Wilhelm Genn had his eye on the High-Point Grand Prix Rider bonus check since the first day of the Gulf Coast Winter Circuit in Gulfport, Miss, not just for the honor and the pride in his horses, but also  for the $10,000 purse he plans to spend on his wife, Patricia Genn, for their 20th anniversary in May.

Genn, Lebanon, Ohio, made certain he’d win the honors by pinning top ribbons to multiple mounts in each week’s grand prix. In the final $25,000 Budweiser Grand Prix, March 14-18, Genn collected four ribbons, with the blue on the bridle of his “redhead” chestnut, Happy Z.

Though grand prix vic-tory gallops are now commonplace for Genn and most of his mounts, his pride in each horse only grows with each ride. His secret is simply “keeping them happy,” he said beaming.

But that’s the easy part. The difficult task that afternoon was beating Michael Tokaruk and Lord Bryon, the pair who outran Genn and Happy Z three weeks before in the EMO Grand Prix.

Michel Vaillancourt’s sprawling grand prix test allowed seven of 19 entries to jump off, four of which were Genn’s. After he brought Chantal back first for a clear round, his next ride with Cedric left one rail in the grass. Erin McCabe then cantered in aboard a familiar Loro Piana Gorgias.

“I actually used to ride Gorgias so I know how quick he is, even though he doesn’t look that quick,” said Genn of the long-strided, 17-year-old Hanoverian.

Under McCabe, Gorgias galloped cleanly, just as Genn remembered he could and even bettered Chantal’s time. With a new 36.64-second ante, Genn knew he had to pull an ace to match that hand, especially with Tokaruk and Lord Byron on deck.

True to form, Tokaruk piloted Lord Bryon tighter and faster. They sailed over each fence cleanly despite coming off the 10AB oxer to vertical combination slightly unsteadily. Nevertheless, they captured the lead in 36.24 seconds.

“The jump-off ended up being surpris-ingly fast. I knew everything had to go just right for me,” Genn said. “I knew I had to be right-on everywhere and turn as tight and fast as I could.”

Happy Z commanded the course by turning on dimes and galloping through the finish in 35.55 seconds with all fences intact. Their next gallop was to celebrate victory with a blue ribbon waving atop the row of green, white and pink ribbons earned in that same class with Ariado, Chantal and Cedric, respectively.

Genn proudly revealed that he developed Happy Z himself from the age of 5. He found the now 9-year-old Dutch mare in Germany, and though she was quite opinionated and still is, her talent is undeniable.

“I always feel like she allows me to ride her. I never feel like I train her,” Genn said with a laugh. “She’s so careful. I’ve never jumped her really big. She’s done so well for me the last thing I want to do is overface her. But if I feel like she has [World Cup potential] in her, I would be very excited to put her in two or three World Cup classes.”

Wilhelm wasn’t the only Genn to enjoy success on this year’s circuit. His son, Theo, earned the low junior/amateur-owner jumper circuit cham-pionship aboard Chelsie D. Plus, one of Genn’s students, Denise Wilson, rode Almatino in her first grand prix this week and earned circuit honors with him in the high junior/amateur-owner jumper division.

Happy Holly Days
Like Genn, this year’s circuit brought plenty of pride for professional rider and trainer Holly Shepherd. She rode two mounts to professional hunter circuit championships and another to week 5 tricolors. But it was perhaps more rewarding for Shepherd to watch her students pin their own championship ribbons to their horses’ bridles.

Shepherd wrapped up her five weeks with the first and second year green hunter circuit championships aboard Brook-haven and Southern Comeback, respectively. But Shepherd only met Micaela Kennedy’s flashy gray gelding, Contender, during this year’s circuit after catch riding him. Those rides led to two regular hunter tricolors during the circuit.

Contender originally came from the European jumper ring.  “He’s really loose and has a beautiful jump. And he’s super quiet, so he’s working out well in the hunter ring,” Shepherd said.

After Southern Comeback’s second year green honors, owner Avery Griffin went on to earn a stream of top ribbons in the combined amateur-owner division. The circuit had been a proud step for her as she only began showing in the amateur-owner division in January. Shepherd and Griffin both declared the 7-year-old, Danish gelding is “a blast to ride and has incredible form over jumps.”

A 39-year-old attorney from Abita Springs, La., Griffin first watched Southern Come-back’s sale video three years ago and couldn’t resist his impeccable form in the air. “After my husband [William Schuette] and I watched him on the video he said, ‘I wouldn’t mind if you jump four-foot on that horse,’ ” Griffin said.

They had moved to Idaho in 2003 but soon had to return to “hot and humid Louisiana. So I bought myself a horse as a consolation gift,” she said with an innocent snicker.

She ventured to Canada, where Laurie James had imported the Comeback II baby from Denmark. Griffin watched him jump in person and then stepped into the irons herself to confirm the lasting impression the horse had left on her from the video.

“No matter how bad I miss a jump, there’s never a doubt in my mind that I’m getting to the other side. He’s definitely a gifted jumper,” Griffin said. So she aptly named her new partner Southern Comeback after bringing him home to her roots in the south.

Still, their road hasn’t been easy, Griffin admitted. “[The years] 2005 and 2006 were hard for us because of the storm. We quit showing after [Hurricane] Katrina because my law firm kind of imploded, and we had to move to New Orleans to start a new one,” she explained. “In 2006, many of the shows in this region were canceled. So this is really the first season I’ve had the opportunity to fully go amateur with him. “But he’s so sweet and very easy to work with,” assured Griffin.

Shepherd added, “You never have to put him into any kind of shape to jump the jumps. He’s an amazing picture in the air every time. He may have taken a couple years to get in the groove, but he’s been amazing.”

Griffin expects Southern Comeback will hit that four-foot mark with Shepherd in the regular hunters next year while she continues to show him in amateurs.

Enjoying The Ride
While Griffin and Shepherd reveled in Southern Comeback’s stellar circuit, another Shepherd student, 14-year-old Leah Curtis and her 8-year-old Thoroughbred Cabana Boy, became small junior hunter standouts. They won the week 2 and 5 championships.

“Bongo,” as Curtis affectionately tagged Cabana Boy, is so much more than just a conduit to victory for her. She got the sprightly gelding three years ago after losing her last horse, More Than Talent. Shortly after that fateful barn accident, co-trainer Dani Grice brought Bongo in from Minnesota for Curtis to try before she brought him home to Mobile, Ala.

Though Bongo proved slightly strong at first, a little extra trust and perseverance cemented the pair’s special partnership soon enough. “He kind of had a little bit too much jump for me, and I would end up on his neck a lot,” Curtis admitted. “But I just rode him every day and kept getting used to him until we finally clicked.”

Shepherd added, “Leah’s my youngest [student], and I’ve watched her come along and grow so much at every show. She’s a very hard worker and always improving.”

Still, Bongo enjoys some occasional Thoroughbred antics. “He thinks he knows everything,” Curtis said laughing. “But usually when we’re in the ring, he likes it when I just drop the reins and let him do his job.”

Shepherd also guided Bongo through the first and second year green hunter divisions two years ago. Now, Curtis is his only rider. After a decorated circuit for the pair, they finished just a handful of points shy of Tico and Lindsay Maxwell for the small junior hunter circuit championship.

The large junior circuit championship went to Hayley Barnhill and her big, gray, 7-year-old Holsteiner, Gratuity.

While she’s had the 17.1-hand gelding for a year, colic surgery last summer kept him out of competition for six months. He made his triumphant return just in time for this year’s Gulf Coast Classic.

“We originally got him for equitation,” said Barnhill, 13. “But he’s actually been awesome in both [hunters and equitation].”

She and Gratuity also won the large junior hunter classic. Barnhill, Collierville, Tenn., trains with Dave Pellegrini and plans to keep riding Gratuity in the hunter and equitation divisions this season. She’s set her sights on indoor finals in the fall.

Just Having A Good Time
Karlene Moss said she brought her 10-year-old Hanoverian, Wyatt, to Gulfport this year just to have a good time. That she did after taking home the amateur-owner, 36 and over, circuit championship.

It was all red and blue that week for Moss, who traveled from Pilot Point, Texas, with her gray gelding. The pair saw nothing but first- and second-placed finishes with three class wins, the NCE Amateur Equitation blue and the NHJL Amateur Hunter Classic victory.

“It’s been very fun,” Moss said modestly. “We just stepped up to 3’6″ this year, and he’s been fabulous. He’s got a great brain and is such a sweet horse. He tries really hard for me.”

Both Moss and her sister Belynda Bond, who helps train Wyatt and rode Sea Cove into Sunday’s $25,000 Grand Prix jump-off, agree that his slow and calculated jumping style wins judges over every time.

“I could gallop down to a single oxer, and he just stays in the air for what feels like forever,” said Moss. Bond added, “He’s just so light off the ground, and with his conformation, he’s a very attractive jumper.”

After taking week 4 off for her son’s birthday, Moss said Wyatt returned to the ring for the final week as fresh and ready as ever. “He only competes two days, though. He doesn’t do any professional divisions,” Moss said.

Bond added, “As much as I’d like to have a nice first year horse to ride, I want him to be for her because she’s never had a super nice hunter like him. She’s developed a special bond with him, no doubt.”