Hunters Are Main Event in Bainbridge Florida Classic at Winter Equestrian Festival

Wellington, FL – February 18, 2006 – The Bainbridge Florida Classic, presented by the Palm Beach Post, is the fourth week of the 34th Annual Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF). The hunter discipline is featured this week, with many classes on the big, grass field of the Internationale Arena.

The Internationale Arena was the site of eight championship award presentations today. There were three other rings of hunter competition as well. The first class in the Internationale Arena today was the Amateur-Owner 18-35 Hunters. In Section B, the tricolor was awarded to Double Cinco and Rowlanda Blue Stephanos, who rode for Pamela Allardice. Reserve champion in the division was Chopard, ridden and owned by Krista Weisman.

Double Cinco and Stephanos are new to the Amateur-Owner classes, and Stephanos’ family has only owned the beautiful bay gelding since January. “I usually do the Amateur Jumpers. I haven’t done the hunters since I was a junior,” Stephanos explained. “Our really good hunter, Castaway, passed away last year. It took a long time, but we found Double Cinco with Jack Towell and Timmy Kees from Don Stewart. We bought him to have another horse for my sister Paige. My mom asked me if I would do him in the 3’6.”

About Double Cinco, she said, “His jump is unbelievable. It’s very rare to feel a horse jump the way he does. He’s incredible, and we’re lucky to have him.” Stephanos will compete in the AHJF Hunter Spectacular of Palm Beach tonight for the first time, while it will be Double Cinco’s second attempt. “We’ll see what happens,” she said. “I don’t usually do the hunters, so it’s a treat for me.”

In Section A of the Amateur-Owner 18-35 Hunters, it was a fourth championship in a row for North Country and Avery Dimmig. They were flawless this week to capture the tricolor over Social Secretary and Sheila Motley.

The Amateur-Owner 36 & Over Hunters was another split division due to high entries. In Section A, Pave and Caroline Moran scored their second championship in a row. Reserve champion went to Pavarotti and Teri Kessler.

On her second horse, Kessler moved up and snared a championship in Section B with Trout Line. Kessler spoke about the differences between her two horses, “I know Pavarotti pretty well, and I knew he would be very reliable out on the field. He’s a great jumper without any help from me. Trout Line is a new ride for me. He’s a little bit of an oddball. He’s a very easy horse to find the jumps on, he’s an extravagant mover, and he’s a very good jumper. He’s very generous in general, but he’s just a little quirky.” Reserve champion in the B Section was In Disguise and Ellen Toon.

The opportunity to compete on two horses is something that Kessler has never experienced in 25 years of showing in the 3’6” divisions. “It really showed me a lot about my riding that I wouldn’t have noticed. I was stuck in a plateau, and I wanted my riding to go on a little. I wanted a second horse so that I could grow a little bit more. I wanted it to show me where I could be stronger, and I think it has.”

Tonight will be Kessler’s fourth time showing in the Hunter Spectacular. “I go in the class whether I think my horse is going to be great in there or whether I think he’s a little green for it. I think this class for hunter riders is almost a little like a tour of Europe for jumper riders,” she explained. “Whether you think you’re going to Europe and are going to be competitive or not, the young riders go because when you come back, you have the experience to fall back on. It really bumps up their game. For me, I’ve found that just the experience of the class really helps my riding going forward.”

The Junior Hunters kept the Internationale Arena going for the rest of the afternoon. In the Small Junior 15 & Under Hunter division, Alexandra Arute rode Folklore for Olympic Dreams LLC to the championship. Reserve champion went to Sublime and Jessica Springsteen, who rode for Stone Hill Farms.

In the Large Junior 15 & Under Hunters, Due North and Clemintine Goutal cemented their budding partnership with a tricolor ribbon. The pair has only been together for a month, and it “pretty much came together this weekend,” Goutal said. Reserve champion in the division was Saloon, ridden by Jennifer Waxman and owned by Whitney Roper.

“I had gotten average ribbons the past few weeks, but I think I understood him a lot better this week. He was great. He was completely on his game,” she recalled. On showing in the big field, Goutal said, “I was nervous, but I trust him. He went out there with my sister last year when she rode him for Avery Dimmig, and I know he was good. I trusted him. When I walked in, he was relaxed and perfect, so I knew he was going to be good. I’m excited that I get to do the night class. Even more than that, I was happy that he went so nicely.”

The Small Junior 16-17 Hunters saw a very familiar face walk in for the trophy presentation. Addison Phillips and L’Azure were champions, while Wedgewood, ridden by Maria Schaub for Nicole Lakin, was reserve champion.

The last division of the day was the Large Junior 16-17 Hunters. There were two sections of the class, and the champion in Section A was Jazz, ridden by Haylie Jayne for Megan Schall. “They asked me to ride him, and I said, ‘Yes!’ He’s so sweet. He’s the easiest horse ever. You just sit there. He has the softest mouth and the distances just come up. He’s lovely to ride,” Jayne commented about Jazz.

While Jazz is great over fences, he is almost unbeatable under saddle. “He’s a perfect 10. He knows it too. When he goes in for the under saddle, he just works it,” Jayne said with a laugh. Jayne will show Jazz in the Hunter Spectacular tonight, which will be her second time. While she was nervous last year, she feels that this year will be for fun. She added, “Everything is fun on that horse!”

The champion in Section B of the Large Junior 16-17 Hunters was Who’s On First and Addison Phillips. Second to them with the reserve championship was Blink and Jack Hardin Towell Jr.

Over in the Grand Hunter Ring, the Adult Amateur 51 & Over Hunters opened the day. In Section A, the champion was last year’s undefeated Circuit Champion, Indian Summer and Holly Caristo. After a slow start yesterday, Caristo and Indian Summer came back in full force today and won both the over fences and under saddle classes.

“Yesterday I had a little rough day. I didn’t perform very well. I thought the only way I could do anything is if I can try to win two today. I always like to be optimistic!” she said with a laugh. “He just went great today, and he likes this big ring.”

Coming into today’s competition, Caristo was not feeling the pressure to race for the championship. “I didn’t know how far the points were spread, so I thought I was shooting for reserve,” she admitted. “I just wanted to do well and redeem myself from yesterday! But he was beautiful today.”

The Adult Amateur 51 & Older division wrapped up today. The division was sponsored by Steve Martinez, who presented the Fox Tail trophy to R.Bruce Duchossois and Regall of HMD Stables based in Aiken, South Carolina. The championship cooler was sponsored by the American Hunter Jumper Association. Reserve Champion went to Martin Schlaeppi aboard Brown Eyed Girl.

Duchossois bought the beautiful 12 year old chestnut gelding, Regall, last spring after circuit and has not shown him much. “He is just a pleasure to ride. I am just working on letting him do his job, which he knows extremely well,” said Duchossois. “I really have to thank my trainer Scott Culp and my grooms Jane and Rob. This is a team effort, and I couldn’t do it without them,” he stated.

Mr. Steve Martinez, who both competed and sponsored the division, was one of the original ten riders entered when they started offering the 51 & Older division several years ago. “It’s amazing that now we have to split the division because there are so many competitors. It is only a small glimpse of what is to come,” said Martinez. “I have always favored the hunters, and I think it’s great to see classes for every age available. I am proud to present the Fox Tail trophy to Mr. Duchossois,” stated Martinez.

The hunter competition wraps up tomorrow for the Bainbridge Florida Classic at the Winter Equestrian Festival. Featured events will be the Florida Children’s Hunter Classic, the Peggy Cone Memorial Adult Hunter Classic, and the Florida Pony Hunter Classics.

Photo Credit: Teri Kessler and Trout Line, champions in the Amateur-Owner 36 & Over Hunters at Winter Equestrian Festival. Photo by Randi Muster.