Hassey Hustles At High Prairie Spring Classic

The Mexican native rides his longtime partner La Roche to a big win.

Armando Hassey needed only to go clear to win the High Prairie Spring Classic mini-prix.

The Mexico City, Mexico, amateur, now living in Parker, Colo., had ridden his Hanoverian stallion La Roche to one of only three clear first rounds. But both of the other riders, Bjorn Ikast on Day Dream and Alexandra Vanderrest on Oxsona M, dropped the last fence in the jump-off, a wide oxer jumped off a sweeping right turn.

Hassey, last to go, tried for the best of both worlds—fast and clear. “I tried to make some short turns, but definitely not do anything risky so that we could have the clear round,” he said. La Roche rose to the occasion.

His time was not the fastest of the afternoon, but that was academic. All the jumps were up, and Hassey led the victory lap. The mini-prix was one of the featured events of the High Prairie Spring Classic, held May 14-17 in Parker, Colo.

Hassey and La Roche are no strangers to the winner’s circle in Parker. The pair has won several grand prix events there in recent years. La Roche has been with the Hasseys since the stallion was 2 and is considered a member of the family. “He’s like an icon for us,” said Hassey, 24, whose sister Andrea also rides. “He’s 15 and keeps winning classes.”

Hassey and his family have been regular visitors to the Parker horse shows for years and finally decided to buy a home in the area. Their home sits on a ridge just south of the horse show grounds, with a sweeping view of the Rocky Mountains to the west. “I love it here, and my horses do, too,” Hassey said. “We’ll be here all summer, ready to win some more classes.”

Another veteran campaigner carried his owner to the win in the junior/amateur-owner jumper classic. Lindsay Sceats bested the field with a blazing jump-off round, something she’s come to expect from her Danish gelding Waldi.

“He’s won a class at each of the last five horse shows,” said Sceats, an amateur from Colorado Springs. “You don’t prepare him at all, just a few jumps and there we go,” she said of the 15-year-old jumper. “He doesn’t need much, and we’re trying to preserve his legs.”

Waldi had several grand prix wins to his credit with Aaron Vale up, and Sceats was delighted to get such a wonderful horse to carry her into her amateur career. “He’s wonderful, and I love him to death,” said Sceats, who trains with Michael Dennehy when in Colorado.

Sceats will begin her junior year in the fall at Mount Holyoke College (Mass.) and will captain the Intercollegiate Horse Shows Association team next season. She chose the small eastern school both for its academic excellence and for its commitment to riding competition. The team earned the national championship in 2000 and 2006 but managed only a sixth-placed finish last season.

“Hopefully next year will go a little bit better,” she said. Sceats is on a pre-med track, majoring in biochemistry. Horses remain her lifelong passion, though. “I actually started Western, and then after a year or so I switched to English,” Sceats said. “I was reading all those horse books, and I wanted to jump.”

Getting In Front Of The Camera

Laurie Jueneman didn’t intend to become a professional rider but proved the career suits her as she rode Elizabeth Boles’ Seleus to the first year green hunter championship, winning four of the five classes.