Young Rider And The National Horse Show
D.H. and P.W. Munroe
November 18, 1955
Wilson Dennehy–starting his triumphal procession through the horsemanship classes–rode two rounds characterized by smooth rhythm, quiet control, tactful hands, and an ability to be unfailingly with his horse. And others were very close to him.
As for the performances in the class, at least a dozen were excellent. The ribbon winners all put on fine rides; and since classes of this type are usually dominated, nowadays, by girls, it was interesting and encouraging to see the first three places go to boys–Wilson Dennehy, with his all-around excellence; Michael Plumb, with his strength, authority and great competence, marred only by a tendency to “fixed hands”; and Ronnie Catalano, supremely smooth and quiet, whose long reins neither weakened control nor put him behind his horse. One suspected that his horse had to be ridden that way — particu-larly since he shortened his reins when switched to other horses.
Since the [USET Medal] was so new, there were only six entries; and their performances in the dressage–a field which is, after all, relatively unfamiliar to most Americans–were not of high order. Wilson Dennehy was the best; but generally speaking horses tended to be stiff, two-tracks were not good, turns on the haunches left much to be desired (here Sara Willis did a fine job), and most riders had trouble preventing their horses from changing leads at the corners in the counter-gallop.
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Pennsylvania National Horse Show
Margaret L. Smith
November 4, 1955
Two handsome sons of Wait-A-Bit, Shannondale, four, and Waiting Home, eight, captured the green and conformation hunter cham-pionship at the Pennsylvania National Horse Show.
The show was the largest in its 10-year history, and entries reached the 750 mark by the time it got underway. Attendance was conservatively estimated to aggregate 50,000 for the 16 sessions. A highlight was Arthur Godfrey’s [TV] show, originating from the arena, when the “cast” consisted mainly of well-known exhibitors, who acquitted themselves awareness of the 35 million pairs of eyes which Godfrey said were upon them.
Shown seven times this year–and seven times champion–Shannondale made outstanding performances throughout the seven-day show under the skillful guidance of Mrs. Robert Burke. He garnered 171
