Late Entry had the timing just right in the $45,200 AHJF Hunter Classic Spectacular of Palm Beach, held Feb. 18 at the Palm Beach Polo Equestrian Club in Wellington, Fla.

Piloted by Sandy Ferrell, the bay, Holsteiner gelding jumped two beautiful rounds over J.P. Goddard’s flowing courses for 173.68 points. They edged defending champions Costello and Louise Serio (172.81) and junior Jack Hardin Towell Jr., who guided Take Away to third (171.50).

“Wow! This felt really good–I’m still in shock,” said Ferrell laughing.

Ferrell, 38, Bernville, Pa., has known the second year green hunter Late Entry, owned by Sarah Chovnick, since his pre-green year.

“He has all the talent,” she said, grinning. “When he puts it all together, he just feels so wonderful.”

For Late Entry’s connections, this was a wonderful way to begin a new partnership. When trainer Ginny Edwards was searching for a junior hunter for student Sarah Chovnick last fall, Ferrell recommended Late Entry.

Emil Spadone had imported the bay gelding (Coriano–Esmeralda) and sent him to Jack Stedding to be sold. Ferrell began riding him there, before Betty Oare purchased him. Ferrell continued showing him for Oare and trainer Pam Baker during his first year green year. After spending two years with him, she believed he’d be the perfect match for Chovnick.

They purchased “Corky” in October and have been thrilled to have him a part of their Prime Time Show Stables of Upperville, Va.

“We absolutely love him,” said Edwards. “He’s like a big pony. He’s absolutely beautiful, and he knows it. He’s very brave, and it’s so easy for him. He and Sarah have won a class almost every week in the juniors. He’s turned out to be everything we’d hoped for–and then some!”

Star-Studded Field
With a capacity crowd in attendance on a beautiful South Florida evening, 33 contenders com-peted. This was the 10th anniversary of the featured event of the American Hunter Jumper Foundation, held during The Bainbridge Florida Classic/WCHR Spectacular, Feb. 15-19.

The courses received rave reviews from the riders. With open lines of 10 or 11 strides and many single fences, Goddard allowed the veterans to show their boldness, while also keeping the greener horses confident.

This year, the entries in the amateur-owner and junior divisions were so strong that multiple sections were required, resulting in the largest starting field to date. The champions and reserves in each section qualified to compete.

Several young juniors contested the class for the first time, including Jessica Springsteen, 13, Jennifer Waxman, 14, and Alexandra Arute, 14. Springsteen, of Colts Neck, N.J., had a beautiful first-round course and placed 10th aboard Sublime, the best performance of the youngest group.

With the 3’6″ horses jumping first, the professionals, juniors and amateur-owners traded off galloping around the course. Addison Phillips, 16, qualified two mounts and went second in the order on her Socrates. They posted the best score of the first round (87.50) with a flowing, accurate trip. Her chestnut, Hanoverian-Thoroughbred jumped beautifully.

Just two horses later, professional Pamela Polk matched Phillips’ score with Fiyero, an elegant Brandenburg she just began riding. After getting to know each other with the championship in section A of the first year green division, they showed confidence over the course.

“I don’t know him very well, but he’s fun and scopey and really nice to ride,” she said of the 10-year-old gelding.

After the jumps were raised to 3’9″, Late Entry and Ferrell moved into contention with a score of 86.68 to stand fourth.

“I thought I was a little conservative to jump No. 1, but I saw him getting a little looky, so I thought, ‘Just take your time,’ ” said Ferrell. “But after that, he felt great. I decided to take the risky route and not leave out strides but do the more forward numbers.”

Serio and Shaw Johnson Price’s Costello also jumped 3’9″ and posted a lovely round that moved them up to third. The bay, Selle Fran�ais scored 87.06, edging ahead of Late Entry.

“Costello loves the field. He loves the footing and the atmosphere,” said Serio, a co-founder of the AHJF. “He’s one you don’t worry about spooking at a jump. He just loves situations like this, and he’s always nice to ride anyway because he has such scope. He’s the kind you like to go around on because you know you have a chance.”

As the night grew later, the jumps went up. Unlike previous years, the scores were extremely close, with no one combination taking command and few scores in the 90s. But the more experienced four-foot horses, as a whole, had more difficulty attaining top scores. Many appeared fresh and electrified by the atmosphere.

Californian Jenny Karazissis, the 2005 WCHR Pro Challenge winner, rode her veteran Touchstone. But the flashy chestnut Dutch Warmblood didn’t settle into the course and scored 82.75, leaving them in 11th, the highest-scoring four-foot horse.

Going For Broke
The top eight combinations from round 1 returned for round 2 over a new course, and the two second year green horses, Late Entry and Costello, jumped first.

Ferrell stepped into the ring confident in her horse.

“The second round was great. Once I went past the jump by the gate, where even in the second round they can get distracted, I turned that corner and knew we were fine coming home,” she said. “But he was on it tonight.”

The judges rewarded them with 88, 85, 88 and 87 for an 87 average and a total of 173.68.

But with seven contenders remaining, it was a long wait. “We were having a heart attack. There were so many nice horses to follow,” said Edwards. “We were standing at the gate biting our fingernails!”

Serio’s elegant bay Costello rose to the occasion yet again, with an 85.75 second-round score that held for second place (172.81). “It’s a blast. Being the veteran and having done it quite a few years, it’s fun to gallop and jump,” said Serio. “It’s fun to be challenged by the course.”

Towell, 17, Camden, S.C., the 2005 WCHR National Junior Champion, came closest to catching the professionals. Thanks to his WCHR title, Towell had a bye into the class and could choose to ride any horse. He selected Cortie Wetherill’s Take Away and rode him for the first time ever in this class.

“I feel like I could have done better,” said Towell, who stood seventh after the first round. “I rode conservatively in the first round. In the second round, I thought he was good everywhere. I really let him gallop to the last jump. I thought, ‘If I go in and chip, I’ll be eighth, but if I go in and have a great round, maybe I’ll move up.’ You’ve got to take a chance to the last jump,” Towell added, laughing.

Towell’s bold ride was rewarded with the highest score of round 2 (87.50) as he and the 10-year-old, Oldenburg gelding climbed to third.

Take Away placed second last year with Havens Schatt in the irons. “I want to thank the Wetherills for letting me show him,” said Towell. “It was nice to have him because my other one was green, and I wasn’t sure how he’d be.”

Towell also placed sixth aboard his own Blink, a 6-year-old, Dutch Warmblood in his first full year of showing. The game liver chestnut pulled a shoe after the first fence in the first round but still jumped beautifully. Just a year ago, Blink attended the WEF circuit but was so overwhelmed by the environment that he didn’t make it to the show ring.

As the 3’6″ contenders continued, the leaders couldn’t duplicate their efforts a second time. Phillips and Socrates dropped down to fifth after a few small mistakes in the second round to score 83.12, while Fiyero and Polk finished fourth with a score of 83.87.

Phillips’ second mount, Who’s On First, who earned the grand junior hunter championship, placed seventh with 169.62.

Teri Kessler of Bedford Corners, N.Y., had a banner week. She was the highest-placed amateur in the Classic and placed eighth aboard Pavarotti (167.25). She was also the only amateur to qualify for the second round.

Kessler earned two tricolors in the amateur-owner, 36 and over, division this week. With Pavarotti, she was reserve champion in section A to Pave and Caroline Moran, while she earned the championship in section B with Trout Line.

New And Old Partnerships Claim Classics
Veteran pony rider Alexandra Thornton just graduated to riding horses. But her name has been regularly heard over the P.A. system at the children’s hunter ring as she’s collected blue ribbons and cham-pionships throughout the Winter Equestrian Festival circuit.

And this week, during The Bainbridge Florida Classic/WCHR Spectacular, Feb. 15-19, she swept the over fences classes in a section of the 14-and-under division, earning the grand championship, and she topped her stellar weekend with victory in the WCHR Florida Children’s Hunter Classic aboard Tobasco.

With the best score of the 49 entries in the first round, Thornton returned last in the second round to try and keep her lead. With a score of 83.5 added to her 84.25 from the initial round, she did just that (a 167.75 total).

“I wasn’t really thinking about winning or getting a good ribbon,” she said. “I was just trying to do the best for each trip. It really worked out well in the end. It’s very exciting to win!”

This was just Thornton’s fourth time competing in the children’s hunter division, but she has a great partner to show her the ropes. Tobasco, 8, a Trakehner-Thoroughbred (by Abdullah), was the 2005 USEF national champion in the small junior hunter, 15 and under, division with Ann Marie Walker. Thornton purchased the chestnut gelding after the National Horse Show (Fla.).

Thornton, Bedminster, N.J., also earned a reserve champion in the children’s hunters aboard her For The Music, and she took ribbons with Agincourt.

Trainer Susie Humes described Thornton as a natural rider. “Her strengths as a hunter rider are that she has a wonderful brain, she’s very smart, and she has a great work ethic,” said Humes. “She has great concentration in the ring, and she’s very smooth.”

Thornton’s poise in the ring could come in part from her other passion–ballet. She attends the School of American Ballet in New York City and regularly performs at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts.

And while she doesn’t find similarities between the two disciplines, she said they do complement one another. “Last year, I grew four inches, so my Achilles tendon was tight. I had to stretch it out and riding was really good for it,” she said. “Ballet helps your posture in riding. Riding and ballet are very different, though, because in ballet, you rehearse. It’s like going into a course that you’ve been practicing for the past two weeks.”

In contrast to Thornton’s new partnership with Tobasco, Jeanine Zuckerman knows Winter Castle inside out. The pair was WEF circuit champion in the adult amateur, 18-35, division last year, and they’re well on their way to another title.

They displayed their harmonious relationship in the WCHR Peggy Cone Memorial Adult Hunter Classic, where their two-round total of 173.50 topped the 48-horse field.

For Zuckerman, this was a special victory, not just for the prestige of the class but also for the memories surrounding it. In 2001, Zuckerman, nee Cash, then a professional, coached Carol Cone to victory aboard Wall Street. Carol’s sister, Peggy Cone, a professional entertainer, had passed away two weeks earlier from liver cancer, so the class was an emotional moment for all those involved.

For the fourth year, Carol sponsored the class in her sister’s honor. “How circular and surprising life can be,” said Carol of Zuckerman’s victory.

Cone, who regularly competes in the class–and was reserve champion in the adult amateur, 51 and over, division aboard Harmony Bay–chose to sit out this year. “I decided to be hostess to my friends competing and enjoy the day,” she said. “It was a wonderful event, with perfect weather, and it’s always a joy to hear my sister’s music as the competitors ride the course.

“Having Jeanine win was extra special for me,” Carol added. “She was a wonderful trainer and became a dear friend.”

Zuckerman, Huntington, N.Y., described Vanessa Redfern’s Winter Castle as a dream to ride. “He never changes his rhythm, and he always carries his head in the perfect hunter frame,” she said. “If I could compare him to a car, he’s a white Rolls Royce. He’s just magnificent.”

No One Can Catch Engle
Most grand prix riders would prefer not to go first in the jump-off, and Margie Engle is certainly one of them. But this time she and Hidden Creek’s Wapino set the winning pace in the $75,000 Idle Dice Classic CSI-W Grand Prix, Feb. 19 in Wellington, Fla.

Just five of the 45 starters conquered Jose “Pepe” Gamarra’s first-round course, which was technically demanding, with a tight time allowed. Three competitors finished with just a single time fault, and 24 of the 45 riders collected rails and time faults.

Engle, Wellington, Fla., the hometown favorite, heard more than 11,000 spectators cheer her on, as she was the first to tackle the jump-off.

Engle and the flashy chestnut Wapino, who resembles her former star Hidden Creek’s Alvaretto in markings, streaked through the course.

“I knew I had fast ones behind me. I just figured I had to take as much of a shot as I could and hope he left the jumps up,” said Engle.

“I haven’t gone that fast with this horse; he’s still green,” she con-tinued. “He handled it pretty well, but he got a little nervous. He didn’t know what I was asking of him at the end. I felt him look back at me on the long gallop to the last jump, like he wasn’t sure what I was asking him to do.”

But with confidence in his rider, Wapino dug in and cleared the final oxer with room to spare, stopping the timers in 39.88 seconds and throwing down the gauntlet.

Was it fast enough? Engle thought not.

“You never go in and think you can’t be beaten,” said Engle, smiling. “Any of them, on a given day, could have beaten him.”

And with an Olympic team gold medal on her resume, Beezie Madden had the experience to do just that. She stepped into the ring next with Abigail Wexner’s Authentic. They slashed the leading time, but a rail at the Swedish oxer midway through the course relegated them to third, with the fastest time of the day.

Cara Raether and Quilano De Kalvarie posted a slower four-fault round to stand fifth.

“I heard the roars that Margie went clear and fast,” said Mario Deslauriers, who took the field next with Paradigm. “I planned for a clear round, efficient, but [my] horse is not very quick.”

Deslauriers, 40, Bromont, Que., cleared all the jumps in 41.92 seconds to claim second. It was just what he’d hoped to achieve with the 10-year-old Belgian Warmblood (Nabab de Reve–Jessie), who was returning from an injury.

“He hasn’t jumped since last October,” said Deslauriers. “He jumped just the last two weeks here, but he wasn’t quite right. Now he seems to be getting back into gear.”

But Engle couldn’t relax yet. German rider Markus Beerbaum was in the catbird seat–with two previous victories in this class aboard Mr. and Mrs. Bertram Firestone’s Royal Discovery, he was aiming for a third with their Constantin 24. A rail at 5C, the second element of the combination, left them fourth, although their time (39.59 seconds) would have been enough.

This was Wapino’s first World Cup qualifier, and Engle was thrilled with his performance; she now leads the USA East Coast League standings.

In addition to the course, Engle also has to tackle Wapino’s quirkiness when she saddles him up.

“He’s funny to get on and funny with other horses coming at him,” she explained. “He’s usually good in the ring by himself. But he’s got a lot of heart. In the jump-off, I angled to that oxer in the middle [10A], and it’s quite wide. And he double pumped, so luckily he left it up. I did go a little bit wider to the in-and-out, and then he felt confident again. So I took a shot to the last.”

Engle has yet to determine which mount she’ll take to the World Cup Final in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in April, although Wapino is not at the top of her list.

“He’s a bigger horse, and I haven’t shown him indoors,” she said of the 17.2-hand Westphalian. “Because of the small area to warm up, I wouldn’t take him. It’s not the place to take a horse that’s scared of horses coming at him.”

Engle would also prefer not to take her Olympic veteran Hidden Creek’s Perin halfway around the world, so she’s considering Hidden Creek’s Alibi or Cuervo Gold, both of whom have jumped well in the qualifying classes.

This class was the eighth of 14 qualifying events for the $200,000 FTI Rider Challenge, a points-based competition for the riders competing in the seven Thursday and seven Sunday grand prix classes. Currently, Madden leads with 364 points, followed by Deslauriers (326) and Engle (300).

“[Madden’s] kind of running away with it a little bit,” Deslauriers admitted. “But, still, I’m staying close enough that you never know. We still have three weeks to go, six events left, so anything can still happen.”

WCHR Tidbits

• WCHR High-Score awards for the week included:
• Top professional–Holly Orlando (95 points)
• Top amateur-owner–(tie) Teri Kessler & Sheila Motley (90)
• Top junior–Addison Phillips (95)
• Leading rider–(tie) Holly Orlando and Addison Phillips
• Christina Serio earned the Marylon Alexander Memorial Award for the WCHR Adult Amateur High-Score Rider (89).
• Will Guy earned the Mia Palambella Groom’s Award for his turnout of Winter Castle, the grand adult amateur hunter champion owned by Vanessa Redfern and ridden by Jeanine Zuckerman.
 • Who’s On First, owned and ridden by Addison Phillips, won the Lyrick Trophy as the grand junior hunter.