October 6, 2006

Leslie Bulecheck Has Fun With Vida Blue

Grey Slipper Repeats Grand Champion Performance in the Amateur-Owners

Upper Marlboro, MD – October 5, 2006 - Leslie Bulecheck of Los Altos Hills, CA, had doubts about showing in the World Champion Hunter Rider [WCHR] Amateur-Owner Challenge class after her horse Vida Blue had shown in two divisions over four days. She said, “I was thinking that maybe I shouldn’t do it, and then at the last minute I thought that I would do it for fun.” But what started out as just having fun turned into a winning round on Thursday afternoon at the Capital Challenge Horse Show.

“The are some pretty amazing horses in there so just to be in the top ten is great,” said Bulecheck who was up against the top amateur-owner horses in the country.

Bulecheck has been teamed up with Vida Blue for less than a year, but they have a good rapport and she knows that the mare is happy to do her job in the ring. Bulecheck said, “I’ve never ridden a horse that is this happy to be in the ring and work. She gives every single jump 100%. I have never walked into the ring on her and felt that she didn’t want to be there.”

Vida Blue picked up ribbons in the second year green division with John French in the irons and collected a reserve champion in the young amateur owner division with Bulecheck.

Earning the younger amateur owner championship as well as the grand amateur owner title was Bridget Hallman and Gray Slipper. It was a repeat performance for the horse and rider combination. Hallman said of the wins, “It’s so exciting to be able to receive these awards twice. It’s all just like a fairy tale.”

Gray Slipper was ridden earlier in the week by Hallman’s trainer, Louise Serio, and collected the regular working championship as well as the grand hunter championship.

Hallman’s high scores and multiple blue ribbons put pressure on Rachel Geiger for the WCHR Amateur-Owner National Championship. Geiger, of Malvern, PA, wore the leading rider armband having the most points coming in to the show, but over the three days of competition the two amateurs ran neck-and-neck for the national championship .

Geiger went on to collect enough ribbons in the division to keep her points up and to take the honors. When asked how she felt about the rivalry she said, “It is kind of different with me and Bridget because we’re in the same barn. We’re kind of a team. I’m thrilled when she wins and she’s thrilled when I win.”

Friday’s schedule will feature the World Champion Hunter Rider (WCHR) Adult Amateur Finals, which will decide the WCHR Adult Amateur National Champion. Following the WCHR class the top 30 adult equitation riders in the nation will vie for the championship title in the ARIAT National Adult Medal Finals.

The Capital Challenge Horse Show runs through Sunday, October 8. The $50,000 Ariat Congressional Cup Grand Prix is the highlight of the jumper action. Held at 7:30pm on Saturday, October 7 the FEI World Cup Qualifying class is a great opportunity to witness US Equestrian Team veterans tackle a demanding course. As always, admission to the show is free and classes run in two rings throughout the day. Evening performances will take place on Friday and Saturday night. Results, photos, time schedule and streaming video can be found on the Capital Challenge website: www.capitalchallenge.org . For more information on the Capital Challenge Horse Show call (301) 952-7944.