Traverse City, MI - Louise Serio rode Reese, a 10-year-old Selle Francais gelding owned by Shaw Johnson Price, to four firsts and a second on her way to winning the Regular Working Hunter and Grand Working Hunter Championships. Serio also took home the reserve championships in the Second Year Green Hunters and Regular Conformation Hunters, both with Theory, a 7-year-old gelding by Baloubet du Rouet out of Ian Miller's grand prix mount, My Girl. Theory is owned by Bridget Hallman of Oyster Bay, NY.

Serio is based out of Derbydown, Inc., located in Kennett Square, PA, and made her first trip to Horse Shows by the Bay this year. "It's my first year here and it's been quite a pleasant surprise. It's very enlightening to get to a place that's this nice, this well done, and with a management that's really working for us, it's really nice," Serio explained. She said that although she is only staying for the first two weeks this year, she plans to attend all three weeks of Horse Shows by the Bay next year.

Peter Pletcher, of PJP Farm, located in Magnolia, TX, has been almost unbeatable during the first week of competition. He rode Cape Town and MacArthur Park to the championship in the Second Year Green Hunters and Regular Conformation Hunters, respectively. MacArthur Park was also the Grand Conformation Hunter Champion. Pletcher said that he is very impressed with Horse Shows by the Bay and plans to come back next year.

Boggs Hill's Tim Goguen is also enjoying Horse Shows by the Bay's new permanent facility. Goguen rode Boulevard Deir, owned by Janet Read, to the Green Conformation Hunter tricolor and one of his other mounts, Allejandro, received the reserve championship in the First Year Green Conformation. Goguen, who is in Traverse City for all three weeks, said, "This hunter ring is wide, you can gallop a little bit. I think it rides really well. They've done a great job here for their first year. We [showed at Horse Shows by the Bay] last year, which was at another facility, but they've done a great job with putting the show together this year."

Cookie Beck, of McFadden Farm in Grafton, WI, guided Winter Place and Safari to top ribbons over the first two days of competition. Winter Place easily won the First Year Green championship and Safari earned reserve champion in the Green Conformation Hunters. Both horses are owned by Caitlyn Ziegler and Artisan Farms. Ziegler will show both horses later on in the week in the Children's Hunters. Beck describes both horse as incredible athletes. "I am very lucky to ride them, and they are really two very special horses," she said.

All hunter division championships were sponsored by Personalized Products while the grand champions received a beautiful blue plate from Mr. and Mrs. Forrest Shook.

Series I of Horse Shows by the Bay continues through Sunday, concluding with the $25,000 Grand Prix of Traverse City.

For more information about Horse Shows by the Bay, please visit www.horseshowsbythebay.com.

For complete results, please visit www.horseshowing.com.

PHOTO CREDIT: Louise Serio and Reese, Grand Working Hunter Champion of Horse Shows by the Bay I. Photo (C) 2007 Randi Muster.