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Posted March 12, 2006 Bridget Hallman and Tait Receive Tricolors in Amateur-Owner Hunters at Winter Equestrian Festival
Another popular class in today’s schedule was the highly competitive WEF Equitation Championship for the RW “Ronnie” Mutch Trophy. Seventeen year old Maria Schaub of Holmdel, NJ, came away with the victory. In Section A of the Amateur-Owner 18-35 Hunter division, Gray Slipper and Bridget Hallman had consistently good classes, which earned them the championship. The pair were first and second over fences on Friday, second in the under saddle, and won another over fences class. Hallman knew she had a chance at the championship, but acknowledged, “I was just hoping I could keep it all together and ride the best that I could. I try to ride the best I can every day and try to forget about the ribbons and points. It’s hard, but you try to just concentrate on the class at hand.” Reserve champion in the division was Rio Bravo, ridden by Daisy Johnson and owned by WGHR Farm. Hallman has owned the veteran grey gelding for six years, and she got the ride four years ago. “He was very green, and I knew he was going to be a very, very special horse. I fell in love with him the first time I saw him in the paddock,” Hallman recalled. “He had some quirks, so Louise got him prepared and ready.” The preparation from her trainer, Louise Serio, made all the difference, Hallman noted. “Louise has done the most amazing job with him. I don’t think without her he would have been half the horse that he is. She’s phenomenal, done all the right things, and taken her time with him. He’s matured into such a great amateur horse, which is what the goal was,” she added. Hallman knew she had a different horse from the start. “His jump is amazing, it’s so high and slow and very cool. He’s got it all,” she said with a smile. “He tries his heart out every time. I know that no matter what distance I get to, he can jump it ten feet higher than he needs to and that he’s always going to help me.” After six years, Gray Slipper has settled into his role. “He’s really mellowed out now,” Hallman remarked. “He comes to the ring and knows his job. Now I can drop the reins and he knows exactly where to go and what to do.” In Section B of the division, Manolo and Sarah Tait took home the championship ribbon. Reserve champions were Reagan and Tracy Scheriff. The WEF Equitation Championship for the RW “Ronnie” Mutch Trophy saw 17 of the top equitation riders in the country competing for prizes and the esteem of winning the first big equitation class of the new year. Maria Schaub, who rides with Frank and Stacia Madden at Beacon Hill Show Stables, entered the class on a horse that she had only ridden twice, but had the self-confidence and knowledge from riding in the class three times before to stay consistent over two rounds for the win. On Laura King-Kaplan’s bay gelding Nelson, Schaub scored an 87.5 in the first round to sit in second place behind Jack Hardin Towell Jr., who had an 88. She returned in the second round for a score of 89 and a total of 176.5. In the second round, riders were asked to complete the first ten jumps of the first round course in reverse order. Also added were a counter-canter around a tight turn to a one stride and a trot jump. When Towell missed key elements of the course and scored a 57.5 for a total of 145.5, Schaub knew that victory was sealed. “It really hasn’t hit me yet,” Schaub laughed in between congratulations from friends. “I’m really fortunate to have a horse to ride at all. Laura King-Kaplan was nice enough to let me use him. I’m lucky that I had a horse this time that had done this sort of stuff before. He’s an amazing animal.” Going into the second round, Schaub studied her course to figure out how to ride certain aspects. “I really tried to the measure the second round by the first round. We practice that sort of thing at home. It’s like cause and effect,” she explained. “You know if it rode one way the first time, it will be the opposite the other way. I tried not to watch too many people go. I tried to focus on my horse and making sure that I was on time.” Because some of the riders had trouble with the counter-canter, Schaub made a decision before entering the ring. “Truthfully, I didn’t know my horse that well,” she admitted. “I thought if all my jumps were good, and I do the simple change, it will be better than to try and do something that I don’t know if I can do. Horses are different in the ring than they are in the schooling area, and I just didn’t want to risk it.” Schaub rides in a barn full of talented young riders including Brianne Goutal and Sloane Coles that win national championships every year. This may be the year that Schaub is the stand-out, but she takes everything with perspective. “I just said to myself that I’ve been working hard for a long time and that I’m just not going to give up. I’m lucky to have people that give me horses to show. Everyone from Beacon Hill has helped me not only as a rider, but as a person. They’re my family.” Moving up an incredible seven places in the second round was 16 year old Addison Phillips of New York, NY. She received the highest score of the day, a 93, to give her a total of 173 and a second place finish at the end of the class. Phillips had a clear-cut plan going into her second round. “I wanted to try and make up as much ground as I could, and go for it,” she said. When asked if it was her plan to land on the counter-canter, she replied, “I hoped to! When it happened, I was so relieved.” Phillips was the only rider of ten in the second round that landed on and kept the counter-canter the entire time. “I think it’s a really cool class,” Phillips remarked. “You don’t normally get to train yourself or walk the course on your own. It’s really fun, and they do a good job of running it and making it feel really important.” Phillips rode Icon, an 11 year old bay gelding that she has owned for six years. Since she sold her other equitation horse, Ricochet, Icon has stepped up into the big leagues. “He’s been my project for six years, so it’s really rewarding to get to show him in these sort of classes. This is the first time he’s been my top equitation horse.” Phillips plans to continue competing Icon this year and in the equitation finals this fall. Official Results: Class 2999, WEF Equitation Championship, Grand Hunter Field
The final day of WEF in Wellington concludes tomorrow with championships in the Junior Hunters, the Amateur-Owner 36 & Over Hunters, Pony Hunters, and Children’s Hunters. WEF continues in Tampa, FL, on March 22-April 1. Photo Credit: Maria Schaub and Nelson, winners of the WEF Equitation Championship. Photo © Jennifer Wood/PhelpsSports.com. |
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Wellington,
FL – March 11, 2006 – The CN Wellington Finale, the last
week of competition of the 2006 Winter Equestrian Festival in Wellington,
FL, saw exciting competition and championships pinned in the Amateur-Owner
Hunters. 
