Capital Challenge Horse Show: Days 1 and 2 Results

Source: JWM Inc/Lauren Fisher

Morgan Geller Tops North American Flat Equitation Championships
on Opening Day at Capital Challenge

Upper Marlboro, MD – The 2011 Capital Challenge Horse Show began competition Saturday morning at the Prince George’s Equestrian Center in Upper Marlboro, MD. The Show Place Arena hosted competitors for opening day of The North American Equitation Championship Weekend, presented by BigEq.com, with many exciting wins for the country’s top young riders. Competition continues through October 9 with a full schedule of hunter, jumper and equitation classes.

The highlight of today’s competition was the North American Flat Equitation Championship, in which 16-year-old Morgan Geller, of Manhattan Beach, CA, rode Fabricio to an exciting win. Reserve champion was Katie Tyler, of North Kingstown, RI, riding her horse Galliard. In addition to their finishes in the flat championship, both riders earned top honors in their respective age divisions earlier in the day. Geller and Fabricio earned the tri-color in the 16-Year-Old Equitation, while Tyler was champion in the 17-Year-Old Equitation with Galliard. Following Geller and Tyler in the North American Flat Equitation Championships were Hayley Barnhill, Lauren Fabiano, Bailey Hughes, and Meredith Darst.

Morgan Geller and Fabricio

Morgan Geller trains with Jim Hagman and Katie Gardner at Elvenstar in California, and this is her second year traveling east to compete at Capital Challenge. Geller’s horse Fabricio is a ten-year-old Czech Warmblood that she bought last November. Fabricio was originally Geller’s top hunter mount, and the gelding has been better than ever since he transitioned into the equitation divisions.

“He is really smooth and very brave. He really tries hard and I love him,” Geller smiled. “I do the hunters too, so he has that way of going where you can soften to a jump and he will always make a nice jump out of it. You don’t have to hold onto him and direct him every stride. He knows how to do a lot on his own, so it is nice to be able to just let go sometimes.”

Geller made her trip worthwhile with her biggest equitation win to date. She has worked hard to get to this point and explained, “This is definitely one of the biggest classes I have won. I was so tired, but when I got down to the end I just wanted to keep going strong and not give up. I am very happy.”

Reserve champion Katie Tyler rides with trainer Shachine Belle and showed her ten-year-old Holsteiner gelding Galliard today. This was Tyler’s first time competing at Capital Challenge, and she was very happy with her successful day.

“I just got Galliard before Christmas last year,” Tyler stated. “He is my first real, perfect horse, and he just always takes care of me. Everybody always says that we are the same character; that we have the same personality. The first time I got on him we just clicked, and it was perfect.”

Katie Tyler and Galliard

The 16-Year-Old and 17-Year-Old Equitation divisions were both sponsored by Frank Madden Show Stables. Finishing behind Geller, Savannah Jenkins rode Tibantos, owned by C&M Partnership LLC, to the 16-Year-Old Equitation reserve championship. Following Tyler, Allison Fithian rode Blu Hills Johnny Cash, owned by Erin Duffy, to the reserve championship in the 17-Year-Old division.

The 15-Year-Old Equitation was also held this morning with championship honors going to Geoffrey Hesslink riding Adonis, owned by Natalie Nicodema. The reserve championship was presented to Anna Cardelfe riding Logan, owned by Chelsea Moss. Division winner Geoffrey Hesslink is from Shelburne, VT, and rides with Don Stewart and Bibby Farmer Hill. Hesslink has been riding for five years and this is his third year showing at Capital Challenge.

“I have shown here three times, but this is my first time winning here, so it is very exciting,” Hesslink smiled. “Adonis is awesome. He was a jumper until this winter and we bought him to do the equitation, and he has just been so great. He has really helped me progress to where I am today.”

Geoffrey Hesslink and Adonis

Up next, the 13 & 14-Year-Old Equitation championship, sponsored by Tammy Provost Inc., was awarded to Kristen Mohr riding Mahala Rummell’s Papillon 136. Meredith Darst rode Copyright, owned by Jeanette Collins, to the reserve championship.

Fourteen-year-old Kristen Mohr is from Hackettstown, NJ, and trains with Stacia Madden. Even at such a young age, Mohr is no stranger to winning at Capital Challenge. The rider earned the 12 & Under Equitation championship when she was eleven years old and also won the THIS National Children’s Medal Finals in 2008. Mohr feels blessed to be able to ride such a successful and experienced horse such as Papillon 136.

“I just started showing him in Old Salem this year, and I am so grateful that Mahala has given me the opportunity to ride him,” Mohr stated. “I have worked with a lot of green horses and it is the most amazing feeling to be on a horse like that, where you know that he is always going to be there for you. Just as long as you do your part he will never let you down.”

Continuing on with the day’s championships, the 12 & Under Equitation showed in the afternoon. Young rider T.J. O’Mara, of Rumson, NJ, earned the division championship riding World Cup Van Het Lindehof, owned by Kestrel Farms. The reserve championship was awarded to Delaney Hamill riding Nelson, owned by Monty Kelly. Hamill also collected the championship in the Taylor Harris Insurance Services warm-up division giving her a good start to the weekend heading into the THIS National Children’s Medal Finals on Sunday afternoon.

Hayley Barnhill Wins North American Equitation Championships at Capital Challenge

Hayley Barnhill, of Collierville, TN, earned an exciting victory today as she topped the North American Equitation Championships at Capital Challenge. Barnhill’s win was followed by a top finish for Pilar Flournoy, of Topanga, CA, in the Taylor Harris Insurance Services (THIS) National Children’s Medal Finals. The day concluded with the North American Amateur Equitation Championships with a victory for Adrienne Dixon, of Hillsborough, CA. This weekend’s equitation competition at the Show Place Arena was presented by BigEq.com. The 2011 Capital Challenge Horse Show will continue through October 9 at the Prince George’s Equestrian Center in Upper Marlboro, MD.

Sunday’s competition began with the North American Equitation Championships with two rounds of competition. Nearly eighty competitors started out the day over fences, but the field was sharply narrowed to only twenty who were invited back for a second round. Riding Cayla Richards’ Asparagus, a 17-year-old Hanoverian gelding, Hayley Barnhill posted scores of 90.20 and 90.05 for a two-round winning total of 180.25.

“I’m very excited!” Barnhill beamed after her win. “It was a last minute thing to get to come here, and I love this horse show. I was second in this class last year; I was so close, so it is nice to win it.”

Yesterday’s flat winner, Morgan Geller, rode her gelding Fabricio to second place. Sarah Milliren and War Eagle, owned by Don Stewart, finished third. Conor Perrin and Nat King Cole earned fourth place honors. Alicia Gasser rode Schubert, owned by KMG Equestrian, to fifth place and Oliva Esse guided Oscany, Inc.’s Fernway Park into the sixth position.

In addition to awarding the classes top finishers, several other awards were presented. Barnhill and trainer Tom Wright were presented with the George H. Morris Equitation Championship Trophy, donated by Frank and Stacia Madden and Beacon Hill Show Stables. Wright also received a special award as the Leading Equitation Trainer and Karen Healey and Karen Healey Show Stables presented Barnhill with the Best Equitation Rider Award. Victoria Colvin earned the award for EMO Equitation Trip of the show, sponsored by EMO Insurance Services, for the highest scoring round of 88.5.

Hayley Barnhill and Asparagus

Last year, Hayley Barnhill conquered two of the country’s biggest equitation finals, winning the Pessoa/USEF Hunt Seat Equitation Finals as well as the ASPCA Maclay National Finals. The rider now has her sights set on the Platinum Performance/USEF Show Jumping Talent Search Finals and the WIHS Equitation Classic Finals, both coming up later this month. The rider feels that her experience this weekend at Capital Challenge has helped her prepare for those finals.

“I haven’t been able to do that many classes this year because I have just been focusing on the Washington classes, so it was good to have a pressure class and tough courses to get me back in the mode for indoors,” said Barnhill. “Missy (Clark) brought Asparagus over for me to ride and he is amazing. He is so easy. He has been and done it, so he is not going to make a mistake. He just does everything you want him to do.”

One of the many trainers that have helped Barnhill throughout the years is Tom Wright. Wright was present for Barnhill’s win today, and feels that she is ready for the big events to come.

“Her rounds were fantastic today; very confident,” Wright remarked. “She really wanted to come here and get a flavor for Asparagus indoors. He is a very quiet horse too, so Missy gave her the opportunity to come here and get to know him in hopes that we have a good horse show at Washington.”

“I think we are in pretty good confidence going there,” Wright added. “Missy has been so amazing about providing horses for Hayley for the last two years and we have been doing a lot of jumper work this summer, which I think has really paid off. You can see the confidence even more now when the questions are asked in the ring.”

Both Barnhill and Wright agree that Capital Challenge is a great opportunity for riders to get indoor show experience. Wright noted, “I am really glad that Capital Challenge takes the time to put this equitation weekend together. It is a great beginning for all of the kids before they head to USET, Harrisburg, and Washington, to really get a chance to practice all the tricks before the big pressure finals are on.”

Pilar Flournoy Tops THIS National Children’s Medal Finals

Pilar Flournoy, 14, from Topanga, CA, made her first trip east to Capital Challenge a worthwhile one, as she laid down two solids rounds to win the Taylor Harris Insurance Services National Children’s Medal Finals.

Riding Reika, a ten-year-old Hanoverian mare, Flournoy didn’t let the pressure get to her as she returned for the second round just behind the leading rider, Destry Spielberg, who led the first round with an 86.90. When Spielberg came in tight to the first jump and posted a 77.4 in her final round Flournoy took the lead and the blue.

Flournoy said, “I tried to channel my nerves into focus. That tends to work for me.” Her trainer, Mark Bone of Huntover, agreed that Flournoy doesn’t tend to show her nerves. Flournoy enjoyed the courses designed by Kenny Krome, but knew she had to watch out for a number of the bending lines. She explained, “Reika has a really strong left drift, so on the left bending lines I wanted to make sure she didn’t fall in and make them too easy. We wanted to work on her straightness and being flowing without being too out of control. She has a very big stride.”

Pilar Flournoy and Reika

The trip east is very involved for the west coast contingent. Not only did the horses fly in on a red eye on Monday morning, but they needed to get accustomed to the hay, grain and the colder weather. Flournoy also had to adjust to the east coast, but her mom had a hand in helping.

“My mom made me switch over to east coast time last week,” she said laughing. “I’ve been waking up at 4 a.m. for the last week while I was home. I was very productive during the day,” she added with a smile.

Adrienne Dixon Victorious in North American Amateur Equitation Championships

Adrienne Dixon, of Hillsborough, CA, piloted Conor Perrin’s Nat King Cole to top honors in the North American Amateur Equitation Championships. Dixon came into this year’s class with determination after finishing second in 2010. She said, “I think I came here with a little more motivation than a lot of the other riders.”

Dixon made sure there was no question about her domination as she finished the first round with the high score of an 86 and then returned to secure the win posting an 87.80 on the board. The only one to come close to Dixon’s two-round total was Samantha Senft who rode Lord Loxley to a final score of 165.75.

Dixon, 22, had never ridden Nat King Cole before coming to Capital Challenge, but the seven-year-old gelding was just what Dixon needed to finish first. She said, “He made me rise to the occasion. I knew I was on one that could do it, so it gave me the confidence that I could do it.”

Dixon’s trainer, Nick Haness, said of the new mount, “He is a very nice horse to ride. He is brave and scopey. The only thing he’s lacking is experience. He has a huge stride and is very adjustable, but he is only seven years old. She did a great job handling him.”

Adrienne Dixon and Nat King Cole

In the two-round class there was only one place on course that Dixon had reservations about. She said, “I was a little worried in the first course about the six (stride) to the two (stride). I knew I could get the six but then the two was really tight. It really helped watching the first two classes. I really got to watch to see who did it well and how they did it well.”

Today’s competition concluded the 2011 Capital Challenge North American Equitation Championship Weekend, sponsored by BigEq.com. The Capital Challenge Horse Show will continue tomorrow with the start of the professional hunter divisions. The show will continue through October 9.

RESULTS
HORSE/RIDER/OWNER:RD1/RD2/TOTAL

North American Equitation Championships
1 ASPARAGUS HAYLEY BARNHILL CAYLA RICHARDS: 90.20/90.05/180.25
2 FABRICIO MORGAN GELLER MORGAN GELLER: 89.30/85.25/174.55
3 WAR EAGLE SARAH MILLIREN DON STEWART: 86.20/86.45/172.65
4 NAT KING COLE CONOR PERRIN CONOR PERRIN: 88.05/84.40/172.45
5 SCHUBERT ALICIA GASSER KMG EQUESTRIAN: 86.00/85.85/ 171.85
6 FERNWAY PARK OLIVIA ESSE OSCANY, INC: 83.25/86.60/169.85
7 FERNLEIGH MEG O’MARA DON STEWART: 87.15/82.15/169.30
8 CLOVER SAMANTHA KRAUS SAIL HORSE INVESTMENTS: 86.00/82.05/168.05
9 VIGO DEMI STIEGLER CITRUS HILL FARMS, LLC: 82.20/85.80/168.00
10 VIP Z VICTOIRA COLVIN SCOTT STEWART: 81.15/85.60/166.75

THIS National Children’s Medal Finals
1 REIKA PILAR FLOURNOY PILAR FLOURNOY: 85.75/86.00/171.75
2 FAMOUS LAST WORDS MADELEINE SWEM MADELEINE SWEM: 82.60/84.60/167.20
3 OLIVER KATE MORRISON STEALAWAY INC. AND ANGELA MOORE: 84.75/82.20/166.95
4 PALMAR DESTRY SPIELBERG KMG EQUESTRIAN: 86.90/77.40/164.30
5 CHARMING SILVER SIERRA WILSON SIERRA WILSON: 81.20/80.20/161.40
6 CARTIER NIKKI DIAMANTIS DEBBIE GRAFF: 80.40/79.60/160.00
7 LITTTLEWOOD ALEXANDRA LADOVE ALEXANDRA LADOVE: 81.20/68.40/149.60
8 PINDAR TINA MCNERNEY REDFIELD FARM: 76.45/69.60/146.05
9 FARGO KATHRYN MAGINNIS KIMBERLY MAGINNIS: 82.20/63.20/145.40
10 CHI WAH WAH KATE ROSS KAR, LLC: 78.40/66.40/144.80

North American Amateur Equitation Championships
1 NAT KING COLE ADRIENNE DIXON CONOR PERRIN: 86.00/87.80/173.80
2 LORD LOXLEY SAMANTHA SENFT LIZA FINSNESS: 84.20/81.55/165.75
3 KROSUS KRISTI C SIAM KRISTI C SIAM: 78.00/84.30/162.30
4 RICH TIG TRACEY MACK-GORIN ELSBETH BATTEL: 82.40/78.30/160.70
5 WANDERPRINZ SARA BALLINGER SARA BALLINGER: 73.65/83.00/156.65
6 LOTARIO X RACHEL BOGGUS RACHEL BOGGUS: 77.20/76.70/153.90
7 VINCENZO JULIA NAGLER CLEMENTINE YOST: 74.40/79.00/153.40
8 HARRISBURG LYDIA TODD VICTORIA BONIFIELD: 77.90/73.40/151.30
9 TORNADO ELIZABETH LUBRANO HORIZON HILL FARM LLC: 78.80/67.60/146.40
10 DRUMLINE NICOLE LYVERE NICOLE LYVERE: 73.80/68.00/141.80

In its 18th 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 is taking place October 1-9.

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.