Christy Russo of Miami Wins in Junior Hunters at Winter Equestrian Festival

Wellington, FL- February 27, 2005 - The wet weather on Sunday morning made the going even rougher, but the junior riders got tougher. With a solid downpour all morning, the entries dwindled in the earlier divisions. However, the Stadium Jumping staff did a fabulous job of keeping the show running smoothly on the last day of the Zada Enterprises, LLC Wellington Masters at the Winter Equestrian Festival.

On Saturday, in the Large Junior 15 & Under Hunters, Westcliffe and Christy Russo, riding for Elizabeth Russo, dominated the division. They won both over fences classes with scores of 84 and 85. She came into Sunday with two wins under her belt. Russo was “really excited,” but did not want to put pressure on herself for today’s classes. She explained, “I didn’t want to psyche myself out and get all worried about it. So I tried to not think about what happened yesterday and ride each jump by itself today.”

Russo was solid today and she placed second in the under saddle and third and fourth over fences. She also won an over fences class on her second horse, Miracle. Although she did not win every class, Russo had enough points to gain the championship over Mrs.. Quentin Alexander’s Noir and Maggie McAlary. Russo mentioned about her horses, “I thought they were good today, but yesterday was better. I’m going to work really hard to make sure that every day becomes a better day than yesterday.”

Her mount, Westcliffe, was unfazed by the mud and displayed his trademark scope and talent that many have seen with trainer and professional rider, Ken Smith. Russo acknowledged that he is an easy horse to ride. “I love the way he jumps. He has a really big, big jump, and it’s really fun to ride,” she said.

Although Russo lives in Miami, FL, she does not mind making the trip to Wellington and the Palm Beach area to work with trainers Ken and Emily Smith of Ashland Farm. “I drive up here four times a week. It gets hard sometimes, but I love Palm Beach,” she admitted. “I love the atmosphere here and the people, so it’s really more than worth it to come here.”

In Section A of the Large Junior 16-17 Hunters, the championship went to a rider from Virginia. Sloane Coles rode Fanfare for Nancy Amling. They had a win over fences yesterday, but had a rail in the second class. Fanfare and Coles returned today to win the under saddle class and one over fences class, and received fifth place in the final jumping class. They received the tricolor, while Jazz and Megan Schall were reserve champions.

Fanfare is a new ride for Coles, because owner Amling is away at college. The duo were fantastic in their first week together during the Florida Classic/WCHR Spectacular. They garnered grand junior championship honors and the opportunity to compete under the lights in the AHJF Hunter Classic Spectacular of Palm Beach.

Coles conceded, “I was more confident this week because I knew him. It was a new ride last week, but he’s such an amazing horse.” Coles’ confidence helped them this weekend, but she is humble about her success today. “He’s such an easy horse and so fancy,” she said. Fanfare’s simplicity made winning a breeze.

In the equitation classes, competition was still intense as the USEF Hunter Seat Medal and the ASPCA Maclay Horsemanship class each had more than 55 entries. They were split into two sections.

In the Maclay class, Julie Welles won Section A over Cordelia Allsopp and Caitlin Donovan won the blue ribbon over Catherine Wright in Section B. Maria Schaub won Section A of the USEF Medal, while Cordelia Allsopp had to settle for second place again. Blythe Marano won Section B of the Medal over Cassie Herman.

Further Hunter Results:

Small Junior 15 & Under

• Champion- Sierra, Maggie McAlary- Carly Ow-Wing
• Reserve Champion- The Frog Prince, Jennifer Waxman

Small Junior 16-17

• Champion- Calumet, Haylie Jayne- Alex R. Jayne
• Reserve Champion- Cool Blue, Carolyn Kelly

Large Junior 16-17 Section B

• Champion- Dynamic, Carolyn Kelly
• Reserve Champion- Edwina, Jack Hardin Towell, Jr.- Missy Clark

Amateur Owner 36 & Over

• Champion- Cologne, Donald Graves
• Reserve Champion- Just Looking, Louise Otten- Alpine Farm

Hunters are in action next week during the Cosequin Wellington Open on March 2-7 at the Winter Equestrian Festival.

Photo Credit: Westcliffe and Christy Russo, champions in Large Junior 15 & Under Hunters at Winter Equestrian Festival. Photo by Randi Muster.