Articles: Press Release

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Jennifer Wood of Phelps Media Group, Inc.
at (561) 753-3389 or at pmginfo@phelpsmediagroup.com

Upper Marlboro, MD - September 30, 2009 - The Capital Challenge Horse Show had a full schedule of hunter competition today with many highlights. There were professional hunter divisions finishing up with championships, plus four championship classes. The big winners were Scott Stewart and World Time in the $15,000 WCHR Professional Challenge. Ken Berkley rode Sambalino to the Grand Hunter Championship after their Green Conformation Champion win, and Katherine Newman guided Daydream to victory in the $5,000 Emerging Professional Rider Challenge. Sandy Ferrell and Showman were the Grand Future Hunter Champions and won the Future Hunter World Championship.

Starting out the day, Berkley and Sambalino, owned by Gina Day, were champions in the Green Conformation Hunters, winning over Fashion Farm's Declaration and Scott Stewart. With their 37 points in the division, they were awarded the Grand Hunter Championship and Berkley was named the Leading Hunter Rider.

Berkley and Sambalino have had a winning season being champion at almost everywhere they've competed. Berkley considers Sambalino a very good horse. "Good horses are born good. When you have a good horse in the division that's the model winner, that jumps well and that usually wins the hack, it makes for an easy day for a professional," he said.

He described Sambalino as "a good hunter (who) is fun to ride. It's an amazing feeling to jump around an athletic horse, a horse that has brains, scope and uses its body like he can. You just get chills in the schooling area because he can jump a big jump, and he can jump a wide oxer. Good hunters are athletes," he concluded.

The $25,300 Future Hunter World Championship was the first major class held indoors today. Sandy Ferrell and Showman, who were crowned Grand Future Hunter Champions, carried away the World Championship with two scores of 90.2. Showman is owned by Alexa and Krista Weisman. They also collected the EMO Trip of Show for the Futures, with a high score of 91.

John Ingram of Nashville, TN, rode his horse Hush to victory in the World Champion Hunter Under Saddle Senior class. Hush is no stranger to the winner's circle in this class, and she floated across the ground to win the blue ribbon.

In the evening session, the up-and-coming riders in the hunter/jumper industry showed their stuff in the $5,000 Emerging Professional Rider Challenge. In the one-round class, it was all or nothing with one score determining the winner. Eighteen-year-old Katherine Newman rode a precise, smooth round on Daydream, owned by Mimi Abel-Smith, to score an 87.66 from the judges for the win.

Newman is riding in her first year as a professional for her parents Gerry and Kathy Newman, and their farm, Allwyn Court. She showed Daydream for five years, since his Pre-Green year. Newman was excited to do the Emerging Professional Challenge. She remarked, "I think it's a really cool opportunity to do a special class." She noted that the course "had a really good flow to it."

Newman described Daydream as "simple." She added, "You just drop the reins when you go in the ring and just keep going. He loves to jump, and he's so much fun to ride. He looks really small, but he covers so much ground. I know him really well. Every year he's changed and gotten more mature."

The final class of the day was the $15,000 WCHR Professional Challenge. After the first round earlier in the day, the top 12 were asked back for the second round. Scott Stewart and World Time won the first round with a score of 90.83 and won the second round with an 89.66 to score a total of 180.49 for the win over John French and Rumba, who scored 176.74, and Hunt Tosh on Rosalynn with 173.66.

Stewart bought World Time as a five-year-old in Holland, and he showed World Time lightly in the Second Year Green Hunters this year. Last year, they were First Year Green Hunter champions at the Washington International Horse Show.

World Time came to Capital Challenge mainly to compete in the junior hunters with Victoria Colvin. Stewart decided two days ago to take World Time in the WCHR Professional Challenge over his other, greener horses. "He's the most straightforward horse," Stewart explained. "He's really dependable. He's so simple, but he's so careful and not spooky. He always comes in and tries to do it right. He's a blast."

Because he has not shown World Time (above) recently, Stewart felt added pressure for himself. "I was more nervous for myself because I haven't ridden him around, but I knew he was going to be perfect...which sort of adds to the pressure to me because he always does it right," he commented.

All of the hunter courses have been designed by Michael Rheinheimer of Willoughby, OH, and Stewart felt that today's courses were very fitting for the Challenge class. "The courses were nice because there was a lot of galloping room," Stewart explained. "The jumps seemed more like Second Year (height), especially the oxer width. You could ride up to the jumps and get the good jump."

Stewart is pleased with his win today and for qualifying for Friday's WCHR Professional Finals, where the top six hunter riders in the nation will compete head-to-head for bragging rights as the best hunter rider. The top six riders that are qualified for Friday night's competition are Scott Stewart, Ken Berkley, John French, Peter Pletcher, Hunt Tosh, and Kelley Farmer.

The championships awarded for the professional hunter divisions are as follows:

First Year Green Working Hunter Section A
Champion: Ante Up, Sandy Ferrell, Ann Thompson
Reserve Champion: Triton, Peter Pletcher, Don Stewart Jr.

First Year Green Working Hunter Section B
Champion: Arabella, Peter Pletcher, Becky Gochman
Reserve Champion: Travino, Patricia Griffith, Heritage Farm
Green Conformation Hunter Champion: Sambalino, Ken Berkley, Gina Day
Reserve Champion: Declaration, Scott Stewart, Fashion Farm
Regular Conformation Hunter Champion: Luigi, Kelley Farmer, Mr. and Mrs. Ernest Oare
Reserve Champion: Declaration, Scott Stewart, Fashion Farm

Grand First Year Green Hunter: Arabella, Peter Pletcher, Becky Gochman
Grand Green Hunter: Rumba, John French, Mountain Home Stable
Grand Conformation Hunter: Luigi, Kelley Farmer, Mr. and Mrs. Ernest Oare
Tribute Perpetual Trophy: Lone Star, Hunt Tosh, Mr. and Mrs. Douglas Wheeler
Best Hunter Performance: tie: Rumba, John French, Mountain Home Stable Lone Star, Hunt Tosh, Mr. and Mrs. Douglas Wheeler
EMO Trip of the Show: tie: Rumba, John French, Mountain Home Stable Lone Star, Hunt Tosh, Mr. and Mrs. Douglas Wheeler

Future Hunter World Championship
1. Showman, Sandy Ferrell, Alexa & Krista Weisman: 90.20+90.20= 180.40
2. Vibe, Peter Pletcher, Becky Gochman: 85.25+88.80= 174.05
3. Good Humor, Hunt Tosh, M/M Douglas: 86.75+ 87.10= 173.85
4. Listen, Kelley Farmer, Jane Gaston: 88.25+83.05= 171.30
5. Rosebud, Kelley Farmer, Spencer Ranch: 83.50+86.90= 170.40
6. Saratoga, Kim Zindel-Buzby, Sissy Wickes: 84.76+83.20= 167.96
7. Second City, Kelley Farmer, Jane Gaston: 81.90+81.20= 164.45
8. Summer Place, Scott Stewart, Scott Stewart: 84.50+79.00= 163.50
9. Prudence, Sandy Ferrell, Torrey Pines: 84.00+78.80= 162.80
10. Gladiator, Kristen Coe, S & L Farms: 81.90+76.00= 157.90
11. Sanzibar, Ken Berkley, Karen Long: 85.20+58.20= 142.00
12. Premier, Ken Berkley, Gina Day: 84.70+45.00= 129.70

World Champion Hunter Under Saddle Senior
1. Hush, John Ingram
2. Sunday Morning, Havens Schatt
3. Dubari, Will Roberts
4. Winter's Tale, Scott Stewart
5. Bijou, Havens Schatt
6. Absolut, Havens Schatt
7. Krystal, Scott Stewart
8. In The Black, Clara Lidner
9. Czech, Teddi Jo Mellencamp
10. Farewell, Rachel Koggan

Emerging Professional Rider Challenge
1. Daydream, Katherine Newman 87.66
2. Collin, Chad Keemum 87.00
3. Cecret Weapon, Molly Sewell 84.83
4. Fair Wind, Caitlin Venezia 84.33
5. Daisy May, Christina Serio 84.00
6. Smart Pak, Tim Maddrix 83.33
7. Chelsea, Kim Zindel Busby 82.33
8. Czech, Teddi Jo Mellencamp 79.66
9. Rock Star, Alexandra Garrity 79.00
10. King Lear, Jennifer Bliss 78.00

World Champion Hunter Rider Professional Challenge
1. World Time, Scott Stewart 90.83+89.66=180.49
2. Rumba, John French 90.08+86.66=176.74
3. Rosalynn, Hunt Tosh 87.66+86.00=173.66
4. Rio's Echo, Peter Pletcher 89.66+84.00=173.66
5. Virtue, Katie Huber 84.66+86.66=171.32
6. Lyle, Jenny Karazissis 87.66+82.33=169.99
7. Lemieux, Sandy Ferrell 83.58+83.66=167.24
8. Endo Fino, Amanda Steege 85.00+78.66=163. 66
9. Andiamo, Emily Williams 81.00+80.66=161.66
10. Sterling, Jennifer Bauersachs 83.50+78.00=161.50

The Capital Challenge Horse Show continues tomorrow with championships for the Amateur-Owner and Adult Amateur Hunters, the WCHR Amateur-Owner Challenge, Round One of the North American Junior/Amateur-Owner Challenge Cup, and the Children's/Adult Jumper Challenge.

For more information about the show including photos, news, and results, visit the official web site at www.capitalchallenge.org. To watch live footage of this year's horse show, please visit www.equestriansport.tv. This year's Capital Challenge Horse Show will run from September 26 through October 4 at the Prince George's Equestrian Center in Upper Marlboro, MD. The horse show is conveniently located off of Route 4, just seven miles east of the Capital Beltway.