A long break from the show ring doesn’t faze this 4-year-old.

Kensington’s Remember When was the picture of a seasoned show horse when he entered the Warrenton Horse Show’s historic ring with rider Brandon Gibson. Despite a year off from showing, the gelding put his best foot forward to win the 4-year-old championship at the International Hunter Futurity Eastern Regional, Sept. 4.

“He warmed up kind of rough, but then he came out and showed what kind of horse he really is,” said Gibson. “The first trip went really well. I came out of the ring and my coach, Chip Leonard, had nothing to say, so that was really good!”

Gibson, Greenback, Tenn., who runs Select Sport Horses at Winfield Oaks Farm with his fiancé, Jocelyn Williams, said that the horse was a little lazy and inattentive in the young hunter division in Warrenton, Va., the day prior to the IHF competition.

That bad day got the rust off for Friday, where he won the blue in his first over fences class and claimed two third-placed ribbons in the second over fences and the under saddle classes to clinch the championship.

Kensington’s Remember When (Mynos—Heiress, Habitat) was bred by his owner, Stephanie Bowers of Kensington Farm in Lascassas, Tenn.

“The stallion [Mynos] was fabulous, and [Kensington’s Remember When] has been a saint from the moment he hit the ground,” said Bowers. “He’s been really mellow and super, super easy. He’s just a character and really friendly, and Brandon has spoiled him!”

Bowers began riding the gelding when he was 18 months old and had no trouble teaching him the ropes. She passed the reins to Gibson about two years ago, and after a successful debut in the IHF Finals in Lexington, Ky., last year, where Kensington’s Remember When placed third over fences and eighth in the hack, Gibson and Bowers decided to give the gelding a long break.

“It’s really hard to get them ready for this kind of competition and still have them around at 9 or 10,” said Gibson. “With him, the longer the breaks, the better. He’s done for this year. He’ll be turned out, and we’ll start again in the spring.”

Dreams Come True

Dreamland Express’ week at the Warrenton Horse Show didn’t begin as rider Vinissa Blann, Delray Beach, Fla., would have liked, but the mare stepped up to win the 4-year-old reserve championship in the IHF Eastern Regional.

“She had a hard time this week and really wasn’t feeling that well,” said Blann, who has been riding for Jane Fennessy of Carriage Hill Farm for the past eight years. “It took a little while to get her together, but she was really consistent and jumped great today.”

Dreamland Express (All The Gold—Miss Wings, Wings Pleasure) began showing on the line in 2005 and made her under saddle debut in 2007. She was named the reserve best young horse at the Kentucky National Horse Show in the same year. The mare moved on to contesting the pre-green divisions at the Winter Equestrian Festival (Fla.) this winter.

“She doesn’t act like a 4-year-old,” said owner and breeder Donna Phillips. “She acts like a 6- or 8-year-old. She never looks at the jumps, and she’s very placid and easy about everything.”

Phillips, who owns Mill Pond Farm in Coconut Creek, Fla., also had Dreamland Express’ half sister, Poems Prayers & Promises (Magical—Miss Wings, Wings Pleasure) competing in the 3-year-old division, where she was second and third over fences and third under saddle.

Phillips purchased Miss Wings sight unseen from a video. She then picked a handful of stallions and looked to her friend Sandy Holbrook for advice.

“She said, ‘I’d breed this one and this one.’ And that’s what I did,” said Phillips with a laugh. “They’re the only two I’ve ever bred. I followed the right person’s advice, and now I’m two for two!”

Blann and Phillips plan on taking both mares to WEF over the winter and hope to compete in the IHF again.

“Next year is a long way away,” said Phillips. “We’ll see where life brings us.”

First Shoes And First Tricolor

Jason Berry had never met Sox In The City before saddling him for the Warrenton Horse Show and IHF Eastern Regional, but they quickly developed a partnership on their way to winning the 3-year-old IHF championship.

“For a 3-year-old, he was really great and confident,” said Berry.

While Berry was in the tack at the horse show, trainer Daniel Geitner had the horse for about a month before the competition.

“My guy who breaks horses on my farm only trots fences, so he went to canter school with Daniel before he came [to Warrenton],” said owner Lita Wangensteen, who purchased the gelding as a weanling. “I had his full brother, Sox Fifth Avenue, and [Sox In The City] was sent to me because his brother did so well.”

Sox In The City (Everest—My Wicked Way, Tanneburg) and Berry won the tri-color in the 3-year-old hunter division on Thursday prior to the IHF, where they were first and second over fences and sixth in the under saddle.

“This was his first horse show and first pair of shoes,” said Wangensteen with a laugh.

In addition to Sox In The City, Berry rode Wangensteen’s Baby Cakes (Paparazzo—Cakes & Ale, Genuine Reward) to a third-placed finish in the 2-year-old under saddle class.

Berry, who operates Jason Berry Stables in Verona, Va., with his wife, Alisa, accepted a riding fellowship at Sweet Briar College (Va.) and began teaching there this fall.

A Rally For Reserve

Hint Of Gold showed his age when he spooked at a truck driving along the outside of the ring and hit the brakes in the first over fences class during the 3-year-old class. He then showed maturity beyond his years when he put in a foot-perfect second trip for rider Hillary Rheinheimer to take home the blue.

“I was really nervous for the second round,” said owner Meg Valnoski, Allentown, N.J. “We entered him at the last minute, and he’s just done a wonderful job. He usually just shows on the line, and this is his first time over fences.”

Veteran handler Junior Johnson was the man responsible for Hint Of Gold’s training, and his confidence in the horse’s ability proved to be right after the gelding placed second in the under saddle to seal the reserve championship.

“Junior called me two weeks ago and said to enter him,” said Valnoski. “I didn’t really want him to do the performance, but [Junior] was right.”

Hint Of Gold (All The Gold—Supreme Dancer, Silver Supreme) had a lot of show ring experience before traveling to Warrenton. He showed on the line at Devon (Pa.) and Upperville (Va.) as a 2- and 3-year-old, but winning the 3-year-old IHF reserve championship has been his biggest achievement thus far.

“His brother [Celtic Gold] won the 3-year-old at Devon [this year], and [Hint Of Gold] has always stood behind his brother on the line,” said Valnoski. “Today was his day.”

Valnoski, who is the MFH of the Monmouth County Hunt (N.J.), whipped-in from Hint Of Gold’s mother, Supreme Dancer, for 14 years before she bred her.

“We ended up doing embryo transfer, and it took me two years [to get her bred],” said Valnoski. “He was conceived in Ohio, implanted in Missouri, and now he’s here!

I loved the mare all my life, and I have to give Sandy Mudge, my trainer at the time, a lot of credit because she picked the stallion.”

Hint Of Gold is due for a break this winter, and Valnoski hopes to bring him back to the IHF in 2010 along with Celtic Gold.

“I’d like them both to do the hunter derbies,” said Valnoski. “I think it’s great, but I’m going to let the professionals ride them. I’m in the tack for taking my hounds out and that’s it!”