The Capital Challenge Horse Show will be the final show this year for competitors to compete for World Championship Hunter Rider (WCHR) awards and trophies. WCHR hosts numerous Challenge classes and Finals for WCHR competitors during the nine days of competition. The Capital Challenge Horse Show begins this weekend with the Equitation Championship Weekend, presented by Bigeq.com, held on October 2-3, and continues October 4-10 at the Prince George’s Equestrian Center in Upper Marlboro, MD. Competition will be held in the outdoor ring and indoors in the Show Place Arena.
Professional, Junior and Amateur Riders are invited to compete at the Capital Challenge Horse Show by qualifying through the WCHR National program throughout the year. A rider’s top four WCHR shows count towards awards in these divisions: Professional and Emerging Professional, Junior, Amateur Owner (3’6″ and 3’3″), Adult Amateur and Pony. Riders are then invited to compete directly against one another in Challenge Classes hosted by the Capital Challenge Horse Show. WCHR presents its National Awards for 16 divisions at the Capital Challenge Horse Show, and regional awards are also decided.
The hottest competition is in the WCHR Professional Finals. The event pits the top six qualifying professional riders in the nation against each other in a head-to-head showdown with each rider competing on four different horses, with the fourth round as a handy course where brilliance is rewarded.
Last year’s winner of the WCHR Professional Finals was Hunt Tosh of Alpharetta, GA. It was Tosh’s first time qualifying for the Finals, and he feels that they are a special and fun event for riders, spectators and fans of the hunter sport.
“It was a fun class. The biggest part of the class is the camaraderie between all of the riders,” Tosh remembered. “Everyone cheers each other on and helps each other out. We ride each other’s horses, so they were all giving me clues and ideas to the horses I was riding. Everyone wanted to win, but we also wanted to create a good class.”
Tosh wasn’t fazed by riding unfamiliar horses in the Finals. He said, “I’m lucky in that I ride a lot of different horses for a lot of different people. I get on a lot of horses just at the horse show and do a lot of catch riding. That comes into favor (for me). A lot of professionals at that level do that. It’s fun to get on someone else’s horse and show. I thought it was perfect since I won!”

 
Hunt Tosh at last year’s WCHR Professional Finals
Qualifying for the WCHR Professional Finals runs throughout the year at WCHR rated horse shows, but a good performance at Capital Challenge can also catapult riders into the top six rankings.
Tosh explained, “The neat thing about the class is that you have to have a good year in the WCHR classes, and I had some solid horse shows. Part of that is the point system; you have to have a good First Year horse because there are more numbers in the classes, and then you get more points there. I had a lot of points coming into it, but you still need a solid Capital Challenge showing to keep you in it.”
Tosh is looking forward to this year’s Capital Challenge for multiple reasons, and he plans to show Lone Star there, his superstar hunter that won this year’s $100,000 USHJA International Hunter Derby Finals.
“Capital Challenge is such a great horse show because they have so many classes and are primarily focused around the hunters. It’s something that riders and owners are always looking forward to,” he expressed. “Hopefully we make it into the Pro Challenge and the Finals again. The way they promote the younger horses with the Future Hunters is great too. They give them a little bit of the spotlight that they don’t get the rest of the year. It gives us a chance to show the up and coming horses. Plus, you have the rated hunters, and working horses are so much fun. Then, with all of the classics and all of the prize money, I think it’s my favorite hunter show. It’s great how much they promote the hunters and everything that they do there for us.”
The Challenge classes and Finals at the horse show are exciting classes offered for WCHR riders in various divisions, such as: The $15,000 WCHR Professional Challenge; $2,500 WCHR Amateur Owner 3’6” Challenge; $2,500 WCHR Junior Challenge; $2,500 WCHR Pony Challenge; $2,500 WCHR Adult Amateur Challenge; $7,500 Professional World Championship Hunter Rider Finals; $1,500 WCHR Children’s Hunter Finals sponsored by Stephanie Riggio and MeadowView, awarding the Applegate Family Perpetual Trophy donated by The Applegate Family; $5,000 WCHR Emerging Pro Challenge, awarding the Bittersweet Perpetual Trophy donated by Rachel B. Kennedy; $2,500 WCHR Amateur Owner 3’3” Challenge; $5,000 WCHR Handy Hunter Challenge, sponsored by Johnson Horse Transportation Inc.; $1,000 Senior World Champion Hunter Under Saddle Class, sponsored by Arcadia Farm Hollywood Challenge Trophy donated by Paula Polk Lillard; and the $1,000 Junior World Champion Hunter Under Saddle Class, sponsored by Serenity Farm LLC.
Join us at the Capital Challenge Horse Show to see the the best that the hunter sport has to offer. As always, if you can’t attend, remember you can log on to www.equestriansport.tv to see all the action live.
Highlights of the Capital Challenge Horse Show will include the North American Equitation Championship (Oct. 3), the Taylor Harris Insurance Services (THIS) National Children’s Medal Finals (Oct. 3), the World Champion Hunter Rider (WCHR) Emerging Pro Challenge (Oct. 6), Future Hunter World Championship (Oct. 6), $2,500 WCHR Amateur-Owner 3’3” Challenge (Oct. 7), the North American Junior/Amateur-Owner Jumper Challenge Cup (two rounds held on Oct. 8-9), the ARIAT National Adult Medal Finals (Oct. 8), and the WCHR Professional Finals (Oct. 8).
In its 17th year, the Capital Challenge Horse Show sets itself apart with a distinct and unique focus on preeminent hunter competition. Held each autumn at the Prince George’s Equestrian Center in Upper Marlboro, MD, this year’s show will take place on October 2-10. Top competitions include the ARIAT National Adult Medal Finals and the THIS National Children’s Medal Finals, along with the Capital Challenge Equitation Weekend, presented by Bigeq.com. In addition to these prestigious equitation events, the Capital Challenge Horse Show will once again host the World Champion Hunter Rider Finals and will assemble the country’s best horses and riders to compete in junior, amateur, and professional hunter classes. For more information, please visit www.capitalchallenge.org or visit the Capital Challenge Horse Show page on Facebook!