When Peter Pletcher stepped into the ring for his final round of the World Championship Hunter Rider Professional Finals, he had his strategy in place.

Sandy Ferrell had taken the lead, and Pletcher had just one more chance to catch her–needing a score above 89.

The catch was, however, that he drew the most challenging horse as his final mount, one that demanded a strong yet tactful ride. The other three riders–Ferrell, Jenny Karazissis and Heidi Austin-Fish–hadn’t managed to score above an 86.2 with Maverick.

So, Pletcher relaxed his hold and let the bay gelding pick his own speed to the final two single oxers–and the resulting bold jumping efforts scored 90.60 and propelled him to victory at the Capital Challenge, Oct. 1-10, in Upper Marlboro, Md.

“I think the last horse was probably the hardest one I had to ride,” said Pletcher, of Magnolia, Texas. “And I knew it had to be a little bit of a different ride than the others gave it. And I’d seen it looked a little bit on the strong side. I thought I’d try to make it look like it wasn’t pulling, sort of go with it.”

This was Pletcher’s second victory in the Stillwell-Hansen Professional Finals (he also won in 2002) and his fifth experience in the class where the top four professionals in the WCHR national rankings ride four unfamiliar horses over four different courses.

Three-time winner Scott Stewart was unable to defend his title as four days earlier he’d broken his ankle in a fall with Prove It during a regular working hunter class. Stewart, in a cast and on crutches, was on hand to watch Pletcher roll to the win.

“It’s such a great feeling,” said Pletcher. “The first time I won I thought, Wow, this is really amazing.’ And this time I still have the same feeling. All three of the other riders I look up to so much as riders. To compete with them and have the scores be so close each round was great.”

Pletcher (354 points) edged Ferrell, Bernville, Pa., the reserve champion, by just 1 point over the four rounds. Karazissis, of Calabassas, Calif., placed third (348.2), and Austin-Fish, Hebron, Ill., was fourth (343.3).

The riders are judged on their equitation, hunter presentation and horsemanship. And this year’s cast of judges included Russell Frey, Hap Hansen, Mike Rosser, Steve Wall and Jeff Ayers.

Because Austin-Fish’s first ride, Beaujolais, was spooky and stopped at the third fence in the first round, Maverick, an alternate horse, was brought in as Beaujolais’ replacement after the riders consulted at the in-gate. Overall, the riders and judges agreed that this was the nicest group of horses collected for the class, two of which were from Montoga (Matrix and Foyle Prime Time), one from Karen Healey (Cento) and two from Don Stewart Stables (Beaujolais and Maverick).

Pletcher took advantage of the final course, which offered the riders two long runs to the final two oxers and a chance to show off. Maverick seemed to like Pletcher’s style, and their score included a 97 from Frey.

“The girls did a great job of schooling him for Peter,” joked Wall.

Austin-Fish asked with a laugh, “Was it a gallop, or were you out of control?”

Pletcher smiled in reply, “It was a hand gallop!”

Austin-Fish and Karazissis had never contested the class before. “I thought I’d be more nervous than I was,” said Karazissis. “But it was really fun and a great class. The gray horse [Cento] was a dream to ride. And the horse I rode first was really nice too [Matrix]. And the one that Peter rode last was definitely the most challenging.”

Austin-Fish concurred, “All the horses were great. It’s nice that people donate them for us. It’s a blast and goes so fast, though. Before you know it, you’re done.”

The riders also praised the handlers at the in-gate, whose well-organized production of changing horses allowed the riders to concentrate on studying
the horses and learning the courses. “This time was the best. You never questioned, Am I doing the right course or not?’ ” added Pletcher.

The judges said the class was fun to score because all of the horses got better over the course of the class, so they could concentrate on the riders’ style and presentation.

“Everybody rode great, and regardless of the placings in the end, they’re all winners. And that’s why they got here,” said Frey.

Vanity Is The Style

Austin-Fish also jumped into the spotlight earlier in the week when she rode Lisa Mills’ Vanity to the WCHR Professional Challenge victory in a come-from-behind finish.

The pair returned for the second of two rounds in seventh place, and their impressive score of 87.40, combined with 86.45 in the first round, totaled 173.85. Austin-Fish led the victory gallop by .10 points over Louise Serio on Dream Date.

Austin-Fish said she didn’t think about winning the class–it just happened that way. “I don’t really keep track of points, even on a regular basis. I always try really hard, and that’s the best I can do, and I let the scores fall where they may.”

Austin-Fish praised Vanity, a 7-year-old Oldenburg she’s been riding for two years. “She’s been a mare that’s had a bit of hard luck, not for serious reasons,” she said. “But she’s always been one of my true favorites, and I’ve thought some day she’ll be famous.”

Mills wasn’t looking for a new horse when Austin-Fish stumbled across Vanity while in the Netherlands. “We had kind of a new relationship, but when I saw [Vanity] I said, Lisa, I have to have this horse.’ And she and her husband are like, Well, we kind of just met you. But OK.’ But Lisa’s bought me lots of nice horses since then–she keeps me well supplied.”

Mills, who also competes in the adult amateur division and cheered Austin-Fish from the stands, said, “I really enjoy watching her and having her develop the horses. It’s a real thrill for me.”

Austin-Fish made up her mind to go for the win entering the second round. “After the first round, I thought, I’m in the middle of the pack. And because I don’t count points, I said I have to go for the win to assure my place in the [WCHR Professional] finals.’ I wanted a great last jump. I didn’t want to just canter down to it conservatively. I wanted to maybe get some brownie points by really galloping down there and hope she fires, and she did.”

Austin-Fish said this title meant a lot to her because of the feeling the class invokes. “I just wanted it so badly so that when it came true I was teary eyed,” she admitted. “I’m 48 years old and have been doing this forever. [This class] is something that makes you want to get up in the morning. They do such a nice job with the presentation, and everyone is clapping and cheering–you really feel important for a moment. Because God only knows, you know this business, at 8 a.m. tomorrow you’ll feel unimportant really fast.”

Awesome Again

Adrienne Sternlicht returned to her friends in the stands, saying how nervous she was after her ride in the WCHR Pony Challenge. But her nerves didn’t show one bit as the defending champion guided her small pony Ingenue to the highest score (88.00) with a beautiful, smooth round that clinched the championship.

But Sternlicht, 11, of Greenwich, Conn., didn’t have time to celebrate her victory with her friends, as she jumped off her pony after the ribbon ceremony and ran for the airport to make the last flight home.

Trainer Patricia Griffith praised Sternlicht’s calm demeanor before the class and the way she rode all weekend, also garnering the small pony championship.

“She won both classes the second day [of the division], so she’s won three classes in a row now,” said Griffith. “She actually won every class indoors here. And last year at [the Pennsylvania National], maybe I’m wrong, but Ingenue may be the only pony to win all four over fences classes. She’s been so solid.”

Griffith, who’s trained Sternlicht for three years, said Ingenue, 7, a Welsh-cross, is just an amazing jumper. “She’s the best small pony we’ve ever had. I mean she’s outrageous. I want to put her in a glass house now,” she added with a grin.

Ralph and Holly Caristo, Hauppauge, N.Y., feel the same way about their Indian Summer, who carried Holly to the WCHR Adult Amateur Finals victory with scores of 86 and 88 in the two-round classic.

Indian Summer, 6, a first year green horse, has also earned the Winter Equestrian Festival circuit title and the grand hunter championship at Devon (Pa.), among others, this year.

“I’ve been putting off riding him because I’m so timid, but he’s so nice,” said Holly, of the Swiss-bred who also picked up first year green ribbons with Sandy Ferrell.

Holly, 53, declined to ride Indian Summer in the adult amateur division, instead choosing just to compete in the WCHR class at Capital Challenge. “I just knew the way he went [in the first year division] he was going to be good for me,” she said. “That was important to me. I’m chicken. Once I get out there I’m OK. It’s getting to the ring!”

Daughter Heather Caristo found Indian Summer in Europe and knew he’d be the perfect mount for her mother. Now Ralph hopes Holly will take that next step. “He’s been trying to convince me to do the 3’6″, and it’s going to take some convincing,” she said, laughing. “But because he’s so nice, I said to Ralph, There might be some 3’6” jumps left in me!’ “

Ellen Toon also values the 3’6″ jumps she takes with In Disguise. They currently lead the USEF standings in the amateur-owner, 36 and over, division and have been champion or reserve at Ox Ridge (Conn.), Fairfield (Conn.), Lake Placid (N.Y.) and the Hampton Classic (N.Y.). The Capital Challenge was the first time this year they didn’t collect a tricolor. But Toon and In Disguise didn’t leave the Capital Challenge empty-handed–they collected the blue ribbon in the WCHR Amateur-Owner Challenge by putting a 90.80 on the scoreboard.

“I’m thrilled,” said Toon. “I haven’t shown him inside at all. I didn’t know how it was going to go, but it went great.”

The Toons have had In Disguise since he was 3, and he’s always had a natural way of going meant for the hunter ring. At last year’s Capital Challenge, In Disguise earned the Best Hunter Performance Award for posting a perfect score of 100 with Shachine Belle in the irons. This year Belle piloted In Disguise to the regular conformation championship and earned the Best Hunter Performance-Professional award.

Toon said they do little to train In Disguise. “He naturally jumps the way he jumps; he naturally swaps his leads; he naturally walks down the lines. We just try not to mess him up,” she added.

From Jumper To Hunter

Sloane Coles has many 3’6″ jumps left to tackle, and some of the ones she cleared at the Capital Challenge led to the WCHR Junior Challenge victory aboard Carita.

Coles, 16, Middleburg, Va., nailed the course with an effortless trip in which she didn’t appear to make an adjustment. They scored 89.50.

“When I finished my trip, I just looked at the scoreboard,” said Coles, who also leaned down and kissed Carita on the neck as they exited the ring. “It was the best trip I’ve ever had with her. I wouldn’t have changed a thing.”

Carita, 8, a warmblood mare, began her competitive career in the jumper divisions. But when Kitty and Johnny Barker acquired her in a trade, they thought she might make a nice hunter. Coles began showing her on the WEF circuit in the children’s division, where she was champion her first time out.

“She was too quiet to be a jumper,” said Coles. “She was so happy to become a hunter. She’s an awesome horse.”

Coles also starred in the junior jumper division, taking the show championship aboard the Patton’s Cloud Nine and earning the best junior jumper rider award.

Paige Allardice, 13, was second in last year’s WCHR Children’s Finals but picked up the blue this year with her new mare, Pievottie. For most of 2004, Allardice led the WCHR children’s division in the Northeast riding her Castaway. But when Castaway died in August at age 18, Allardice received Pievottie.

Pievottie, 6, was imported last November by Leslie Howard, and although she was initially a jumper prospect, the mare started in the pre-green hunters because she jumped so well. Allardice rode her in the children’s division at Lake Placid (N.Y.) and was reserve champion in their first start.

Even though Pievottie is a vastly different ride than Castaway, the new team went on to be champion at the Hampton Classic in September. “She’s hard to ride,” said Allardice, who trains with Patrick Rice. “But since Castaway was so easy, I needed a challenge. She’s so much fun now that I know her better.”

Allardice almost didn’t ride in the WCHR class after a less-than-stellar performance in the division, but she’d qualified for the class by winning the Northeast standings. Despite Pievottie’s spooky, green performance, she wanted to end on a good note–and they did.

“She was jumping very high and was nervous,” said Allardice. “This morning I wasn’t really riding well. When I’m nervous, she’s nervous. I was nervous going in for my first round, but once I got to the fifth fence, I turned into a different person. It became fun.”

Beck’s Students Star

Trainer Robert Beck, whose students traditionally excel at the three-foot finals in hunters and equitation, col-lected his first Ariat and Monarch International’s Show Circuit Magazine national equitation titles when Sandra Willekes and Lindsey Mohr topped their respective classes.

Beck, Long Valley, N.J., has had a banner fall season with a victory in the HBO Medal Finals (Mass.) prior to Capital Challenge, Oct. 2-10 in Upper Marlboro, Md. “I love the three-foot division. Even though these [riders] will go on to the 3’6″, it’s something that I love and do really well,” he said with pride.

Willekes, 27, rode Altura to the blue in the Ariat after two rounds and a work-off. She stood fifth after the first round and then moved to the lead in the second round. In the work-off, the riders were asked to negotiate an end jump, turn 90 degrees to a trot fence, then to ride a bending line and keep a counter-canter by the in-gate to the final in-and-out. Willekes had a minor bobble at the counter-canter but flowed around the remainder of the course.

“This mare is really handy as long as you do everything softly,” said Willekis, of her 10-year-old Dutch Warmblood. “She makes it look easy.”

Altura, owned by Holland Coffee Inc., has been in Willekes’ family for four years after they imported her as a 6-year-old. They now plan to sell her, so it was with a tearful smile that Willekes talked about Altura.

Willekes, a branch manager for a mortgage company in Parsippany, N.J., will remain busy as she has other young horses to bring up the ranks. But she’ll always have a special place in her heart for Altura.

“That mare has given me everything. She’s done the junior hunters, the children’s, the equitation division. She can do everything. You don’t get many horses like that,” she said.

Mohr, 15, of Long Valley, N.J., dominated the Show Circuit National Children’s Medal Finals riding Lion King. She held the lead through two rounds and a final four-rider test.

Mohr credited her horse for her smooth test and solid performances. “He’ll do anything for you,” she said. “He’s so sensitive; he almost knows what you’re thinking.”

Exact communication between Mohr and Lion King was necessary in the course designed by Michael Rheinheimer. “I thought the courses were very intricate. You had to know exactly what you were doing before you entered the ring. You couldn’t have any last-minute decisions,” she said.

Mohr acquired Lion King last December and has trained with Beck for three years. Last year she focused on the children’s hunters but moved into the equitation ranks when she bought Lion King. She used the medal class this year as a preparation for showing in the 3’6″ equitation division next year.

Girls Night Out

Led by Kim Frey of Hume, Va., three women on their three mares finished on top in the $40,000 Ariat Congressional Cup Grand Prix
CSI-W, held Oct. 9 at the Show Place Arena in Upper Marlboro, Md.

Frey’s double-clear, 32.73-second finish on Marlou bested Lauren Bass on Naleida (0-0/33.17) and Lauren Hough on Casadora (0-0/33.90). Some of the top riders in the nation gathered at the Capital Challenge, including Olympic team members Chris Kappler, Beezie Madden and McLain Ward.

“I didn’t even watch anyone before I went [in the jump-off] because I knew the fastest horse would win. They were both so close to me. I thought it was very exciting,” said Frey.

Course designer Conrad Homfeld built an uncompromising course for the FEI World Cup-qualifying class. Homfeld narrowed the field of 34 to just seven horses.

The first to tackle the jump-off was Kappler riding Primeur 58. When Kappler applied the pressure with a clean round in 34.41 seconds, the rest were forced to race the clock.

Peter Pletcher returned on Charmed, but when the pair took a wide outside turn to the third jump and finished in 38.56 seconds, they gave up the win.
It was clear from the start that Frey was attempting to leave Kappler in the dust. Frey’s 10-year-old Marlou is small, measuring 15.3 hands, but Frey says she’s unflappable.

“She thinks nothing is a big deal. She’s focused and organized. I took her to Europe this summer, and she has come back so much more confident. And I’m more confident,” said Frey.

Bass and Hough left the jumps up but couldn’t beat Frey’s time. Bass said she was more conservative around the first turn and toward the end. But she was thrilled because this was her best finish yet in a grand prix; she and her mare Naleida are in their rookie year.

Hough and her 8-year-old Casadora were quick, but a conservative finish left them third. “For sure I slowed up to the last fence,” she said. “First off, I didn’t see the distance; second off, as I came out of the turn, it was really important to me to have a double-clear tonight. I knew I had lost it as I came out through the turn.

“I’m really thrilled in general with the horse and her performance,” added Hough. “I want to be careful, not to push too much at this moment. My end goal is to qualify for the World Cup Final,” next April in Las Vegas, Nev.

A Concentrated Win

Megan Young, 17, of Jacksonville, Fla., bested a field of 91 to win the Monarch International’s Show Circuit Magazine North American Equitation Championship, Oct. 3, at the Capital Challenge, Upper Marlboro, Md.

Young scored an 89 and a 91 in the two-round class riding Crescendo. Holding second place in both rounds, Young jumped into the lead after the final test requested by the panel of five judges. Young went head-to-head with Brianne Goutal, 15, who held the lead through the first two rounds, posting scores of 90.41 and a 91.2.

Both riders were asked to canter an oxer off the turn, trot a jump, walk, counter-canter off a tight turn, and hand gallop an oxer. Young, first to ride the test, performed it accurately.

Goutal started strongly over the first two jumps, but when her horse, Logan, landed nicely on the counter-canter, she forgot to walk and counter-cantered directly to the next jump. The mistake dropped her to second.

“It was almost natural instinct to hold the counter-canter,” admitted Goutal who didn’t realize until after the final fence that she missed the walk.

The courses, designed by Michael Rheinheimer, posed rideability questions with bending lines, jumps off turns, and a track that threaded the needle between two fences. Rheinheimer said, “It showed if you can use your hands and your legs. Some riders just assume their horse knows where they’re going.”

Goutal trains with Frank and Stacia Madden, while Young has trained with Christina Schlusemeyer and Bobby Braswell for nine years.

“I was so proud of Megan,” said Schlusemeyer. “She was a little nervous because, being a jumper Logan wants to set himself up, and this course was designed for really long-strided horses. Sometimes she gives up control for brilliance, and when she has the control and the brilliance it’s really great.”