Music Street and Evans-Thomas Capture Grand Adult Hunter Championship, Selldorf and Rocket Man Soar to Top of $10,000 Children’s/Adult Jumper Challenge

Amateur riders were highlighted today at the Capital Challenge Horse Show. Jane Gaston of The Plains, VA, and her horse Lumiere were the Grand Amateur-Owner Hunter Champions, and Gaston was the Leading Amateur-Owner Rider. Lindsay Evans-Thomas rode Music Street to the Grand Adult Hunter Championship in the outdoor ring. Today was also the first time that jumpers took to the main stage in the Show Place Arena in the $12,000 Children’s/Adult Jumper Challenge. The fastest winning time was set by Samantha Selldorf with Rocket Man.

The hunter courses for this week are designed by Michael Rheinheimer of Willoughby, OH, and the jumper courses are designed by Philip DeVita of Apopka, FL.

The horse show runs through Sunday, October 10, at the Prince George’s Equestrian Center in Upper Marlboro, MD. The remaining highlight class of the week for the professional hunter riders is the $7,500 WCHR Professional Finals, presented by the John R. Ingram Fund, held on Friday, October 8. Festivities begin at 7 p.m. with the WCHR Awards Ceremony, followed by the first horse on course at 7:30 p.m.

Amateur-Owner Hunters Reign in the Show Place Arena

In the $9,000 Amateur-Owner 36 & Over Hunters, sponsored by The Hallman Family and MerryLegs South, Jane Gaston and Lumiere led the way to victory. Their championship came from two firsts and two seconds over fences in the division. Ellen Toon and Invincible were the reserve champions. They were second, fourth, fourth, and sixth over fences and fourth under saddle.

Thanks to their top ribbons, Gaston and Lumiere were named the Grand Amateur-Owner Hunter Champions, which was sponsored by Mr. and Mrs. Will Roberts, and were awarded the Dr. Harold M.S. Smith Trophy, donated by Dr. Suzanne Smith and Dr. Peter Craig. Gaston was named the Best Amateur-Owner Rider, an award sponsored by Mr. and Mrs. Ernest M. Oare. She received the So Many Ways Challenge Trophy, donated by Karen Kramer.

Gaston and Lumiere also won the $2,500 WCHR Amateur-Owner 3’6″ Challenge. Tracy Scheriff Muser and Absolut were second, and third place went to Best Man and Melissa Doddridge.

Gaston has owned Lumiere, a nine-year-old Oldenburg gelding, for five years. “He’s part of our family now,” she said. “He’s just progressed from Baby Green and Pre-Green all the way up to being an old guy now.”

Gaston has had a very successful year with both Lumiere and Listen. About Lumiere, she said, “He’s been a real trooper all year long. He’s consistent; he’ll do the same thing for you every day. You know what he is. He’s just a solid citizen. He’s a very clean jumper. It’s very easy for him. He doesn’t care what the distances are; he’s just got huge range. He’s just a wonderful animal.”

Lumiere and Jane Gaston

This is Gaston’s first championship at Capital Challenge. She showed Lumiere here last year as a Second Year Green Working Hunter. “He got ribbons, but he was green,” she remembered. “He’s come back this year and was like, ‘I know this place.’ He’s very sure of himself now.”

“It feels great to be at the top of the heap,” she went on to say. “There are so many nice horses. I love mine, but if I had to have about ten of the others, I’d be just fine! They’re just wonderful animals and just high-quality. It’s great people to compete against too. I try to go one day at a time. These horses are so good that I just try to stay out of their way. At the end of the day, it feels super to win here.”

Champion in the $9,000 Amateur-Owner 18-35 Hunters, sponsored by Mr. and Mrs. Ernest M. Oare, was Sunny Moon, ridden and owned by Jaime Auletto of Blackwood, NJ. They won two over fences classes (including the final handy stake class) and placed fifth for the top tricolor. Tracy Scheriff Muser and Donovan were the reserve champions with first, second, and sixth place ribbons over fences.

Auletto has owned Sunny Moon, an eight-year-old Hanoverian mare, for almost two years. They showed sparingly in the Adult Hunters before moving up to the 3’6″ division. “She’s been a good girl from the start,” Auletto said. “She’s simple and straightforward. She’s had a really good year. She has been more consistent this year. She was circuit champion in Ocala and champion in Lake Placid.”

Auletto’s favorite class with Sunny Moon are the handy hunter classes. “She’s pretty good at them. She’s very game,” she described. “It’s something different and you can show off a little bit. The best part is that you can hand gallop with her and still do those turns. It’s nice that she’s so adjustable.”

When Auletto rode in the Small Pony Hunters, she finished as reserve champion, but hasn’t been in the championship presentations at Capital Challenge since then. She laughed, “It’s been awhile! I’ve done this for a long time, but these shows are still special. I still get excited to show. It’s nice to come and do well. I’m very lucky to have two nice young horses.”

The $6,500 Amateur-Owner 3’3″ Hunter division is a new addition to the Capital Challenge and is sponsored by Bruce Duchossois/HnD Stables, Inc., Woodland Way, Inc., and Wood Run Farm/The Tredennick Family. The championship went to Showtime, ridden by Veronica Miller of Wildwood, MO. They placed second in the stake class, second in the handy class, and fourth in the over fences class. Ellen Toon picked up her second reserve championship, this time with Attache. They won the stake class, were third in the handy class, and received sixth over fences.

Showtime is a nine-year-old Brandenburg gelding, and Miller gave credit to her horse and her trainer Katana O’Brien. “He is the sweetest animal on the face of the Earth. On the ground, he is as sweet as he can be. He is so easy to ride. He goes in there and always wants to take care of me,” she said. “Katana took all the pieces of the puzzle and made an amazing animal. She’s extremely patient, a soft quiet rider, and she’s very good at picking matches for people. It’s so much about the match. She did a wonderful job with him.”

Miller said that emotions were swirling when she found out that she was the champion. “I came here and said all I wanted was to win one class. I just wanted somebody to put that medal around my head. We were laughing because I’ve still never won a class! But I was consistent,” she said with a smile. “It’s like a dream come true. I was almost crying before I walked in there. I told Kendra (Schultz), ‘We’re walking slow. It’s like getting married. You only walk down this aisle once.’ It’s unbelievable.”

The popular 3’3″ division had 46 entries, and Miller was excited to win in such esteemed company. She expressed, “Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think this was going to happen. There were such amazing riders and horses in this division. It’s such an honor to be in their company, just to jog with them. Sometimes the stars align and it works out. You just have to appreciate it, which I really, really do.”

Miller said that the addition of the 3’3″ division for amateur-owner riders was a great idea for Capital Challenge. “It was so nice to have the 3’3″ division here. The jumps are big, beautiful, and impressive. Where I was, not having a lot of mileage this year, the 3’6″ would have been overwhelming. The 3’3″ was a wonderful opportunity to be able to go in and not be overwhelmed,” she explained.

The winner of today’s $2,500 WCHR Amateur-Owner 3’3″ Challenge was Sea Walker, ridden and owned by Nicole Olinyk. Second place went to Endo Fino and Lisa Arena, while Krosus 03, ridden and owned by Kristi Siam, was third.

Adult Hunters Stick With the Sunshine

In the outdoor ring, the Adult Amateur Hunters were the story of the day. The Grand Champion Adult Amateur Hunter, sponsored by Steve Martines, was Music Street, ridden by Lindsay Evans-Thomas of Annapolis, MD, and owned by Krista and Alexa Weisman. They were awarded the Equus Entries Challenge Trophy, donated by Equus Entries and Sue & Ralph Caggiano. Her trainer, Sandy Ferrell, won the Gail Knieriem Memorial Trophy donated by Lynley Reilly and Randy Johnson. Evans-Thomas won the Best Adult Amateur Rider Award, sponsored by Golden Point Farm, LLC.

Evans-Thomas and Music Street were champions in the $4,500 Adult Amateur 36-50 division after they placed first and fourth over fences and they won the under saddle. The reserve champion in the division was El Raymond, ridden by Amy Brubaker for Jamie Donovan.

“He is the Cadillac of horses,” Evans-Thomas described. “He is a lovely animal. He’s got an amazing attitude and floats across the ground.”

Music Street and Lindsay Evans-Thomas

Evans-Thomas was very pleased with her big win today. “I feel at this level of competition, if you just get a ribbon, you’re doing really well. It truly is a magnificent horse show,” she related.

The champions in the $4,500 Adult Amateur Hunter 18-35 division were Tucker and Cara Cheska. Cheska picked up the catch-ride for Joy Harrington-Graue. Rhythmical and Rachel Boggus won the reserve championship in the division.

The $4,500 Adult Amateur 51 & Over division was sponsored by Jeff and Keeley Gogul and Wind Dancer with Laura Lee Montross came away with the championship. Sandra Epstein was the reserve champion on Gisele.

Children’s/Adult Jumpers Wrap the Night Up With Speed

The $10,000 Children’s/Adult Jumper Challenge drew an enormous amount of competitors to the Show Place Arena tonight. Seventy-four entries contested the first round, and 29 of those were clean to come back for a timed jump-off. Out of those, nine were clear and it came down to who was the fastest in the jump-off.

Seventeen-year-old Samantha Selldorf of Farmington, CT, piloted Rocket Man, a seven-year-old Belgian Warmblood gelding, to a time of 27.100 seconds for the win. Close behind in second was Meredith Darst on Hidden Creek’s Kendall, who crossed the timers in 28.708 seconds. Taylor Ann Adams rode Power Point to third place with a time of 29.020 seconds.

Selldorf said of her jump-off plan, “I thought it would be smarter to go around to the last jump. He’s young, so he needs better direction. We went around as quick as we could. The point where I saved the most time was when I sliced the oxer pretty well and made the turn. I didn’t doubt it, so I think that’s why it worked out.”

Selldorf, who trains at her family’s farm with Kristy McCormack, found Rocket Man (aka Elton), through Rich Herrera and bought him from Jay Hayes. Although she had taken a year off of riding while abroad in France, Selldorf and Rocket Man were a good pair this summer in the Children’s Jumpers. Selldorf hopes to move up to the Low Junior Jumpers this winter.

She believes that while Rocket Man is “very fast and very careful,” what makes him special is his attitude. “He wants you to give him confidence. He looks to you for direction,” she explained. “He doesn’t want to take over. He just wants to listen. That’s the best thing about him; he just wants to learn. He’s come so far. If you’d seen him when we first got him, and now he’s won this huge class!”

Rocket Man and Samantha Selldorf

With many coming after her in the jump-off, Selldorf was surprised that her time held up. “He’s usually pretty good about being clear in the first round, and then we’ll miss the time by a couple seconds,” she said. “He’s pretty fast, but there are a lot of fast horses in here. I couldn’t believe it. I went in the middle and usually there is someone who tops (the time). I was pretty lucky.”

“It’s the biggest thing I’ve ever won, for sure,” Selldorf said with a smile. “I have a little sister who’s much more seriously competitive than I am. She’s an amazing rider. She’s wins a lot, and I just do it for fun. It’s nice to not just be Lexi’s sister; it’s nice to have my day too.”

Final Results: $10,000 Children’s/Adult Jumper Challenge 1 1024 ROCKET MAN, SAMANTHA SELLDORF: 0/0/27.100 2 1203 HIDDEN CREEKS KENDALL, MEREDITH DARST: 0/0/28.708 3 462 POWER POINT, TAYLOR ANN ADAMS: 0/0/29.020 4 1112 CARELLA, CARTER WARE: 0/0/30.248 5 740 AMELIA, ELIZABETH KIRBY: 0/0/30.764 6 418 JORDY, ASHLEY FOSTER: 0/0/30.849 7 189 RODRIGO, LEAH BERGMAN: 0/0/31.080 8 1069 CLEVER CAPTAIN, KAYLA PATREGNANI: 0/0/31.147 9 1019 MILLCREEK’S ROSALINDE, INEZ GURREIRO: 0/0/31.713 10 1334 GUN DU DESFI, SYDNEY SHULMAN: 0/4/25.447

In tomorrow’s evening session, the biggest event of the week will be held. At 7:30 p.m., the fun begins with the WCHR Awards Ceremony, and immediately following will be the $7,500 WCHR Professional Finals, where the top six hunter riders in the nation will go head-to-head for top honors. Previous winners Sandy Ferrell, John French, and Scott Stewart will be joined by Kelley Farmer and last year’s winner Hunt Tosh, along with first-time competitor Tracy Fenney.

Check the Capital Challenge page on Facebook to watch video interviews with Tracy Fenney, John French and Molly Sewell!

For full results and more information, please visit www.capitalchallenge.org . If you can’t attend the Capital Challenge Horse Show, remember you can log on to www.equestriansport.tv  to see all the action live.

Highlights of the upcoming week at Capital Challenge Horse Show will include the North American Junior/Amateur-Owner Jumper Challenge Cup (two rounds held on Oct. 8-9), the ARIAT National Adult Medal Finals (Oct. 8), and the WCHR Professional Finals (Oct. 8).

In its 17th year, the Capital Challenge Horse Show sets itself apart with a distinct and unique focus on preeminent hunter competition. Held each autumn at the Prince George’s Equestrian Center in Upper Marlboro, MD, this year’s show takes place on October 2-10. Top competitions include the ARIAT National Adult Medal Finals and the THIS National Children’s Medal Finals, along with the Capital Challenge Equitation Weekend, presented by Bigeq.com. In addition to these prestigious equitation events, the Capital Challenge Horse Show will once again host the World Champion Hunter Rider Finals and will assemble the country’s best horses and riders to compete in junior, amateur, and professional hunter classes. For more information, please visit www.capitalchallenge.org or visit the Capital Challenge Horse Show page on Facebook!

Photo Credit: Jane Gaston and Lumiere were the Grand Amateur-Owner Hunter Champions. Samantha Selldorf and Rocketman topped the standings in the $10,000 Children’s/Adult Jumper Challenge. Photos C Jennifer Wood Media, Inc. Music Street and Lindsay Evans-Thomas were the Grand Adult Hunter Champions. Photo copyright JL Parker Photography. These photos may only be used in relation to this press release and with full photo credit.

C 2010 Jennifer Wood Media Inc.