For the 98th time in his long and illustrious career, Hap Hansen led the victory gallop, this time aboard Horalas, for the $25,000 Memorial Day Classic Grand Prix, May 29. The sell-out crowd at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center in Burbank, Calif., stood and cheered in acknowledgment of Hansen’s accomplishment.

For Hansen, the win came at one of his favorite places. “I really like the grass field at the Memorial Day Classic, and there is a great crowd,” he said. “They are so enthusi-astic, and it creates a great atmosphere. It makes you really want to try.”

Both Mark Watring and Guy Thomas had posted fast jump-off rounds before Hansen. “I didn’t think I could catch Mark,” Hansen admitted. “He was fast.” When asked how he and Horalas surpassed Watring and Sapphire’s time of 40.05 seconds, Hansen explained, “Mark’s horse is more lofty, and he spends a nickle’s worth more time in the air.” Hansen seemed to match Watring turn for turn, but Horalas skimmed over the jumps to stop the clock in the winning time of 39.24 seconds. “He is very brave and has a huge heart,” said Hansen of Diane Rushing’s bay gelding. With the exception of last year, Hansen has been partnered with the horse since 2003.

Watring finished a close second behind Hansen and was especially pleased since he qualified both his horses for the jump-off. “Sapphire was super today,” said Watring of the gray gelding. “He has won so much for me that he owes me nothing. Anything he does is wonderful.” With Sapphire, Watring, who lives in California but was born in Puerto Rico, earned the individual gold medal at the 2003 Pan American Games on behalf of Puerto Rico. Although Sapphire was quick around the jump-off track, Watring noted that there was one way to make the gelding even faster. “He goes ballistic in the victory gallop. If we did that first and then jumped off the results would probably be different,” he said with a laugh.

Watring also qualified his up-and-coming grand prix mount, Brilliant, for the tie-breaking round. “He is 9 going on 6 and is coming along great. He jumps so big that sometimes I need to tone him down,” he said. Watring moves the horse up and down the levels to give him the experience and confidence he needs. “In today’s jump-off we got a little deep,” explained Watring of the rail Brilliant had at the second-to-last fence.

Thomas was happy with his third-placed finish aboard Carlos. “My mom and dad bought him on the last day of Indio [Desert Circuit (Calif.)],” explained Thomas of the 9-year-old gelding. Thomas’ parents, Butch and Lu, rode at the highest levels of competition, with Butch representing his native New Zealand and Lu representing the United States. Both have willingly stayed on the ground while Guy has assumed riding duties. With a number of consistent grand prix finishes the past few years, there is no doubt Thomas will soon find himself in the winner’s circle, and he hopes it will be with Carlos. “I am extremely lucky to have him,” explained Thomas, who is used to developing horses and then having to sell them. “Carlos is a pet to be around and a real character in the barn. He is super talented in the ring.” This was the pair’s first grand prix together. “He met all my expectations,” said Thomas. “He jumped awesome in the first round and was super all week. I thought I was quick enough [in the jump-off], but I don’t know him well enough to really turn him on.” Thomas hopes to make a bid for the New Zealand Olympic team in 2008 with Carlos.

Scott Starnes designed an encouraging yet challenging course for the twenty-horse field. “I thought Scott did a really good job,” commented Hansen. “The course wasn’t huge, but he set enough traps like the distance question from fence 4 to 5AB. You could do five or six strides to the verticals [combination] set short. The fence after the water was a steady eight [strides], and that proved to be a problem for some riders.”

For Hansen his 98th win was just as important as his first win, and he takes none of them for granted. Asked where he will make it to 100, Hansen just laughed. “A lot of people have asked me to win my 100th at their show!”

Silverstone Returns
For Challenge Win Almost 700 horses and riders–a record number–competed at this year’s show, which also featured a $10,000 hunter classic and an equitation challenge, a team competition.

In last year’s equitation challenge Hansen showed off his world-class style, and his team edged out Dan Silverstone’s team for the victory. Teams are comprised of a junior, an amateur, and a professional. The victorious professional wins a vacation at the Maui Marriott Ocean Resort on Ka’anapali Beach, Hawaii. Last year Hansen gave the trip to his long-time head groom, Lisa Baldasari. “It was the trip of a lifetime,” said Baldasari, who had always dreamed about going to Hawaii.

This year Silverstone really wanted to finish on top. He had a strong team with junior Michelle Morris and amateur Katie Gardner. However, right before the first round, Gardner took a nasty fall in the low junior/amateur-owner jumpers and had to get checked out by a doctor. Justin Felton, who joined the amateur ranks this year, threw on his show clothes and joined the team, which was already dubbed “Dan The Man & The Babe-ettes.” Despite some good-natured ribbing, Felton contributed solid scores, including an 84. After two rounds, “Dan The Man & The Babe-ettes” found themselves tied with “Bauer’s Babes,” anchored by Kacey Ament, who rides for Karen Healey Bauer. Amateur Yvette Lang-Einzig and junior Shelby Wakeman joined Ament. To break the tie, the two professionals had to work off. Ament was riding a horse that had been doing the jumpers less than two weeks prior to the show. He got nervous in the work off and didn’t hold the halt. Silverstone rode a polished test aboard Amadeus and found himself Maui-bound in December. “Our whole team was well planned, and then everything fell apart,” said Silverstone. “It was a case of lots and lots of careful planning and then everything changed, but I am really, really happy with how it worked out. Our team was second last year and this year we won! I can’t believe I just won a trip to Maui!” Although disappointed not to win, Ament was happy with her horse. “I would have loved to have won the trip, and I was on the winning team as a junior rider two years ago, but that’s the way it goes. This horse has come along really quickly and I’m so happy with him. He’s never had to do a halt in a class before!”

Cox Stays Busy In Hunter Classic
Archie Cox had two rounds of pressure in the $10,000 hunter classic, and although there was no trip to Maui on the line Cox wanted to win. A competitor every time he enters the ring, Cox had two rides in the classic, plus coaching duties for Laura Wasserman. Horses qualified for the classic based on their rankings in the rated hunter divisions at the show.

Cox rode Laura Wasserman’s Quality Time to the win after earning the green conformation hunter championship. “He is absolutely the easiest, nicest, most quality horse I’ve ever had,” she said. “And I’ve had a lot of horses.” Cox purchased the bay gelding for amateur rider Laura Wasserman from Cynthia Williams. “He has all the qualities you could ask for,” explained Cox. “He has movement and jumping style, and he has a great attitude to be an amateur horse. He has huge scope.” Wasserman shows Quality Time in the older section of the amateur-owner hunters where she also earned the tricolor. She also competes her veteran Jimmy Choo, and the pair finished fifth in the classic. Wasserman concluded a successful show when she was named Best Amateur-Owner Rider.

Although she still rides in the 11 and under age group, Olivia Esse has entered the 3’6″ ranks with some lovely junior hunters. The young rider found the transition from riding ponies to horses fairly easy. “Horses are more simple than ponies,” explained Esse. “They are more easy going and not as moody.” The $10,000 classic was Esse’s first big hunter class, and she rode with aplomb. She clinched third place with Country Grammar and fourth with After The Laughter. She then returned on the final day of the show to lead the victory gallop of the junior hunter classic with After The Laughter. Of all of her horses, Esse was most nervous about assuming the ride on Country Grammar. After Mary Ann Weisberg Perry’s success with the brown gelding in the amateur-owner hunters and winning the 2005 U.S. Equestrian Federation Horse of the Year title, Esse knew she had big shoes to fill. “He has done so well before. I don’t want to ruin his reputation,” she said. With the confidence she has taken with her as she moves into the 3’6″ divisions, there is no doubt Esse will do just fine. She also has great confidence in her trainer, Randy Durand, with whom she has ridden since she was 7. “My mom rode with Randy, and then I just started riding ponies. He knows all the appropriate stuff to tell me, and he is funny,” added Esse.

Making Up For Lost Time
After a successful junior career, Lindsay Ramar has been concentrating on college and expects to get her MBA from Pepperdine (Calif.) in 2007. Despite a busy school schedule and a summer internship working for UBS Financial, Ramar has been finding time to show in the low junior/amateur-owner jumpers. “It is all about balance and time management and not sleeping much,” added Ramar. “This past semester was super stressful.” When she was 13, doctors diagnosed a heart arrhythmia. “I finally decided I needed to get it fixed,” explained Ramar. “I was running out of breath and could barely jump a course of fences.” The surgery went well, and she was up and about in a matter of weeks. With improved health and a zest for life, Ramar rode Puma to the championship in the low junior/amateur-owner jumpers and earned second in the classic. “I didn’t really get to start the jumpers until I was 17,” said Ramar, who is making up for it and having a great time.

Katherine Bardis also came to the jumper ring fairly late in her junior years, but at just 18 years, she already has several grand prix finishes to her credit. She is also leading the Zone 10 Young Rider trials, and her win in the $5,000 Jimmy Williams Futures Class with Pariska 2 assures her a spot on the team for the North American Young Riders Championships. Last year Bardis rode on the junior championship team at the NAYRC, and she was impressed with the size and difficulty of the courses. With another year of focused competition under her belt, she knows what to expect and is looking forward to competing on the championship team.

Hannah Selleck rode her new jumper, Bauer, to victory in the $5,000 junior/young rider/amateur-owner jumper classic. She made a clean sweep of the 16-17 equitation classes and finished second in the Washington Equitation class. She proved her talent as a hunter rider by guiding Lisa Miller’s Cooper to the small junior hunter championship. For her efforts, Selleck was awarded the Best Junior Rider title.