DiLandri and Harrison Add to Championship Collection with Big Wins at Capital Challenge Equitation Weekend

Photo Credit: Tina DiLandri and RSVP, 16 Year Old Equitation division champions at Capital Challenge Horse Show. Photo (C) 2008 Jennifer Wood.

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Upper Marlboro, MD - October 1, 2008 - At the Prince George's Equestrian Center, competition was tough at the Capital Challenge Equitation weekend. The show ran September 27-28, 2008. Some of the best junior riders from all over the country were there to compete. The team from Karen Healey Stables brought home multiple tricolor ribbons and top finishes.

It is not unusual for Tina DiLandri of La Jolla, CA, to accept championship awards at horse shows, and this past weekend was no exception. DiLandri was presented with the 16-Year-Old Equitation Division Championship. DiLandri competed and won aboard RSVP, owned by Highpoint Farm LLC. She piloted her mount to a first-place finish both over fences and on the flat. 

Continuing her success in the equitation ring, she picked up a first-place ribbon in the Monarch International Flat Equitation Championship. Over fences in the Monarch International North American Equitation Championship, she was fourth.

"I kind of went in open-minded. It was a good test to go in there and put your feelers out. It was a nice warm-up," DiLandri acknowledged. "He just went in and did his thing."

Samantha Harrison of La Canada, CA, was another one of Healey's junior riders who rose to the top of pack. In the 15-Year-Old Equitation Division, Harrison was awarded the reserve championship. Harrison won this award riding her horse Triple Lutz. The pair rode to a third-place finish over fences and was first on the flat. Not only was she reserve champion, she was also third in the Monarch International Flat Equitation Championship.

Westlake Village, CA resident Shelby Wakeman had a solid weekend. Riding San Francisco, Wakeman collected a fifth-place award in the Monarch International Flat Equitation Championship. In the 17-Year-Old Equitation over fences division, Wakeman finished eighth. On the flat, she finished strong with a third-place ribbon.

Young rider Demi Stiegler made a splash in her respective divisions last weekend. Stiegler competed against a tough group of riders on mount Palladium, who is owned by Christy Sutherland. Stiegler came out to win, and that she did in the THIS National Children's Medal Equitation over fences, where she came away with a blue ribbon.

She was also a fierce competitor in the Taylor Harris Insurance National Children's Medal Finals, where she ended up third. In the 13-14 Year Old Equitation over fences, she rode to an eighth-place finish and was seventh on the flat. Michelle Morris rode her horse Eventual in the 17-Year-Old Equitation on the flat, where she was seventh.

At the Flintridge Horse Show, Kristi Siam of Chatsworth was first in the Equitation over fences, fifth in the CPHA Foundation class and seventh in the PCHA Adult Medal Finals.

Healey and her team will continue to compete this week at the Capital Challenge Horse Show, which runs through October 5, 2008.

For more information on Karen Healey Stables, please visit www.karenhealeystables.com.