Post by -- SHOW MONGER on Apr 9, 2012 4:26:17 GMT -8
"Saugerties Summer Classic"
Saugerties, NY
Issue 7.
Saugerties, NY
Issue 7.
I know I've been away for a while my gossip hungry friends! However with the baby and the husband and the shooting, there's just been so much going on, but I am back! Which will obviously please many of you. And I seemingly chose the busiest show of the year to mark my comeback with. And what a show it was! I'm sure you won't be disappointed, I certainly was not.
JUMPERS
PONY JUMPER
This pony class was a delight to watch and I am not just saying that. Really, it was full of entertainment! Starting with the name of the winning pony, Pudge, ridden by a miss Libby Rowan. This little pony moved quicker than anyone dared to expect (if you saw the belly on it you'd think the same). Second place went to an out of town rider who preferred not to be mentioned, probably too embarrassed to admit she was jumping in the pony rounds. Angela Eastman took third place on Spotlight, making it just inside the time. A bit quicker next time kid! Fourth place went to Lauren Scott on Highway 51, having four faults after knocking one pole at the last fence. The real disaster of the class though was Jerry Morgan, isn't he a jockey? He rode two of the cutest ponies I've ever seen (bar Pudge) although one went around like a bull in a china shop, clearly in need of a little more schooling, or better brakes. And the cute little spotted thing looked like it was about to send Jerry into orbit, they didn't even make it round. A fun class nonetheless!
LEVEL I JUMPERS JR/YR
There were a lot of out of town riders for this class, none of whom are really worth mentioning, nice horses but nothing worth making an offer on. However Shane Martin and Dublin In May showed these townies how to do it and set the time for the class, of which no one was able to catch. Angela Eastman was close, she had obviously had a pep talk with Spotlight before entering the ring and had managed to encourage him around the ring fast enough to collect second. Lauren Scott did not do as well as she had in the first class, Highway 51 knocking three poles and almost dragging himself around the ring and ended up with sixth.
LEVEL II JUMPERS JR/YR
Angela Eastman seems to be quite a busy girl, she entered this class too, though a change of mount int he form of Crosshairs helped her to claim first place. Second went to Penelope Morgan riding Mr Mysterious, a nice horse but simply not quick enough to catch Miss Eastman. Four faults for Sierra Ross cost her the red rosette which was unfortunate as her horse, Saturn's Rings, had been going so nicely. Daniel Knight took fourth place on Optimistic Inquiry, four faults for him too although he was slower than Sierra. Isabella Oteri snatched 5th on Double Identity and close after her was Shane Martin on Dublin In May, the horse obviously feeling the strain. Libby Rowan's horse Hooligan lived up to his namesake in this round, the poor girl. And Melissa Phipps on Match The Clock ended up last place as her horse refused twice and was promptly disqualified.
LEVEL III JUMPERS JR/YR
The faces in this class seemed oddly familiar, probably because nearly all of them had been in the class just before. Daniel Knight and Optimistic Inquiry didn't even seem to notice the size of the fences as they made their way around the course, beating the time allowed by almost a minute! Just behind them in second place came Sophia Strausland on her slightly bouncy mount, Double Take. Sierra Ross seems to be having a good day, taking home another third place this time on Intermission. Angela Eastman took third and fouth place on Crosshairs and Showdown, both of them being a little too slow to challenge the leaders. We saw Isabella Oteri again on the same mount Double Identity who took sixth place. Penelope Morgan took seventh, Shane Martin came eight, Sophia Strausland took ninth on her second mount and Libby Rowan was disqualified. Really, why name a horse Hooligan? You're only asking for trouble.
LEVEL IV JUMPERS JR/YR
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Libby Rowan made an appearance again, this time ditching that crazy mount of hers and opting for a much calmer ride on Hi Jinx. And someone needs to tell me what stable this horse is in so I can steal it...Nine In The Afternoon is also a horse I would like to steal, at least after this performance with Sophia Strausland leaving her with the red ribbon. Shane Martin on Sunset Boulevard took third place, he seems to be having quite the day! Sierra Ross also seemed to be having a good day, taking fourth place riding Camisada Z, a nice horse but dropped a hind foot over the last, an unfortunate end to an exciting round. Fifth place went to Angela Eastman on Showdown, another rider who we seem to be seeing a lot of recently. Double Take was Sophia Strausland's second ride and the pair did not do so well in this class, however this was a tough class and the second place kind of makes up for it.
LEVEL I JUMPERS A/A
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Crossfire just really didn't seem to have much luck in the Level I Jumper A/A division. Honestly, what is there to say when the only person that didn't get time faults was some person from out of town? The young girl galloped around like a maniac, but was the only one who made it around clear. Nathaniel Gage was our second place winner, who was only a few milliseconds over the allowed time. His mount Twenty-Three Nineteen didn't seem fazed by any of the colorful fences, jumping around with perfect style. Nathaniel also took the third place win on his horse Harold, which wasn't anything very exciting other than clean round with more time faults. Some other guy from out of town didn't make it past the third fence without getting a refusal, which was rather entertaining to watch the horse spook at nothing. Then came Jerry Morgan on Butterscotch, who had quite a few rails, but seemed to come out smiling never the less. Last, but not least, was miss equitation queen Victoria Benson who certainly disappointed the crowd. Her Belmont NV is usually one I drool over, but after his performance refusing and hitting rails I was certainly far from impressed, and there was not one bit of drool.
LEVEL II JUMPERS A/A
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Adalia Shaddix was the first rider in for the class on The Devil Wears Prada, and she certainly set the tone. Making it clear and fast, she held first throughout all of the other rounds. The same out of town rider that cleaned up the last class tried their hardest to beat her time, and were close to succeeding with a second place finish. Victoria Benson remade her appearance on Belmont MV, and the pair got around in a lovely, smooth course but certainly were not as quick as they could be. Honey, it's the jumper ring - not the Maclay finals, you could have taken the shorter tracks and been okay. Brianna Silas was our fourth place winner on her seasoned show horse, Trick or Treat. The two just seemed to be quite content going round, obviously not caring if they won or lost. Jerry Morgan on Butterscotch tried hard to pick up from their last performance, but another rail kept them from doing so and they came in fifth. Nathaniel Gage reappeared this round on Kumar, but with a rail and a refusal could not scrape up anything more than sixth place.
LEVEL III JUMPERS A/A
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Nathaniel Gage’s luck definitely changed in this class, managing to take out the top spot on Jaaman with a clear round to boot. He was followed closely behind by Talia Clarkson on Martini, the pair riding a fast round but not quite able to catch up to the leaders. Nathaniel Gage made his second appearance of the day to take out the third spot on Kumar, leaving Brianna Silas and Hand Grenade to the fourth position. A downed rail left Adela Stein riding Moritz in fifth place. Sophie Brennan on Stray Cat Strut had the same problem, but a slower round awarded them with sixth. Unfortunately Adalia Shaddix had little luck this time around, downing three poles, possibly a little over confident with their performance from the level two round, but it was definitely enough to beat Nathaniel Gage and Fox’s Tricks out for the seventh spot, the latter pair downing poles left right and center to give them last place.
LEVEL IV JUMPERS A/A
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Nathaniel Gage’s luck didn’t run out in this round, taking out the top position again, this time riding Dumb Luck. Mikael Hansson and Called To Action cleaned up over the jumps to take out the second position, beating out Nicole Strausland on Standing Ovation by a few seconds to leave them with third. Adela Stein on Moritz took the fourth placing with a nice clean round, Taylah Walker on Mysteria taking out the fifth position and the first pole downed for the round. Apparently Jaaman had had enough of jumping, giving Nathaniel Gage sixth place, with Devin King and Haunted Mirror trailing slightly behind to take out seventh. Victoria Benson still wasn’t having a good day, a refusal during her ride on Carter Z costing her a higher placing and leaving her with eighth, but the pair managed to take it right out from under the nose of Mikael Hansson and Mr Detective. Talia Clarkson and Martini took up the rear in this class, with a few knocked poles and time penalties.
LEVEL V JUMPERS A/A
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The level five jumpers was won by Devin King riding Lottery Ticket, followed by Nathaniel Gage and Dumb Luck coming in with second. Victoria Benson and Carter Z seemed to get their act together this time around to take out third place, followed closely by Mikael Hansson to take out both fourth and fifth place on Call To Action and Mr Detective respectively. Nathaniel Gage on Ventus Dominus had a slow round but managed to scrape by to collect sixth place despite time penalties, leaving an even slower Devin King and Vendara with seventh. Sloppy legs resulted in downed rails and eighth place for Nicole Strausland and Standing Ovation, and Taylah Walker’s mount Mysteria seemed to want to get it over and done with so quickly he wasn’t really paying attention to his legs either, and the result of that left them with ninth place. Nathaniel Gage and Saint Vitus didn’t seem to be having a good round either, a refusal as well as knocking down a few poles leaving them in tenth position, but their performance was just enough to beat out Isabella Grimshaw on her usually cooperative mount Bliss, who seemed to be in a crabby mood today, and put them in eleventh. I feel rather sorry for Noah Kacher and Lakota V, who came in last and that didn’t seem to be the only thing they left the ring with, was that a limp I saw his horse sporting as they walked out there?
LEVEL I JUMPERS OPEN
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The open division was started off with a small class, with Johanna Eastman taking out first place on her tidy Hanoverian mare My Sharona, with the pair jumping a clean, fast round. Elisabeth Harper came in on Kid at a close second, missing out on the leader spot due to a bit of a stumble between jumps that cost them some time finding their footing again. Aaron Palmer took third place on In Your Honour by mere seconds, putting Elisabeth Harper on Disenchanted, her second ride for the round, in fifth place. Newcomer Mitchell Close didn’t appear to be in too much of a rush to get over the course, his horse Dress On Fridays seemed to be just loping along at his own pace really, but managed to beat out Aaron Palmer for sixth place, with his ride on Quantum Leap costing him penalties when they took out the top pole on the very last jump.
LEVEL II JUMPERS OPEN
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Aaron Palmer seemed to be having better luck this round, taking out first place on Fox’s Trick, although that OTTB was going so fast it looked like he was going to floor half the fences rather than jump them, but jump he did. Return rider Charlie Cordell took out second place on his gelding Basket Case, with another fast round but at least he looked less in danger of taking the jumps out with him. Top ranked mare Disenchanted didn’t seem to be having her best day today, coming in with rider Elisabeth Harper to take out third place, certainly an upgrade from their level one round. Johanna Eastman and My Sharona didn’t do as well this round as they did earlier, narrowly beating out Grace Moselle on California by milliseconds to take out fourth, leaving Grace with a fifth placing. Johanna Eastman’s second ride for the round, Raise The Alarm, clipped one of the poles on a vertical, and unfortunately managed to knock it clean off, although it looked like he was going to be safe there for a moment, giving the pair sixth place, and leaving a slower Mitchell Close on Dress On Fridays with seventh place, the pair also knocking a pole. Elisabeth Harper took out eight place, Kid knocking out two poles in their course, although riding it with a nice time. Another OTTB made an appearance in the level two ring, with Andrew Hellier taking out two poles and suffering a refusal at the triple combination. Better luck next time!
LEVEL III JUMPERS OPEN
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I’m starting to feel a sense of déjà vu with all these familiar faces floating around the ring... oh wait, that would be because I’ve seen most of them several times today already. Elisabeth Harper’s day got better, taking out first place on big jumper Born For This, and his name seems to suit him perfectly. Lena Cordell came in at second place on her new gelding Paralyzer, who I must say is definitely an upgrade from the crazy OTTB mare she used to hoon around on. Andrew Hellier seemed to have luck on his side as well, taking out a third placing on HS Make My Day, and very narrowly missing out on the second spot. Another familiar face, another familiar horse (although last time we saw Hi Jinx! compete today it was in the junior field) and Elisabeth Harper took out fourth. Grace Moselle on Serenade took out fifth place, beating out a slower Charlie Cordell on Basket Case to leave the pair with sixth place. Johanna Eastman and Elisabeth Harper seemed to encounter the same problem, with their mounts Raise The Alarm and Canto each putting a hoof over the markers when taking the water jump, although Johanna rode a faster round and took out seventh, leaving Elisabeth with eighth place. Raquel Chevalier and Promises Of Delight took out ninth place, taking out one pole with them on their round, and riding a faster round than Andrew Hellier on his second ride, Acheron, who also took out a pole, leaving them with a tenth placing. And unfortunately for Andrew Hellier, his last ride of the round, Bonfire At Midnight, seemed to completely lose it when it came to his turn in the ring, firstly it looked like it was a struggle to actually get him into the ring, and then when he was, refusing one jump, before managing to knock down an entire jump, and sending his rider flying straight over it without his horse on his second attempt of taking said fence. He really didn’t want to jump it. Looks like you might need to do a bit more work with this one Andy!
LEVEL IV JUMPERS OPEN
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Boy oh boy, there were a lot of riders in this class! Show regular Arianna Clarkson took out the top placing out of eighteen competitors on her gelding The Minstrel Boy, with a fast, clean round. Grace Moselle and Bacardy almost took it out from underneath her, but were slightly slower going around. Better luck next time Grace! Andrew Hellier and HS Make My Day took out another third placing in this round, beating out Elisabeth Harper and a slightly tired looking Born For This to put them in fourth. Lena Cordell and Paralyzer seemed to lose a bit of speed in this round as well, coming in at a close fifth, and only just beating out Raquel Chevalier on Zenith Fernando who came in at sixth. The race was on between Elisabeth Harper and Aaron Palmer for seventh place, but Misery and Beth beat him and Ventus Dominus out for the position by literally a millisecond on their time, leaving him with eighth. Arianna Clarkson seemed to be having a bit of trouble with her next mount, Pardon Me (no really, that’s her horse’s name), and although they had a clean round she had to hold him back a lot to achieve that, slowing them down and giving them the ninth position. Grand Jete really didn’t seem to want to give Elisabeth Harper the speed she wanted, but was jumping big enough to leave them in a clean round and tenth place. Katie Samuels and Cassandra took out eleventh, the mare seeming a little scared of some of the fences and took her time around the course. Andrew Hellier on Acheron came in at twelfth, and appeared to be having a grand ole, yet slow, time around the course. Elisabeth Harper really seemed to be having an on-off day here today, with Canto taking out a pole and just putting her in thirteenth. Katie Samuel’s Silver Heart seemed to be a little too enthusiastic going around, also taking out a pole and seeming to get distracted halfway through, and it took a bit of coaxing from his rider to get him to speed up. Thanks to the gelding’s burst of speed right near the end of the course, it left Raquel Chevalier riding Promises of Delight in fifteenth place, taking out a pole and narrowly avoiding taking out another. One less knocked pole would have left Andrew Hellier and HES Totally Wicked a place higher, but they had no such luck today, settling for sixteenth instead. Elisabeth Harper’s Beautiful You seemed to be having an off day as well, suffering time penalties and a few knocked down poles, and putting them in seventeenth position. The pole curse came back for Chase Cartright and SKS Dash Total, knocking down three and suffering a refusal at the water jump, which secured them the last placing.
LEVEL V JUMPERS OPEN
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The last course of the day definitely had its ups and downs. Apparently the level four course was just a warm up round for Arianna Clarkson and Pardon Me, with the Thoroughbred stallion taking out first place with none of the pigheadedness seen in the previous round. Raquel Chevalier and Zenith Fernando rode a fast clean round to take out second place, and Aaron Palmer on Saint Vitus came in at a close third. He managed to beat out Elisabeth Harper and Misery in this round too, leaving them to claim fourth place. Katie Samuels’ ride on Silver Heart seemed to go a lot better in this round too, with the gelding a lot more focused and winning them a fifth. Grace Moselle and Don Benito only just went over the time allowed, earning them time penalties and sixth place. Andrew Hellier and HES Totally Wicked also suffered a slower round, but managed to secure themselves seventh place without too many difficulties. Arianna Clarkson and The Minstrel Boy didn’t fare so well, apparently the gelding had had enough of jumping by the time it was his go around and his sloppy feet left him with a pole knocked down, and them with eighth place. Cassandra didn’t seem to have gotten over her wariness of the jumps by this time either, and a slightly doubtful approach to a jump left her and rider Katie Samuels with a knock down and ninth place. Grand Jete was really having a moody day, and this caused him and rider Elisabeth Harper to take home tenth place, with two knocked down poles. Chase Cartright and SKS Total Dash had a slightly better round this time, with no refusals but three poles down which left them with eleventh placing, and Elisabeth Harper and Beautiful You were forced to resign halfway through the course due to the mare sustaining a leg injury hitting a fence on the way over.