Tim Goguen, of Lexington, Ky., took a chance and brought a young horse named Vegas to Capital Challenge to compete in his first horse show.
Goguen said, “I didn’t know what he was going to do. We’ve really only jumped some rails at home and I thought, ‘Well, I might have to circle. I thought you know what, let’s just see what we have. Let’s do it. We took our time getting him ready out here, and he walked in and he looked around just a little bit but he jumped outrageous.”
Goguen’s roll of the dice came up sevens as the stunning gray posted an 87.5 on the scoreboard in the outdoor arena and bested a field of 28 to win the future hunter, 5 and under, class.
Vegas was imported from Germany in June. “He hadn’t done much,” said Goguen. “He certainly wasn’t doing any of the jumper stuff over there.”
Matching Goguen’s 87.5 finish was Sandy Ferrell, who loped around the non-Thoroughbred future hunter class to a blue ribbon aboard Significant. The flashy chestnut is a 6-year-old Hanoverian owned by Jesse Capolla.
Another high-scoring young hunter was a warmblood named Elle. Guided by Peter Pletcher, of Magnolia, Texas, Elle jumped to the top of the future hunter mares class, posting an 88 on the scoreboard. Elle, owned by Susie Hogarty, is 6 years old and was imported from Europe. Pletcher said, “She was just 30 days broke when we found her. I started her last year in California. She has a fabulous jump.”
Not only is the young mare incredibly talented, she’s also easy to prepare. Pletcher said, “She’s easy to get to the ring because she doesn’t have any spook. We don’t do a lot with her. She gets turned out a lot at home.”
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People travel across the Atlantic to find a talented horse, but to watch the best hunters this country’s professionals have brought along simply sit ringside at the Capital Challenge. Monday marked the start of the rated hunter classes at the show and as ears pricked, knees tucked, and backs rounded up and over the oxers, high 80’s and even some 90’s hit the board.
Kirsten Coe was successful riding a number of horses. Coe won a class in the second year green division posting an 88.12 with Heartfelt and also collected the second place with Fiyero, who scored an 87.75. Fiyero later went on to win the under saddle class as well.
Fiyero, a 9-year-old owned by Katharine Press, is a fairly new ride for Coe who has only been paired with the seasoned mount for six months.
Earlier in the day, Coe posted one of the highest scores, a 90, riding Tchaikovsky in the first year green division. The 7-year-old gelding owned by Teri Kessler came in second, missing the blue by half a point. The blue ribbon was awarded to John Bragg and Genuine who scored 90.5.
Coe said of Tchaikovsky, “He was great today in the second class. He’s a wonderful jumper and has a great temperament.”
Tchaikovsky is no stranger to the winner’s circle at Capital Challenge. Last year he earned a championship in the future hunter division.
Coe talked about riding the many horses she shows at Capital Challenge saying, “They all ride differently. I have to catch myself and say to myself, ‘take a second, remember, this one is a little faster than the other,’ because it goes so quickly. But their common trait is that they are all excellent jumpers.”
