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Articles: Press Release
Cachet Second in $25,000 Jacksonville Open Hunter Classic and Sweeps The
Green Conformation Hunters
Photo Credit: Cachet and Hunt Tosh, second in the $25,000 Jacksonville
Open Hunter Classic Photo by Flashpoint Photography.
Contact:
MEDIA CONTACT: Foncine Wood of Phelps Media Group, Inc. International at
(904) 742-4254 or at foncinewood@msn.com
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
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