Action at the Devon Horse Show in Devon, Pa., this weekend, June 2-3, shifted to the amateur-owner divisions, after the professionals had had their days to shine.

And Bridget Hallman took full advantage of the spotlight, riding Gray Slipper to the grand amateur-owner and amateur-owner, 18-35 championships.  “I’ve never even won a class at Devon, much less a championship!  I’m still a little bit in shock,” said Hallman, who’s been showing at Devon for more than 10 years, from the junior hunters into the amateur ranks.

She now has an ample collection of Devon blue ribbons, as she and Slipper won three classes and were second in the fourth for the championships. 

It was Gray Slipper’s week, as two days earlier, he’s captured the regular working hunter tricolor and tied for the grand hunter championship with Hallman’s trainer, Louise Serio.  “She wins so much with him—I just try to keep up with her!  He’s always good.  I just have to go with him and let him do his job.”

Hallman saw Slipper out in a field as a 4-year-old and knew she wanted him.  Serio went along with the plan, and started the strapping gray gelding in the pre-green, then first year and second year green divisions.  Hallman’s now owned Slipper for six years, and “every year, he’s gotten better and better.  He just lofts over the jumps, and I just have to try and stay on!”

Ellen Toon and In Disguise are no strangers to winning, but their championship this year in Devon’s amateur-owner hunter, 36 & over division was sweeter than normal.  In Disguise, or “Odie,” took all last year off from showing to recover from an injury, and just came back in the ring at the Winter Equestrian Festival (Fla.).  There, however, they jumped to the amateur-owner, 36 & over circuit championship.  “It’s just amazing to have him. You just get him within range of the jump, and he slows up and jumps it beautifully.  I’m just so lucky to have him,” Toon said.

Toon and Odie started off the division by winning the first class, but in the second class, it all went wrong.  “In the second class, nothing happened well.  I was pretty upset, because they work so hard for us, and when you don’t step up as a rider, it’s frustrating,” Toon said.  But they came back strong on the second day of the division, taking first and third to clinch the tricolor.

And the amateur-owner jumper division concluded this afternoon with the Show Jumping Hall of Fame classic.  Whitney Weeks rode Subliem to the top of the hotly contested four-horse jump-off, but Paige Johnson held on for the division championship.  Johnson and La Martinee had won the first class of the weekend, and with a third in the classic, clinched the tricolor.

Both La Martinee and Subliem are small, quick mares, and Johnson pointed out that learning how to stay out of their way is the key to victory on them.  “You have to learn how to complement them,” she said.  “They know what they’re doing, and you don’t want to offend them too much by trying to control them!”

It was a big weekend for Johnson, as she also rode Lancier 4 to seventh place in the $75,000 Budwieser Grand Prix of Devon.