Jacksonville, FL- January 30, 2006- Over the Hill Farm of Sanford, Florida finished four weeks at the Jacksonville Winter Series on a high note. They completed the last week with four championships and five reserve championships as well as wins in two hunter classics and the great second place in the Open Hunter Classic. This was done without any juniors or children and very few ponies being in attendance for the week. Trainer Bill Schaub, his horses, and riders proudly take home over 30 tricolor ribbons for the four weeks they participated in the Winter Series. A beaming Schaub said, "It's been a good series for us. We've learned a lot - improved a lot."

Cachet captured first place in every class in the Green Conformation Hunter division. Cachet is an Oldenburg mare that owner Lee Cesery, from Jacksonville, Florida entered in the division for only her second week of showing at the 3'6" height. Cesery purchased the mare from Hunt Tosh out of his farm in Ocala several weeks ago. Last week, the young mare won a first under saddle but did not see a first over fences or in the model. This week, Cachet was ridden by Hunt Tosh the first day and by Holly Shepherd the second day and shown in the model class by Schaub. All the first place ribbons this week, of course, gave her the championship in the division. Smiling broadly, owner Cesery said, "There's a huge change from last week. She really settled in, so much more relaxed. I'm just really excited. She didn't seem to care who rode her. It's been a great couple of days!" After the ride, Holly Shepherd commented, "She's fantastic! She's super light, very careful, and brave. She never came out of shape. She's really, really nice. She's a blast!"

Mosaik, owned by Ashley Kennedy of Marshall, Virginia and ridden by Hunt Tosh and Holly Shepherd, captured the reserve championship in the First Year Green Hunter division. Tosh rode him the first day for second and sixth over fences and a third under saddle. Shepherd had the ride the second day for a first over fences. Speaking with trainer Schaub about Mosaik, he said, "I'm excited about that little horse. He has lots of scope. He's really a show horse when he goes in the ring. He just comes up with it." Schaub went on to say, "He needs more mileage and more experience to become more consistent. But everybody loves to ride him!"

Reveille, owned by Roberta Previ of Orlando, Florida, was ridden by Hunt Tosh and Holly Shepherd to the reserve championship in the Second Year Green Hunter division. Reveille received two firsts, a second, and a fourth over fences and a second under saddle.

Ceillia, owned by Nicole Baley and ridden by Hunt Tosh, was champion in the Regular Working Hunter division. Ceillia, who normally shows in Children's Hunter 14 & Under, jumped the four foot height as if it were her regular job and took firsts in both over fences classes and first in the under saddle.

In the Pre-Green 3' Hunter division, Fan Club was ridden by Holly Shepherd for owner Jennifer Bliss. Fan Club captured the reserve championship with a second and two thirds over fences and a third under saddle. Fan Club and Shepherd also won the Pre-Green Hunter Classic.

Moving on to an exciting weekend for Over the Hill Farm, it is hard to know where to begin. A new addition to the lineup for the Jacksonville Series this year was the $25,000 Open Hunter Classic. Sponsored by Oakleaf Plantation and accomplished by the hard work of Susie Rindal, the Classic was a great success and promises to be a big draw for hunters in the ensuing years. It provides a large purse not usually seen in the Hunter arena. A portion of the proceeds will go to "Horses Helping Horses", a program begun by equestrian photographer Robbi Meisel to rescue horses.

The warmup class was held Friday night in the large covered arena under the lights. The small crowd understood that these hunters were not used to this atmosphere and tried not to make noise in the rattling bleachers. But it was a pretty spooky place for most of the horses in the class. Over the Hill Farm entered six horses in the class. Hunt Tosh proved masterful in getting all the horses around the course. Out of the 24 horses in the warmup, only 6 blues were awarded. Cachet and Ceillia were two of the blue ribbon winners. Mosaik, owned by Ashley Kennedy, received a red for his warmup trip. The other three horses entered in the warmup were Gold Edition and Larkspur, both owned by Ashley Kennedy, and Reveille.

The first Jacksonville $25,000 Open Hunter Classic was held on Saturday evening and proved to be a treat for everyone to see the riders in formal attire. The course was set by Allen Rheinheimer. Hunt Tosh rode Cachet superbly for the first ride of the night and scored an 87 to set the bar for everyone to chase. The next Over the Hill Farm horse to go was Mosaik ridden by owner Ashley Kennedy, who had a solid round. Although many of the horses went well, there were still those who thought it was a very spooky place. After the first round, Cachet was in second place and Mosaik was in twelfth, so both horses were asked to jog and then invited in for the second round.

Mosaik and Ashley Kennedy rode the second round well and scored a 65 to give them a total of 132. Riding next to last, Hunt Tosh and Cachet entered for the second round. All of the OTH spectators were hardly breathing. The ride was beautiful but not quite as smooth as the first and the score reflected it - an 82. Added to their opening 87, this gave them a total of 169 which kept them in second place. And so, in their very first Open Hunter Classic, Cachet placed second and Mosaik finished twelfth, which was quite a feat for two green horses. Hunt Tosh said afterwards, "This was excellent. Cachet's very green. We weren't sure we should go tonight, she's so green. But we schooled her in the warmup and she went so nice, we decided to try it. It was fun because I sold her to Lee (Cesery), and I got to ride her. She's as brave as they come. She was a little tired in the second round but we're glad we did it. It was a nice result and exciting for Lee!"

Speaking with Lee Cesery the next morning, she commented on Cachet's second place finish in the Hunter Classic, "I'm so pleased. She's really surprised us, how quickly she's adapted. Nothing fazes her. I mean, going under lights, nothing. She started out as a dressage horse. Now she's jumping 3'6" like she's always done it. It's only been two weeks! Again, I'm so pleased!"

In the Amateur Owner 18-35 Hunter division, Ashley Kennedy rode Mosaik to the championship and Larkspur to the reserve championship. On Mosaik, she won two firsts and two seconds and received a third under saddle. Larkspur captured two firsts, a third, and a fourth over fences and a seventh under saddle. On her third horse in the division, Gold Edition, Kennedy had a nice second place under saddle and respectable ribbons over fences.

All of her horses placed in the Amateur Owner Hunter Classic with Mosaik taking third with scores of 82 and 74, Gold Edition, fifth with 76 and 78, and Larkspur, sixth with 80 and 73. "I'm very happy," said Kennedy. She expanded, "Mosaik did really good. He's tired; he's been showing double divisions, and he was up late last night because of the classic. But he's a trier, and he pulled through for me." In speaking of Larkspur, she said, "He also showed last night, and he gets tired easily anyway, but he was good. We're all going to take a vacation this next week to get ready for Ocala."

Riding in the Amateur Owner 36 and Older Hunter division, What D'Ya Know and owner Lee Cesery, from Jacksonville, Florida captured the championship for the fourth week in a row. They earned two firsts, a second, and a third over fences and a fourth under saddle. They also won the Amateur Owner Hunter Classic with scores of 79 and 85 for a total of 164. The NCE Amateur Owner Equitation class blue ribbon was Cesery's win also. What D'Ya Know is currently leading in the standings for the $5000 Bruning Foundation High Point Hunter Award.

Cesery said about What D'Ya Know, "I'm happy he's holding up. He's just so consistent. We'll go home for a few days, and he'll get turned out. We'll probably come back next weekend since we're leading in the Bruning standings."

Swanney, ridden by Megan Massaro for owner Courtney McGowan of Bluemont, Virginia in the Large Green Pony Hunter division, was reserve champion. The pair received a first, a second, and a fourth over fences and a third under saddle. Swanney also finished fifth in the Green Pony Hunter Classic.

Trainer Bill Schaub, in talking about the value of the Jacksonville Winter Series to his horses and riders, said, "It's a good place for my green horses to learn and for me to evaluate them. I can see which horses to keep and work with some more and which ones are ready for new owners. It's also a good place for my ponies to get mileage. My juniors can get a start on their points for Devon here. It's a great show for me."

Over the Hill Farm riders will compete next at the HITS Ocala Winter Classic show in Ocala, Florida beginning February 8, 2006. For more information on Bill Schaub and Over the Hill Farm, please visit their website at www.othfarm.com