Kick-Off to Spring Hunter Classic Show Date: March 25th Show Location: Larkspur Stables, Lexington, VA What a great day for a show, the weather was great, so many people came, and there was top notch competition!! Thanks sooooooooo much to Kate for letting us host the show at Larkspur--great lady, that Kate! To thank Kate for letting us host the show, we presented her with a special gift basket! The basket includes: a bottle of wine, bath beads, a gift certificate to a local massage parlor, gourmet chocolates, and some homeade horse treats! Thanks again Kate! The turnout was amazing--check out the numbers on the classes!!!!! Thanks to a grand amount of entries, our prize money total is $32, 335 which equals out to to 4041 per classic!! (And just for the record I only kept the entry fees, only making $270). All results done doing http://www.randomizer.org and none of my equines were entered. Here is a little bit of info on the prizes you will see listed for 1st-4th place!!!! 1st place: envelope with prize money of $2000, a gift basket that has gourmet chocolates, homeade horse treats, a round massager for the horse, relaxing bath beads for the rider, and a cooler that says "Kick-Off to Spring Hunter Classic 2003 _(classic name)_ Classic Champion" Championship Ribbon 2nd place: envelope with prize money of $1000, a gift basket that has gourmet chocolates, homeade horse treats, a round massager for the horse, relaxing bath beads for the rider Reserve Champion Ribbon 3rd place: envelope with prize money of $700, a gift basket that has gourmet chocolates, homeade horse treats, a round massager for the horse 4th place: envelope with prize money of $341, a gift basket that has gourmet chocolates, homeade horse treats Champion and Reserve Champion Ribbons are from Show Source. You can view the ribbons for this show at the customer page under Kick-Off to Spring Hunter Classic. http://www.geocities.com/flhunter27/ribboncustomers.html Thanks for the Show Source for providing great ribbons and services!! All gourmet chocolates and horse treats were made by Elizabeth and her SIM children. The chocolates are milk chocolate and contain no nuts. They have horse designs on them and have 12 in each gold box, tied with a sheer gold ribbon. The horse treats are made from mollasses, bran, oats, and diced carrots and apples. There is about 24 in each colored alluminum foal package that is tied with a sheer silver ribbon. The round massager is the massager type that has a ball in the middle then several smaller ones connected by a thin pole of wood. These were handmade by my SIM husband Tyler. The bath beads were homeade by myself using lavender and special oils--I don't give away my secret recipe! Each silver boxed container has 20 bath beads in it, and it is reccomended to put in 2-3 per bath, depending on your preference. Here is how the classics procedeed: Each competitor performed in the intial round, completing a typical hunter course. The competitiors were judged on style, a well-executed course, turn-out of the horse and rider, attention to mechanics of style, and overall a flawless course. After all horses had performed, the top 4 were selected for the ride-off. Depending on the classic, each of the top 4 had a different task to perform. Details of each task can be seen in a particular classic write-up. After the task was completed by all 4, final placings were announced. Each competitor came forward as placings were announced, going from 4th to 1st place to recieve their prizes, and to pose for a photograph. 1. Grand Greenie Pony Hunter Classic (14 entries) After a great first round filled with green ponies--some had great courses, others had many spooks, but it was a great learning experience for all! Before the Top 4 were announced, 5th-10th place were announced--congrats to these fine ponies! 5th-OF Blues Clues shown by Amanda Reuter of OF @ HA 6th-Sunny Lustre ridden by Jordan Gibbs of SHF @ SF 7th-Dawn's Rebel Ridden by William of CL at KWF inc 8th-Harmony Peppermint Twist ridden by Audrey Gibbs of SHF @ SF 9th-Defi ridden by Tori Gibbs of SHF @ SF 10th-Bright Magic ridden by Kara of Stoneridge SH It ws then announced that Rosestone Hershey's Kisses, Splish Splash, Sasja the Jester, and Magic Kisses would be the ponies coming back for the second round!! These ponies task was to complete a task that was not to difficult for these greenies, but at the same time challenging. The task was to jump a canter fence then halt afterwards--this transition often proving difficult for green horses. Magic Kisses had trouble with the halt, the pony wanted to keep going! Sasja the Jester had a bit of trot and was not able to stop quickly enough. Splish Splash had a barely late halt, but Rosestone Hershey's Kiss showed off by executing a accurate halt. After scoring was down, the winners were presented with their prizes (see above for prizes) 1st-Rosestone Hershey's Kiss ridden by Cassidy Madison of ROF @ KWF Inc. 2nd-Splish Splash ridden by Alix Gibbs of SHF @ SF 3rd-Sasja The Jester shown by Isabelle Barlow of DA 4th-Magic Kisses ridden by Jordan of Stoneridge SH Congrats to all these fine ponies! 2. Positively Perfect Pony Hunter Classic (29 entries) Before the callback riders were announced, 5th-10th place was awarded! Congrats to these fine ponies and riders who had accurate trips! Our judges had a difficult choice, but choose the callback riders as those who had special touches and style to their ride. 5th-Rare Senstation ridden by Trinity* of Stoneridge SH 6th-RCp. Random Chance shown by Kristin McKinney of HA @ HA 7th-Priceless shown by Amanda Reuter of OF @ HA 8th-El Amigo Rosado shown by Sophia McKinney of HA @ HA 9th-Mystra ridden by Jordan Gibbs of SHF @ SF 10th-RCp. Jeepers Creepers shown by Riley Blake of KWF Inc. Sporthorses For this classic's task, the ponies and riders were asked to do a bending line (3 strides) to a "spooky" water jump that none of the ponies had seen at the show. This would test the pony's personality and suitability as a pony hunter. Surfs Up did not like the water jump (guess the pony is really not a surfer!) but finally got over on it for the 3rd try, and Kayli should be commended for getting her pony over it! SEq Medicine Man didn't find it so h ot either, but got over on the 2nd try! Butterfly Kisses was a little thrown off by the jump, and chipped coming in to the fence. EEq DJ's Tahitian Star didn't even blink at the jump--a great show of style and calm attitude! After scoring was down, the winners were presented with their prizes (see above for prizes) 1st-EEq DJ's Tahitian Star shown by Toni Jette of AF 2nd-Butterfly Kisses ridden by Jordan of Stoneridge SH 3rd-SEq Medicine Man shown by Adriene Betzler of AF 4th-Surfs Up shown by Kayli May of LF Congrats to all these fine ponies! 3. Completely Charmin' Children's Hunter Classic (28 entries) After a good class, the judges awarded 5th-10th place to riders that showed a good course. Another difficult class to judge! 5th-Surf Song ridden by Alix Gibbs of SHF @ SF 6th-Ironic Fantasy ridden by Rachel of Stoneridge SH 7th-Sydney shown by Kelly Collins of LS 8th-Midnight Magic shown by Carolyn Peterson of LS 9th-Little Charm shown by Kara* of RSEC @ SCF 10th-Center Stage ridden by Isabel of EES @ NEM (catch riding) For the task, the horse had to canter in a line and trot out. The line was a 4 stride, and the first jump was 3' and the second was 2'6". This was different from the trot in and canter out and would show the horse's ability to adjust stride and be flexible. HA Escalade didn't think the trot was suitable for this time in the course, and refused to transition downward. EEq Payback didn't think the idea was so hot either, but did trot one stride before the fence. Apparition had a stride of canter before transiting. Wind Dancer obeyed quite nicely to complete the task perfectly! After scoring was down, the winners were presented with their prizes (see above for prizes) 1st-Wind Dancer shown by Rich Gangly of DCS 2nd-Apparition IF shown by Adam Leary of IF of AF 3rd-EEq Payback shown by Jill Hollander of AF 4th-HA Escalade shown by Lauren Fleming of SOF @ SCF Congrats to these fine horses! 4. Just Jolly Junior Hunter Classic (36 entries) What a big class!! Nearly 40 entries--all great junior hunter mounts!! There was a wide variety in the courses, from courses that showed the pairs needed more work in the show arena, to high quality courses! Congrats to horses that got 5th-10th place, that is a a big honor to place in such a large class! 5th-Dakota Blues shown by Adam Leary of IF of AF 6th-Southern Belle shown by Liz March* of LS 7th-Alqua ridden by Trixie* of Stoneridge SH 8th-Earl of Leicester ridden by Vance Harper of RW 9th-EEq Whata Lucky Doll shown by Crystal Young of AF 10th-Hear My Prayers shown by Rhianna Reuter of OF @ HA Since this was a large class, the judges made the stakes higher. The juniors were asked to design a course that they felt showed off the best attributes of their horse. This gave the juniors a chance to show off and shine their mounts to the public! Evan had a great course planned, but Iridescent Kitty thought it would be more fun to run out on a jump, much to Evan's horror!! Phar'n Away and Holly had a smooth course except for a chip, and the judges felt her course didn't show off her horse to the extremes. Northern Destination Z and Alicia had a good overall course, but it lacked an overall shine. Diamonds Hidden in Rust and Kara really shone with a stellar course that showed off Diamonds wonderful round jump! After scoring was down, the winners were presented with their prizes (see above for prizes) 1st-Diamonds Hidden In Rust shown by Kara* of RSEC @ SCF 2nd-Northern Destination Z shown by Alicia Reynolds* of LS 3rd-Phar'n Away shown by Holly Fleming of SOF @ SCF 4th-Iridescent Kitty ridden by Evan Owens of ROF @ KWF Inc. Congrats to all these fine horses! 5. Fabolous First Year Green Hunter Classic (28 entries) A nice big class full of greenies! A nice chance to see who the ones to watch in HAY are!! Congrats to 5th-10th place winners, as they did a great job, and we expect to continue to see great things from them! 5th-OF Crimson shown by Rhianna Reuter of OF @ HA 6th-SEq WF Simply Dreamy shown by Carolyn Hart of DCS 7th-Eliski ridden by Misty of Stoneridge SH 8th-HA Space Girl ridden by Paisley Gibbs of SHF @ SF 9th-Athanarel shown by Fiona O'Connell* of LS 10th-EEq Kiwi Royale shown by David Aubert of AF For this class's task, they were asked to do some flatwork to test these green horses basics on the flat, as these are important to a young hunter! The riders were asked to (one at a time) do circles in each corner at the trot (twice around the arena), do a circle at each end of the arena at the canter (twice around the arena), then stop and back up 4 steps, then reverse directions and do trot to walk transitions at each letter the first time around, then canter to trot transitions at each letter the 2nd time around. HA Glitter Star showed promising flatwork, but struggled a bit with the transitions, as the horse seemed happy with the current pace that was being maintained. OF Between Twilight also showed promise, but broke into trot during the canter circles due to a lack of balance and bend. Precious Peace was really precious and did very well, except for one late transition. HA Spilled Glitter had perfect flatwork--it looks like this horse has been doing a lot of great flatwork! A great work-off! After scoring was down, the winners were presented with their prizes (see above for prizes) 1st-HA Spilled Glitter shown by Marisa Reuter of OF @ HA 2nd-Precious Peace shown by Ryan Blake of KWF Inc. Sporthorses 3rd-OF Between Twilight shown by Mark Reuter of OF @ HA 4th-HA Glitter Star shown by Christina Blake of KWF Inc. Sporthorses Congrats to all these fine horses! 6. Amazing Amateur Adult Classic (27 entries) The judges were pleased to see a large number of great adult horses! 5th-10th place were pinned to some fine horses! 5th-SEq Apollo shown by Ally Whitman of AF 6th-SEq. LS The Lady in Red shown by Lindsay Ridlehoover of OF @ HA 7th-EEq. Frankly My Dear ridden by Cordelia Hyatt of NEM 8th-SEq. Eurocommerce GF ridden by Nathan Doolittle of RW 9th-Sunday Best shown by Rosalynn Rogers of IF of AF 10th-RCp Sweet Surrender shown by Alexis Martinez of DCS For the workoff for adult horses, the judges decided to assign the task of trotting a 3' fence to see how the horses balance and impulsion was. AfterThought refused the fence, Cat's Meow cantered right before the fence, RCp Unbelieveable had a chip, but Caitlin's Way had a great fence--no breaking of gait and a wonderful jump! After scoring was down, the winners were presented with their prizes (see above for prizes) 1st-Caitlin's Way shown by Aislinn Peters* of LS 2nd-RCp. Unbelievable shown by Ryan Blake of KWF Inc. Sporthorses 3rd-Cat's Meow ridden by Amaya of ROF @ KWF Inc. 4th-AfterThought shown by Natalie Tucker* of LS Congrats to these fine horses! 7. Sizzlin' Second Year Green Hunter Classic (31 entries) What a large class of great 2nd year green hunters--these horses are really coming along!! Congrats to 5th-10th place for a job well done! 5th-Fashion Foward shown by Kara* of RSEC @ SCF 6th-LS Dream's Faith shown by Tracey Campbell* of LS 7th-D'Iamond ridden by Joshua of CL at KWF inc 8th-MA Timely Fashion shown by Vanessa Walsh of DCS 9th-EEq. Shari Mareena shown by Jared Barlow of DA 10th-Elendil shown by Chloe May of LF For this classic's task, the riders were asked to lead their horses over a crossrail to see the horse's willingness to jump, obidence, and natural style. AF Luck of the Charms didn't like the fact that the rider was in front and refused to proceed in this manner and wanted nothing to do with it. Daydreamer thought it was a little odd as well, but went over the 2nd time. EEq Valentine Princess was game, but took off too far. Jazzy Joy had a great course and seemed to be having a joyful time doing it! After scoring was down, the winners were presented with their prizes (see above for prizes) 1st-Jazzy Joy shown by Kerri Geneva of RSEC @ SCF 2nd-EEq Valentine Princess shown by Ashley Topham of AF 3rd-Daydreamer shown by Karaline Ross of AF 4th-AF Luck Of The Charms shown by Olivia Collins of LS Congrats to these fine horses! 8. The Big Wigs Hunter Classic (25 entries) What a great class of professionals!!! A lot of great rounds (and some not so hot). Congrats to 5th-10th places! 5th-Ravenhill Medley shown by Cassidy King* of LS 6th-SEq. Besa Dulce ridden by Ophelia Hyatt of NEM 7th-SEq.Baileys N Cream shown by Gina Delano of HA 8th-EEq. Bourbon Street shown by Pamela Fleming of SOF @ SCF 9th-Dreamin' All Day shown by Lauren McKinney* of LS 10th-Farthest North shown by Kerri Geneva of RSEC @ SCF For the task, the riders were asked to switch horses to see how the horses reacted to new riders they had never dealt with before. Dulce Carmel didn't like the idea of having a new rider on, and refused two jumps for the new rider. Chalkdust found it a little odd, and threw a buck or two in between lines. Miss Congeniality thought this whole deal was ok, but missed a lead change, and didn't want to swap. You Better Believe It had a great course with a strange rider! After scoring was down, the winners were presented with their prizes (see above for prizes) 1st-You Better Believe It shown by Cody Alta* of LS 2nd-Miss Congeniality shown by Lacey Turner* of LS 3rd-Chalkdust shown by Gavin Williams* of LS 4th-Dulce Carmel ridden by Shelley of CL at KWF inc Congrats to these fine horses! Thank you to all that came!!!!! I was astounded by the great turnout and top notch competition! We are pleased you joined us, and hope to see you again real soon! Take care, Elizabeth and family