“She’s really hard to ride,” said Fish. “She’s really sensitive. You can’t touch her face. You have to really finesse everything. She’s not the quietest horse in the world. But when I found her I knew she would be a good match for Leah.

“Leah was like, this is my new horse?? I said trust me!” And that’s just what Schwendeman did. Leah and “Jasmine” started competing in the three-foot and then quickly moved up to the amateurs. They competed at Capital Challenge last year and collected a few ribbons including a blue in one class. By Devon, Schwendeman had clearly figured out LaCara and they finished as Grand Amateur Owner Hunter Champions.

“We adjusted to each other pretty quick,” said Schwendeman. The match turned out to be perfect. “She’s very opinionated and I kind of am too. So we understand each other and get along well.”

Fish explained that because Leah is a very soft rider with a great eye she gets along well with LaCara. Fish said, “She sees the distance so early that she can lay the reins down and that’s what the mare likes.”

Schwendeman added laughing, “I just try to steer her and stay out of her way. I had to figure out what she didn’t like and NEVER do that. I just do what she likes all the time.”

After collecting the championship Schwendeman also picked up a third place in the World Champion Hunter Rider Amateur-Owner Challenge. The horse and rider led the field until In Disguise and Ellen Toon came into in the ring, scored a 90.8 and jumped into the lead.

“I haven’t had a good Capital Challenge in a few years. The very first year I was Champion with a horse called Wise Disguise,” said Toon who since then has had success elude her at the Maryland show. Toon was thrilled with the win in the WCHR Amateur Challenge class because it has been her first year showing in the 3’6” and she has been on a streak with In Disguise. She showed him twice in Florida and was champion, but then the gelding pulled a muscle. Toon didn’t ride him again until June. The break didn’t seem to affect them as they picked up the championship or the reserve at Ox Ridge, Fairfield, Lake Placid and the Hampton Classic.

She said, “This is our first show where we weren’t Champion or Reserve. But I won this. I’m thrilled.”

In Disguise also collected the championship in the regular conformation hunter division with Sachine Belle in the irons. The pair won four out of the five classes the division and picked up a third in the fifth class.

In the Adult Amateur division 46 and over division it was Wendy Kraus Lewis, of Willoughby Hills, Ohio, who walked out of the ring with the championship ribbon and tears in her eyes. Lewis, overwhelmed with the win, also collected the grand championship. She shared the honors, tied in points with Samantha Hallman and Lucky who picked up the tricolor in the younger division (18-35).

Lewis rode her Selle Francais Forget Paris to the honors. Lewis has trained with Jeff Gogul since 1998 and has him to thank for finding the young hunter.

Gogul said, “We found him and we weren’t really even looking. We were looking for a practice horse - we weren’t looking for something this young. But he was a beautiful mover and when I tried him in France he would canter down to anything I put in front of him. He was greener than we wanted, but I said I thought it was a worthwhile risk. So that is how we acquired him.”

The Capital Challenge Horse Show runs through Sunday, October 10 and will showcase the nation’s best hunters and jumpers. The $40,000 Ariat Congressional Cup Grand Prix is the highlight of the jumper action. Held at 7:30pm on Saturday, October 9 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 classes are held Tuesday through Saturday. Results, photos and the time schedule can be found on the Capital Challenge website: www.capitalchallenge.org . For more information on the Capital Challenge Horse Show call (301) 260-2467 prior to the show or (301) 952-7944 during the show.