For the first time anyone could remember, show hunters were in the spotlight before an enthusiastic crowd of close to 8,000 spectators at the first American Hunter-Jumper Foundation World Cup HunterChallenge. Held April 23 in the Thomas & Mack Arena in Las Vegas, the class was in conjunction with the FEI World Cup Show Jumping and Dressage Finals.

A team of Europeans challenged four of our top hunter riders, and they cantered off with the top prizes, much to the consternation of many of us.

Afterward, I interviewed 15 people, including the judges, trainers, owners of the horses shown, hunter riders, commentators, media and organizers. They didn’t all agree with the results, but all agreed that the class was a watershed event in the history of show hunters, especially since the crowd loved it.

Rodrigo Pessoa laid down the opening challenge. He maintained that the European show jumpers, despite no experience in showing hunters, could hold their own against the elite of American hunter riders.

In Las Vegas, the Europeans, represented by Rodrigo, Marcus Ehning, Michael Whitaker and Nick Skelton, were matched up against an American team of past winners of the World Championship Hunter Rider professional competition: Louise Serio, John French, Peter Pletcher and Scott Stewart.

After a first round shown over a regular hunter course, the riders switched horses and returned over a handy course. Each round was scored by three sets of two judges, and in both rounds each team dropped its lowest score.

Throughout the competition, Melanie Smith Taylor and Don Stewart Jr. provided live commentary, and the knowledgeable crowd was roaring at some of the more telling remarks. My own lasting impression was that we’d shown hunters in front of a large crowd who came away pleased and entertained.

Not surprisingly, George Morris provided the most comprehensive review of the event. George watched this hunter class objectively–from the side. He said the horses were quality horses, but they acted like real horses can–fresh. And the freshness distracted the American riders. If it had been a hunt seat equitation class, George would have pinned it Marcus, Rodrigo, Scott, Michael, Louise, Peter, John and Nick.

George said the American riders weren’t as tight or as fit as the Europeans. He said Marcus and Rodrigo adjusted to our style with their position and release.

George thought that both teams were close after the first round, but in the second round, the Europeans were the clear winners because they rode far more aggressively, taking the inside options that the Americans passed up. The Europeans were on the offensive. The Americans, he said, rode defensively and allowed the Europeans to win.

Karen Healey Bauer was responsible for raising the $30,000 in prize money and securing the loan of the hunters used in the class.  She and AHJF President Geoff Teall found the six knowledgeable judges.

Geoff said many people believed that the Americans would have the advantage from their hunter experience, but the conditions might have actually given the Europeans the edge. Geoff said they’re more familiar with such a spooky ring, large crowds and this level of intense pressure.

The judges worked independently in pairs (Jimmy Torano and Hap Hansen, Brian Lenehan and Jack Towell, Missy Clark and Alex Jayne).

Jimmy said all the judges were on the same wavelength, and indeed the scores and rankings were comparable throughout the class. In spite of that, some of the American riders were critical of the judging, and Jimmy believes, without a doubt, that this was the most controversial hunter class ever.

Brian said the judges had been asked to give exciting scores on the high side and to emphasize the handy aspects of the second round, to contribute to the entertainment value for the large crowd.

Jack said the American riders seemed nervous. The European riders didn’t worry about how spooky the horses were–all the horses were spooky for all the riders. He noted that the American riders had a chance to show against the best riders in the world, and he thought they should accept what they could learn from the Europeans instead of resenting their loss.

Like George, he remarked that the Europeans did the inside turns smoothly, setting them up just as if they were in a jump-off in the jumper ring.

These three judges all commented that the numbers were merely a gauge or sorting device to rank the class. The numbers themselves didn’t really matter.

Two of the owners, Mary Ann Weisberg-Perry, who provided two of the horses, and John Danhakl (owner of the high-score horse, In Sync), said this class was one of the most fabulous experiences the hunter world has ever seen.

John said the Europeans dealt with the horses’ spookiness better than the Americans, especially since they didn’t know any of the horses. He said that Marcus Ehning’s round on In Sync was amazing!

Commentator Don Stewart said the emphasis that the judges placed on the handy aspects of the second round should be carried over into the judging of all handy classes. He also noted that the Americans should have been more aggressive in this round since they were behind.

Commentator Melanie Smith Taylor, a previous World Cup winner who has been commenting for NBC since 1988, said the class demonstrated that great riders are great riders, no matter what they’re asked to do. She thought the Euro-peans had an advantage because they’d been showing, while the Americans suffered from stage fright in their only appearance in that ring.

Rider Louise Serio said she believed the rules for the class changed, and no one told the riders that it turned into an equitation class rather than a hunter class. She also said the riders could have used more people in the schooling area, helping them to follow the progress of the class.

John French said the European riders simply out-rode the Americans in the handy phase. He didn’t take the result personally and had a great time.

Peter Pletcher believed that, although the class was great for our sport, someaspects upset him. Rather than being judged as a hunter class, which he thought was the original intent, the class became an event judged on the riders. He said the American hunter riders wouldn’t have tried to ride so smoothly if they’d known it was a ride-off.

Scott Stewart said the class rubbed him the wrong way. He didn’t understand how it was judged. He thought the American riders were tied with the Europeans going into the second round, and that the American riders had three good rounds compared to the European riders’ one good round by Marcus Ehning and three technically poor rounds by his teammates.

The bottom line is that whichever Americans contest this event when the World Cup returns to Las Vegas in 2007, they’ll need to be better prepared. We need to toughen up and go for the win.

While there are certainly improvements to be made with this class–as with most inaugural events–I thank the powers that be in Las Vegas for allowing the hunters to perform in this exciting venue. I also thank the owners of the horses, who were gracious enough to allow their quality horses to be ridden by these top eight riders, and to Karen for putting this all together. Let’s work toward a rematch in 2007!