This Time It Was Team USA That Was Victorious in the Las Vegas World Cup Challenge
Text and Photos by Diana Derosa

A New Experience for the Hunters

Louise was referring to the fact that both Rodrigo and John had refusals. Despite the fact that all the riders had plenty of time to school their horses once they entered the arena, all bets were off as far as the horses were concerned. While some of the horses went without missing a beat others entered the arena, took one look at the crowd, another at the jumps and you could see that they were wondering just what kind of hunter show this was; stands filled with over 9,000 excited fans was certainly nothing they’d ever witnessed.

However, it was the spookiness and how the riders dealt with it that made the class even more interesting. And it was lively color commentating from Melanie Smith Taylor and Frank Madden that got quite a few chuckles from the crowd, especially early in the class when Michael Whitaker went off course after he literally just finished winning the Las Vegas Grand Prix. Whitaker took it all in stride and jumped the last fence with no hands on the reins.

Later when asked what was going through his mind when he lost his way he jokingly commented, “I was trying to find the numbers.” Unlike in the jumper classes Michael regularly competes in, the hunter fences are not numbered.

It was also those behind the scenes that helped to make this class a success. Shawn Davis is the production manager for the entire Las Vegas World Cup event and brings his experience from many successful rodeo events, including the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas. “This was an event designed to excite the crowd and create enthusiasm. With the American’s losing last time it gave us another opportunity to create even more enthusiasm. My concern is if you get into it too competitively you lose the spirit of it. It ended up being a real fun event to conclude a fun afternoon.”

We have learned a lot from working with Shawn and his staff for this event,” commented Michele Perla, AHJF Executive Director. “The AHJF co-exists with many horse show managers around the country for its events, none are like The Las Vegas World Cup Team,” she continued. “Here production value and audience appeal are the priority with the competition coming second. This may not always be appropriate, but it is a very creative and refreshing approach—one that has taught all of us an important lesson about selling what we do with the American Hunter in Sport.”
DeRosa Photo-Michael Whitaker