Source:  News Release/Mary Adelaide Brakenridge for PMG Inc.

 

 

 

Nicole Lyvere and Promo Show the Way in
3'6" Amateur Owner Hunters at Summer in the Rockies II

 

 

Parker, CO -  Nicole Lyvere and Promo got off to a strong start in the 3'6" Amateur Owner Hunters on Saturday of Summer in the Rockies II, taking first place in the handy and second place over fences to establish themselves as the ones to beat when the division wraps up on Sunday at the Colorado Horse Park.

 

Promo's newfound relaxation in the show ring, along with his eye-catching efforts over fences, led to two smooth, confident rounds. Quite Nice, owned and ridden by Susan Winston, edged him out in the first round over fences, but Promo stepped up to dominate in the handy class.

 

"He was really good today," Lyvere said of Promo. "We're working on making him soft in the bridle and he's responding to that. He's becoming receptive to going around nicely and not getting worried." 

Nicole Lyvere and Promo

Lyvere said that Promo can be lazy and also can get anxious or spooky at fences, but even if they have trouble in the approach, he always jumps the fence - and jumps it in style. "No matter the distance, in every single picture you take, and over every single jump, he always jumps perfectly square, even if it's long or short or spooky," she said. "That's his one really good quality - he always puts his legs square."

 

Lyvere, who lives in Colorado not far from the Horse Park, enjoys coming out for the summer shows. "It's fun!" she said. "We're here all summer. We're on the road all year, so it's nice to come home and sleep in your own bed. Our barn is 15 minutes away, so the horses get to go back and forth and get turned out, which helps them stay fresh."

Susan Winston and Quite Nice

Lyvere may be a Colorado local, but Madeleine Stover, who similarly took first place in the handy and second place over fences in the 3'3" Amateur Owner Hunters, traveled quite a distance to show at the Horse Park. She is from New Hampshire, attends school at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, and plans to compete in Kentucky and Vermont later this summer. Stover laid down two smooth, consistent rounds with Concierge to lead the division.

 

Stover chose to carve two weeks out of a busy summer to spend in Colorado after coming to the Horse Park for the first time last year. "I'd never been to Colorado, and I was like, 'I'm moving here, I love it!'" she laughed. "This horse show is so much fun. It's really well run. I have a jumper too and the jumper rings are huge and fun."

 

She just began showing Concierge again after leasing him out for the past year, so her goal was to have a steady, confidence-building outing on him. "I was just focusing on getting my rhythm and figuring out how he felt," she explained. "The first round, I just tried to make it smooth and a happy experience for everyone involved."

 

Stover's first ride was good enough for second place behind Mindy Coretz and KAC Horses LLC's Classic Contender. She and Concierge moved on to the handy round on a mission to get noticed. "In the handy, I always try to make the inside turns and be a little fancier, just to set myself apart from the group," Stover said.

 

Stover enjoyed the courses, which were designed by Scott Starnes. "The courses rode really well," she said. "The weather is optimal horse show weather and he was really on his game. They're beautiful jumps and the courses were fun, especially the handy. I love handies and the course designer gave a lot of options. You could go around, you could go inside - it was really nice."

Madeleine Stover and Concierge

Stover's praise for the courses was echoed by Hannah Holik, who continued racking up the wins in the Junior Hunters. She and Czech Mate LLC's Tache Rouge claimed the top spot in both Junior Hunter O/F classes, securing the divisional championship while Laura Fereday and Amoro De Legante took the reserve. Holik and Tache Rouge also won the $1,000 Junior Hunter Classic with a combined score of 161 (84 in the first round and 77 in the second).

 

"I liked that they varied the length of strides in the lines - they had an in-and-out, four-stride, and six-stride," Holik said. "So in the four-stride, you had to be careful not to get there too soon, while in the in-and-out, you could gallop up and have the horse stretch a little bit more."

 

Holik, who also won the Junior Hunter O/F and Handy classes on Friday, said Saturday's courses presented new challenges. "Today they had more short approaches, such as the single oxer, which was based more in the middle of the ring instead of the long outside approach," she noted. "It made it more difficult to get a nice gallop and gallop right up to the oxer - it came right out of the turn. But Marcos (Tache Rouge) handled it really well."

 

"He's so good," she went on. "He's so wonderful. He saves me a lot. He's the best."

Hannah Holik and Tache Rouge

Also posting good performances in junior divisions was Katherine Pitts, who scored a win and a near miss in the day's featured equitation classes. Pitts negotiated the difficult equitation courses with ease, riding Melvin Pitts' No Excuses to the blue ribbon in the Marshall & Sterling Equine Junior Medal and the red ribbon in the USEF Pessoa Hunter Seat Medal.

 

"The courses were pretty challenging today, I'd say," Pitts reflected. "A lot of inside turns and bending lines. I actually really liked them."

 

While she said her nerves often get in her way in the show ring, she stayed calm and confident throughout her rides, producing clean, flowing rounds. "My nerves always get the best of me," she admitted. "Today, I think it was good that I didn't let that happen."

 

Her nerves got an additional challenge when both classes brought back the top riders for testing, with Pitts sitting in the No. 1 position both times. But she used the situation to her advantage, watching the other riders to gauge what she needed to do to win. In the Marshall & Sterling Equine Junior Medal, the top four riders in the class were asked to canter three fences, trot one fence and halt afterward, and perform a sitting trot to the gate. Several riders struggled to perform a clean halt, but Pitts executed a prompt and immobile halt that, along with a smooth ride over the tested jumps, secured her the win.

Katherine Pitts and No Excuses

Five riders were called back to test in the USEF Pessoa Hunter Seat Medal. The test included a six-stride line that had not been jumped as a line in the original course, a counter canter to another fence, and a trot fence. Pitts put in a good effort in the first part of the test, but a bobble at the trot fence made her vulnerable, and Kelli Cruciotti, who was sitting in fourth place going into the test, was poised to take advantage.

 

"Since I was sitting in first, I got to watch and see what everyone else did and then measure what I needed to do to still win," Pitts said. "But when you're in fourth, you just kind of have to go for it."

 

Cruciotti knew she had little to lose and everything to gain by putting in her best possible performance in the test. She and Serenity Farm's Fabrege marched down the line with confidence, nailed the counter canter, and smoothly trotted the final fence to make their case for the win. They were rewarded with the blue ribbon.

 

"I was already fourth, so I told myself that it's worth giving it a shot and seeing what happens, so luckily it turned out," Cruciotti said. She admitted to being initially unsure about how the first line would ride, but praised her horse for giving her some extra confidence.

 

"I'm lucky to be on such a seasoned horse," Cruciotti said. "She was like, 'I got it.' It was great."

 

Fabrege is 19 years old, and Cruciotti rides her occasionally when she is not leased out to other riders. "She was awesome - smooth, and the course was nice and rode really beautifully," Cruciotti described. "I just wanted to be smooth and confident. That was my plan."

Kelli Cruciotti and Fabrege

Summer in the Rockies II, the second week of the Colorado Horse Park's six-week summer series, concludes on Sunday. Amateur Owner Hunters will be the focus in the Olsen Family Hunter Arena as the 3'6" and 3'3" divisions wrap up and riders compete for $1,000 in the Amateur Owner Hunter Classic.

 

Results: Summer in the Rockies II - June 15, 2013 (Number/Horse/Owner/Rider)

 

260. Amateur Owner Hunter 3'6" O/F

1. 787/Quite Nice/Susan Winston/Susan Winston

2. 285/Promo/Nicole Lyvere/Nicole Lyvere

3. 204/Sir Topham Hat/The Cottonwoods Ltd/Liza Dennehy

4. 858/Briscoe/Gretchen Brictson/Gretchen Brictson

5. 115/The Big Easy/Jessica Staker/Jessica Staker

 

261. Amateur Owner Hunter 3'6" Handy

1. 285/Promo/Nicole Lyvere/Nicole Lyvere

2. 858/Briscoe/Gretchen Brictson/Gretchen Brictson

3. 204/Sir Topham Hat/The Cottonwoods Ltd/Liza Dennehy

4. 115/The Big Easy/Jessica Staker/Jessica Staker

5. 787/Quite Nice/Susan Winston/Susan Winston

 

270. Amateur Owner Hunter 3'3" O/F

1. 126/Classic Contender/KAC Horses, LLC/Mindy Coretz

2. 184/Concierge/Elizabeth Richter/Madeleine Stover

3. 798/Quite Cool/Page Tredennick/Page Tredennick

4. 205/Now You Know/The Cottonwoods Ltd/Liza Dennehy

5. 406/Duet/Lisa Philpott/Eliza Philpott

6. 112/Carisma/Amy McCraken/Amy McCraken

7. 332/Timbuktu/Elizabeth Hund/Elizabeth Hund

8. 110/Rio/Chelsea Magness/Chelsea Magness

 

271. Amateur Owner Hunter 3'3" Handy

1. 184/Concierge/Elizabeth Richter/Madeleine Stover

2. 205/Now You Know/The Cottonwoods Ltd/Liza Dennehy

3. 332/Timbuktu/Elizabeth Hund/Elizabeth Hund

4. 429/In Like Fynn/NTM Enterprises/Nancy Moore

5. 798/Quite Cool/Page Tredennick/Page Tredennick

6. 110/Rio/Chelsea Magness/Chelsea Magness

7. 125/Gretta/KAC Horses, LLC/Mindy Coretz

8. 846/On The Money/Caitlin Burns/Caitlin Burns

 

703. $1,000 Junior Hunter Classic

1. 301/Tache Rouge/Czech Mate, LLC/Hannah Holik

2. 366/Amoro De Legante/Laura Fereday/Laura Fereday

3. 333/Simply Said/Emma Willsky/Emma Willsky

4. 466/Parrot Bay/Emily Ryan/Emily Ryan

5. 765/Calido's Son/Amanda Hauser/Amanda Hauser

6. 762/Hidden Creek's Sinnamon/Reagan Hill Farms/Hunter Bacon

7. 500/Golden Girl/Lindsay Gersoff/Lindsay Gersoff

 

Junior Hunter Champions

Champion: 301/Tache Rouge/Czech Mate, LLC/Hannah Holik

Reserve: 366/Amoro De Legante/Laura Fereday/Laura Fereday

 

232. Junior Hunter O/F

1. 301/Tache Rouge/Czech Mate, LLC/Hannah Holik

2. 366/Amoro De Legante/Laura Fereday/Laura Fereday

3. 466/Parrot Bay/Emily Ryan/Emily Ryan

4. 333/Simply Said/Emma Willsky/Emma Willsky

5. 819/Levitation/Marnina Seller/Marnina Seller

6. 199/Uriela CWF/Audrey Slouka/Audrey Slouka

7. 500/Golden Girl/Lindsay Gersoff/Lindsay Gersoff

8. 762/Hidden Creek's Sinnamon/Reagan Hill Farms/Hunter Bacon

 

233. Junior Hunter O/F

1. 301/Tache Rouge/Czech Mate, LLC/Hannah Holik

2. 366/Amoro De Legante/Laura Fereday/Laura Fereday

3. 466/Parrot Bay/Emily Ryan/Emily Ryan

4. 333/Simply Said/Emma Willsky/Emma Willsky

5. 199/Uriela CWF/Audrey Slouka/Audrey Slouka

6. 757/Cakebread/Kathy Mason Maechtle/Ireland Maechtle

7. 819/Levitation/Marnina Seller/Marnina Seller

8. 500/Golden Girl/Lindsay Gersoff/Lindsay Gersoff

 

234. Junior Hunter U/S (6/14/13)

1. 333/Simply Said/Emma Willsky/Emma Willsky

2. 301/Tache Rouge/Czech Mate, LLC/Hannah Holik

3. 765/Calido's Son/Amanda Hauser/Amanda Hauser

4. 199/Uriela CWF/Audrey Slouka/Audrey Slouka

5. 366/Amoro De Legante/Laura Fereday/Laura Fereday

6. 466/Parrot Bay/Emily Ryan/Emily Ryan

7. 757/Cakebread/Kathy Mason Maechtle/Ireland Maechtle

8. 500/Golden Girl/Lindsay Gersoff/Lindsay Gersoff

 

409. M&S Equine Junior Medal

1. 202/No Excuses/Melvin Pitts/Katherine Pitts

2. 287/French Kiss/Abigail Graham/Abigail Graham

3. 502/Samsonite/Katya Schwab/Katya Schwab

4. 466/Parrot Bay/Emily Ryan/Emily Ryan

5. 336/Zygo/Alessandra Sozzi/Alessandra Sozzi

6. 499/Rocket Man/Lindsay Gersoff/Lindsay Gersoff

7. 295/Hutton/Lexi Mulkey/Lexi Mulkey

8. 173/Patita A./Grace Howard/Daniel Cyphert

 

401. USEF Pessoa Hunter Seat Medal

1. 849/Fabrege/Serenity Farm/Kelli Cruciotti

2. 202/No Excuses/Melvin Pitts/Katherine Pitts

3. 502/Samsonite/Katya Schwab/Katya Schwab

4. 188/Casco/BTP Investments LLC/Brooke Pettet

5. 441/Seraldo/All Seasons Farm/Isabel Johnson

6. 281/Theodore K/Hannah Hlopak/Hannah Hlopak

7. 435/Jazzo/Kali Barnes/Kali Barnes

8. 466/Parrot Bay/Emily Ryan/Emily Ryan

 

284. Colorado Horse Park Hunter O/F

1. 204/Sir Topham Hat/The Cottonwoods Ltd/Liza Dennehy

2. 184/Concierge/Elizabeth Richter/Madeleine Stover

3. 110/Rio/Chelsea Magness/Stacey Swink

4. 858/Briscoe/Gretchen Brictson/Gretchen Brictson

5. 798/Quite Cool/Page Tredennick/Page Tredennick

6. 126/Classic Contender/KAC Horses, LLC/Mindy Coretz

7. 406/Duet/Lisa Philpott/Eliza Philpott

8. 332/Timbuktu/Elizabeth Hund/Elizabeth Hund

 

Barnmice News story brought to you by Omega Alpha

Omega Alpha has you covered for all your equine natural supplements -
plus human and pet needs too!