It’s not easy to follow in the footsteps of Maggie and Charlie Jayne, who both won so many titles and ribbons when they were in the junior ranks. But their younger sister, Haylie, 16, is proving more than up to the challenge.

Haylie got to lead in three circuit champions during the parade of champions, held just before the $200,000 Budweiser American Invitational in Tampa, Fla. Over the course of the Winter Equestrian Festival, held Jan. 26-April 2 in Wellington and Tampa, Fla., Jayne piloted Rachel Spencer’s Small Talk to the large junior hunter, 16-17, tricolor. She also captured the small junior hunter, 16-17, title on Missy Clark’s Sienna and the low junior jumper championship and reserve on Kinda Blue and Jiffy Pop.

The junior hunter wins came at the very end of the nine weeks of showing. With both horses, Haylie was dueling with Carolyn Kelly for the titles, but Kelly finished as reserve in both divisions.

“It was really close and right down to the end. It was a lot of stress and pressure, so I had to try and forget about that. But Carolyn is one of the nicest people, so if she had won it would have been good too,” Haylie said.

The circuit championships were a direct reflection of Haylie’s new attitude.

“I’m a lot more confident than I was before, because I get to ride so many different horses. I don’t think that last year I would have been able to get on Small Talk and Sienna and ride them well–because you do get nervous riding other people’s horses. This year, I was able to do that much better,” she said.

Haylie not only had to compete against Charlie and Maggie, but she also had toshow horses she’d inherited from them. Last year, she rode Clemintine to the large junior, 15 and under, circuit title. But Maggie had started Clemintine and won quite a bit on her.

“I’m really excited about it, because now I’m doing well on other horses, ones that weren’t in the family. And now I have some babies in the barn that I’m bringing along, and hopefully will have as much success as Clemintine. I hope I can prove that I can do that too,” said Haylie.

“It was really hard for me, last year and the year before. Last year was Charlie’s last junior year, and it seemed like I was second to him in every class. Now that Maggie is a professional and Charlie’s an amateur, it’s a lot easier for me. I don’t really feel the pressure like when I was riding their horses.”
Haylie’s low junior jumper tricolor came on an old friend, though. Kinda Blue, known for his aggressive style, has been a consistent contender with all three of the Jayne children. Charlie rode Kinda Blue last year, but Haylie had the ride in 2003.

“The first year I rode him, I was nervous about him because he’s kind of intimidating. I would try to slow him down and get in his way a lot. This year I’ve learned that no matter what, you can’t pull on the reins. No matter if you’re getting there deep or getting there long, you have to just give him his head. That’s the way he likes it.

“He’ll jump out of any distance, as long as you aren’t pulling on his face,” Haylie added. “That was hard for me to learn, but I think I really got it this year. I started going much faster with him this year,” she said.

That knowledge also helped her with Jiffy Pop, the reserve champion and a new mount for her. She bought the 8-year-old last year.

“He’s tiny–like 15.1 hands–and he definitely has an attitude. He’s a little different. He kind of likes the cowgirl ride a little bit. You just have to kick him around the ring a little. He turns just as fast as Kinda Blue, if not faster, even if he doesn’t gallop as fast,” she said.

Haylie toned down the galloping and turning in the hunter rings to catch-ride both her circuit champions. Small Talk’s success was particularly rewarding for her.

“It was a huge feeling of accomplishment. I don’t really ride that horse at all–I just meet him at the ring, so it was really exciting for me to be able to do so well with him,” she said.

Haylie got the ride in December when amateur rider Rachel Spencer, Small Talk’s owner, decided to sell the bay gelding.

“From the moment I first rode him, I thought, ?Wow, I love this horse.’ He’s really easy to get along with. He’s got a really nice mouth, and he just gets into his rhythm and goes. He knows his job; he just goes in the ring and does his thing,” Haylie said.

Sienna didn’t know quite as much, since Missy Clark just imported him last year as an equitation prospect, but he proved to have just as much aptitude. Jayne said the 7-year-old warmblood took to the hunter style right away. At his first show in America he won both classes both days.

“He’s really easy and has an awesome jump. He’s a baby, so it’s amazing what he’s done. He pokes his nose like a little hunter and goes around,” she said.

Meant For Me

Ellen Toon doesn’t have the sibling ri-valry element, but her amateur-owner hunter, 36 and over, circuit champion had some big shoes to fill. Toon owns In Disguise, the frequent champion in the regular working division, and was circuit champion last year on Alexia.

This year, she was pleasantly surprised to take the title on Attache, after showing him in the division just four weeks. Attache, who was also the second year green circuit champion last year with Shachine Belle, has been in Toon’s barn for five years, but Toon never intended to ride him. She thought her petite stature would make “Donald”–at 16.3 hands–hard for her to ride.

“He wasn’t ever meant for me to ride–he was always for sale,” said Toon.

But after In Disguise got hurt during the first week of the WEF circuit, Toon decided to give Donald a try. “I figured there was only one way to find out if we got along. I had one lesson on him, and he was just awesome. I felt comfortable on him right away. He’s got a big stride and he’s very scopey, but he’s so beautifully broke and responsive that he’s very simple to ride,” said Toon.

They debuted in the adult amateur division, and ended up champions their first week showing. They moved up to the amateur-owner ring for the last two weeks of WEF in Wellington, and for the two weeks of showing in Tampa, and they were champions every week.

While Toon earned her title with a new partnership, Ann Misenheimer achieved her first WEF circuit title with Three Wishes, her partner of nine years. They claimed the adult amateur hunter, 36-50, title.

Misenheimer bought Three Wishes as a 4-year-old after spotting him in the pre-green ring in Tampa.

“By the third jump, I was walking to the in-gate ready to grab his bridle and take him home. I just had to have him. It was just so apparent that he was the horse for me,” Misenheimer said.

Misenheimer waited for Three Wishes to complete his pre-green and first year green years before taking over the reins, and the wait was worthwhile. “He’s so darn smart, we had to be careful not to rush him,” she said.

“He’s so much fun if he’s your type. You have to always keep him going, but that’s my kind of ride,” she said. “He loves to show. He really brightens up in the show ring and shows his personality. He’s an extremely gentle and kind creature, and he loves people.”

Misenheimer, once an art dealer in New York City, now devotes herself to her horses. She’s married to a farrier, and she trains with Frank and Stacia Madden.

Why Not!

Holly Caristo thought that watching her Indian Summer take the first year green circuit title last year with Sandy Ferrell was fun, but she topped that this year by claiming the adult amateur hunter, 51 and over, championship with him.

“He’s just such a good guy. Every day I look forward to riding him,” Caristo said of the rangy chestnut gelding. “He just goes in the ring and goes around. I’ve ridden a lot of horses in my life, and he’s very special. I wish he’d come along earlier in my life, so I could do the [amateur-owner division] on him. But I’m comfortable at three-foot. I can sleep at night before my classes!”

In all of her years showing, Caristo has never been WEF circuit champion, so she was ecstatic to take the title. And she did it by a wide margin, despite not showing during the two weeks in Tampa.

Caristo acknowledged that Indian Summer has the talent to continue shining in the professional divisions, but “I’ve waited a long time for a horse like this,” she said. “I know some people might think it’s a waste of his quality. But don’t think that I don’t know just how lucky I am to be going into the ring on him. Someone asked me ?Aren’t you getting tired of winning?’ But it doesn’t get old, and I’ve done my time not winning.”

Scott Stewart proved yet again that he’s at the top of his game and fully recovered from the fractured ankle he suffered last fall. He claimed the first year green circuit title on Music Street, the green conformation tricolor on Granted, and the regular conformation honors on Chopard.

But in the second year division, Jennifer Bauersachs rode to her first WEF circuit title, guiding Lee Kellogg’s Seduced to the win.

“We all got seduced by him. From day 1, we just loved him,” said Bauersachs. Kellogg bought Seduced in February 2004 from Paul Valliere, who had imported the 7-year-old Oldenburg by Cassini. Bauersachs had been showing Seduced for Valliere, and she knew he would be a good match for amateur rider Kellogg.

“He’s her type of ride. He rides similar to Gifted, whom she rides so well. He’s maybe a little bit cockier than Gifted in the ring–he likes to play around a little bit, where Gifted is total business. She has to get used to him being a little bit playful, and he has a lot of jump, but we’ll spray her with Saddle Tite!” Bauersachs said.

The two-month WEF circuit brought out the best in Seduced. “He got better and better; I’ve never had a horse like this. He did well and got great ribbons at indoors last fall. So, we gave him a month off and brought him back lightly for Florida,” she said.

“He was doing so well that we started doing the second years and amateurs with him. He loves to work. The more you do with him, the happier he is. He’s excited to come out of his stall and work every day. By the end of circuit, usually the horses are bored and know the walk down to the ring. But every day was like a new day for him; he was just interested all the time. He always had his ears up and was ready to go.”

Cortie Wetherill’s Take Away also impressed, taking off with the regular working hunter circuit tricolor under Havens Schatt.

“He is without a doubt the most wonderful horse I think I’ve ever had privilege of training. It’s effortless for him, and he goes in the ring every time to win. He never just canters a jump; he always tries hard,” said Jeff Wirthman, who trains Wetherill and Take Away.

Wirthman found the 9-year-old warmblood last year as a junior hunter prospect for Wetherill. Because of his jumper experience, Take Away went right to the regular working division.

“He’s really slow and scopey, and it makes it fun,” said Schatt. “He’s always the same. He always wants to jump straight and round and square.”
Eventually, Take Away will contest the junior hunters with Wetherill.

Big Goals

Christy Russo took her time to work her way up to the junior hunters with her Westcliffe. She’s had the brown gelding for 21³2 years and was WEF circuit reserve champion in the children’s hunters last year. She moved up to the 3’6″ division last summer, and she clinched the WEF large junior hunter, 15 and under, championship.

“It was hard for me at first, because I was so used to winning in the children’s hunters,” said Russo. “Moving up to the juniors, with all the amazing horses and top riders, was kind of intimidating.”

Russo headed into the WEF circuit hoping just to solidify her riding. “If anyone had told me I’d be circuit champion, I wouldn’t have believed them. It seems almost surreal to me,” she said. “I thought that if I ended up getting a few ribbons, I’d be happy.”

Reed Kessler was also very happy with her WEF circuit, earning the small pony circuit championship and reserve on Helicon Take Notice and Cardiff Mardi Gras. It’s Kessler’s second year riding Helicon Take Notice, or “Alexis.”

“What I love about her is that she has a really long stride. You can go slow and she just eats up the lines,” Kessler said. “It’s so fun when she jumps. You go through the air so slowly.”

Kessler, who rides with Andre Dignelli, Kate Oliver and Patricia Griffith at Heritage Farm, appreciates Alexis’ experience. The 13-year-old pony has taught many young riders the ropes.

Cardiff Mardi Gras, or “Marty,” just missed beating out Alexis for the championship. Kessler’s only had him since October, and he’s a much different ride than Alexis.

“He has a smaller stride, and he kind of pounces in the stride right before the jump,” she said. “And his jump is so huge it’s unbelievable. He’s very scopey. I thought, since Alexis is like a mini-horse and he has more of a pony stride, that he would be hard for me to ride, but I settled right in on him.”

Schaefer Raposa just barely lost the small pony circuit title last year, but this year she came back with a vengeance, winning the large pony and small/medium green pony tricolors on Orlando and Shine, both catch rides.

Orlando is one of the first large ponies that Raposa has ridden. “At first, it took some time to get to know him, but I learned to trust him and know that he’d be there for me,” said Raposa. She plans to ride Orlando for the remainder of the year.

But her time on Shine concluded with the circuit title, as she was showing the pony to help show him the ropes. Owner Lulu Farrish will take over the reins. “He was really fun. He wasn’t spooky at all. Sometimes he’d do some green things, but never anything bad,” Raposa said.