working student with top chase trainer Jack Fisher. T is year’s recipient, Maggie Herzog, received the award due to her dedication to the sport of steeplechase racing, her exemplary sportsman- ship, and her race record. MSA also off ers several Junior Foxchasing
Scholarships in an eff ort to reinforce the tie between steeplechasing and foxchasing. Juliette Chalmers’ dedication to steeplechasing and her love of foxhunting did not go unnoticed this year and she was the recipient of the top Junior Foxchaser Award. MSA and NAPPA believe that programs such as these will keep steeple- chasing alive. It has been a fun ten years and I, for one, am looking forward to the next ten!
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