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Rodrigo Pessoa riding Touchstone,
owned by Maryanne Weisberg-Perry | On Saturday
afternoon, April 23rd, in Las Vegas, NV, at approximately 3:00 p.m. in the
Thomas & Mack Center the world witnessed the first ever $25,000 WCHR World
Cup Team Hunter Challenge, thanks to the American Hunter-Jumper Foundation. That
event had a long name but a new future for the sport of hunters in the
U.S.
The Challenge pitted four of the top U.S. hunter riders against four of the
top European jumper riders on world class horses that were on loan for this
special occasion. The competition was added to the prestigious FEI World
Cup Dressage and Show Jumping Finals, which was held concurrently in the same
location for the first time in the history of the World Cup. These annual
Championships showcase the world’s best show jumpers and dressage riders
competing for their respective World Cup titles. Such an event was the
perfect canvas to add a World Hunter Challenge to.
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Michael Whitaker riding Vanity,
owned by Becky Gochman. Whitaker earned the Leading Rider award and $5,000 with
his combined score of 176.6. | The Challenge
was a face off on a dare made by Brazilian Rodrigo Pessoa. Although the
European riders don’t compete in hunters, Pessoa believed that he could pull
together a team of riders that could beat the top hunter riders in the
U.S. So, he called Karen Healey and challenged her to organize this
event. She approached the World Cup committee and the AHJF and Healey put
in motion all the details needed to organize a successful event. The Challenge
featured four top American riders (Louise Serio, Scott Stewart, John French and
Peter Pletcher) to test their hunter skills against an all-Olympic veteran
European team including the legendary British riders Nick Skelton and Michael
Whitaker as well as German Marcus Ehning and Pessoa. It was clear that
Rodrigo wasn’t taking any chances. In fact, Whitaker finished 2nd in the
World Cup, Ehning was 3rd, Pessoa fifth and Skelton 22nd. So, even though
he didn’t say it, he knew that the only way to win against the best of the best
in the hunter world was to pull together a team of riders who were practically
born in the saddle.
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Louise Serio riding Ocean Park,
owned by Lynn Walsh | And so when the day
finally came and the Europeans showed up with their stacked deck it was time to
show what they were all made of. In the end the European show jumping team
did beat the U.S., but only by the slimmest of margins. The Europeans
totaled 518.1 to the U.S. score of 511.3. Not bad for a group of four show
hunter riders who have never entered an Olympic arena to do so well against this
team of Olympic veterans. And although the Europeans were gloating with
their victory they also admitted that it’s not as easy as it looks but it is
something they’d like to continue. Michael Whitaker earned the
Leading Rider award and $5,000 with his combined score of 176.6. In Sync
earned the High Score horse title with a final score of 177.6.
Rodrigo commented, “We didn’t know what to expect, because we’re not familiar
with this kind of jumping. It started out as a bit of a joke, but it became
pretty serious. But, I think everyone enjoyed it and it was good fun.”
Rodrigo added, “The horses were a good quality … they were probably not used
to the atmosphere like this with the people and the lights.”
Pletcher remarked, “I think this event was great. I’d like to see more
of it. I think the more we do the better it will become.”
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John French riding Vanity, owned
by Becky Gochman | ABOUT THE RIDERS
AND HORSES
All of these riders have credentials that put them at the top of their
league. Besides all being Olympic veterans, all but Whitaker are World Cup
champions and Pessoa is an Individual Silver Olympic Medalist and Ehning an
Olympic Team Gold Medalist.
If the Olympics offered hunter competition, the four U.S. riders would surely
have added that prestigious event to their list of accomplishments.
Instead their credentials showcase them as each having won the Monarch
International Show Circuit Magazine WCHR Professional Hunter Rider title at
least once (reigning champion Pletcher and Stewart have each won it
twice). Pletcher and French have also competed in jumpers and at a past
World Cup competition: Pletcher in 1992 in Del Mar, CA and French in 2003 in Las
Vegas.
The horses they competed on equally deserve the limelight as their
credentials match those of their riders. Those horses include In Sync,
owned by Stephanie Danhakl; Chance, owned by Archie Cox; Country Grammer
and Touchstone, both owned by o/Maryanne Weisberg-Perry; Ocean Park, owned
by Lynn Walsh; Vanity, owned Becky Gochman; Historic Lane,
owned by John and Tammy Williams; Carson, owned by Janie Andrew and
Mandarin, owned by Jane Fraze.
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Peter Pletcher riding Mandarin,
owned by Jane Fraze | THE
COMPETITION
The competition followed the Grand Prix of Las Vegas and while the course was
being changed the audience was entertained with clowns throwing autographed
t-shirts, videos explaining about the sport of hunters and the announcers giving
them information about what they were about to see. The competition
consisted of two rounds. In the first round each team of four riders competed
over a 3’6” course and was judged by three pairs of judges. The lowest
individual score was dropped for the team competition and the remaining scores
added together for a single round team cumulative total. The second round
was a handy course (on a different horse) where the rider’s interpretation of
the course was rewarded and emphasis was placed on turns and promptness (again
the lowest score was dropped). The scores of both the first and second
rounds were combined. The team with the highest two-round score won.
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Scott Stewart riding In Sync,
owned by Stephanie Danhakl. In Sync earned the High Score horse title with a
final score of 177.6 | Riders were judged by
Brian Lenehan, Southern Pines, NC and Jack Towell, Camden, SC; Alex Jayne,
Elgin, IL and Missy Clark, Warren, VT; and Hap Hansen, Encinitas, CA and Jimmy
Torano, Ft. Lauderdale, FL. The Show Jumping Manager for the event
was Robert Ridland. Karen Healey was named Chef d’Equipe of the US Team,
Ann Symes for the European Team and Louise Serio captained the U.S. Team.
The course designer was Anthony D’Ambrosio, Red Hook, NY and announcer Peter
Doubleday was joined by well known hunter trainer and rider Don Stewart as well
as Olympic veteran Melanie Smith-Taylor, who regularly co-hosts the equestrian
portion of the Olympics for NBC. Taylor and Stewart added some color to
the announcements by providing the audience with details about the horses and
riders competing and some of the things the judge was looking for.
French was pleased and later commented, “It was great with the
commentary. Maybe people in some of the other disciplines will realize
they have a hunter in their back yard. Hopefully this will educate the
people over there and here as well about hunters.”
Jimmy Torano noted, “I can’t think of any time where we have gotten any
hunters in that type of atmosphere. That was incredible. … It
started out as a joke, but it came out to be a great class.”
The WCHR World Cup Team Hunter Challenge was made possible through the
support of Monarch International/Show Circuit Magazine, Debbie Burrows, Sopranos
Farm, Dean & Elizabeth Oliver, Kelly Straeter, Mr. & Mrs. Fred Bauer,
Triple J Farm/Janie Andrew, Arwen Stables, PJP Farm/Peter Pletcher, Mary
Manfredi, Peter Lutz/Davenport, Inc., Oscany, Inc., New Haven Farm, Inc.,
National Show Hunter Hall of Fame, Elizabeth Dickinson/HMG Farms, Archibald Cox
III, Joie Gatlin/Morley Abby Show Stables and Edgewood Equestrian
Enterprises.
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Karen Healey was the person who
put in motion all the details needed to organize the first ever $25,000 WCHR
World Cup Team Hunter
Challenge. | ABOUT THE
EVENT
It was truly amazing watching how a simple hunter competition suddenly became
a must see event. It began with finding the right person to organize all
the details. Karen Healey was chosen for the task. This involved
finding quality horses to ride which the riders had never ridden before.
And because these horses had never competed in front of a crowd of over 6,000 it
also meant that there might be some unexpected spooking going on, but in the end
that only added to the event, giving it some color and also making the audience
aware of the fact that riding a hunter isn’t always as easy as it looks.
Once the horses were organized, and all the other details put into place then
two tapes was made to intro the event. AHJF Executive Director Michele
Perla spent a day in the editing studio helping to put together those tapes and
Melanie Smith-Taylor and Ken Kraus helped with the voice overs. Those
videos explained a bit about the sport and how it all started with
hunting. Also included were some tips on what the judge is looking
for.
The press conference was also impressive as it appeared that just about all
the press present were there to hear what the riders had to say. And those
riders were pleased. Rodrigo said he had more fun then in past years when
he’d tried his hand in some rodeo challenges. The European riders agreed
that they’d like to see more hunter competition in other countries. Las
Vegas Events, which produced the World Cup, liked the competition so much that
they’ve already given the AHJF the high sign that they want to run it again the
next time a World Cup is held in the U.S.
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The European team won the $25,000
WCHR World Cup Team Hunter Challenge. Pictured here are (l-r) Rodrigo Pessoa
(BRA), Marcus Ehning (GER), Nick Skelton (GBR) and Michael Whitaker
(GBR). |
So, congrats to the AHJF and the Las Vegas team for making this event
happen. You may just have changed the face of the hunters and this may be
the beginning of spreading this sport to countries across the world. Kudos
go to Louise, John, Scott and Peter for being such good sports to take on such
an awesome challenge. It ended up being the hit event of the afternoon and
afterwards walking around the grounds there were some interesting conversations
taking place about that class. No one likes to lose, but in this case
there were no losers as this was a win-win situation for the future of the sport
of hunters.
The AHJF was formed to further the development of the equestrian sport of
the show hunter rider and show jumping competition by providing a national
office to organize, coordinate and support hunter rider and show jumping
equestrian competition. Programs of the AHJF include the World Championship
Hunter Rider Awards, the AHJF Emergency Relief Fund, AHJF Educational Programs,
the AHJF BSA Inc. 401k and Profit Sharing Plan, the AHJF/Dover Saddlery Junior
Hunter Challenge and the Legacy Cup. With the help of the AHJF the perfect
opportunity to showcase hunters in a world class international competition has
now become a reality.
For more information about the WCHR World Cup Team Hunter Challenge,
presented by the AHJF contact the AHJF (335 Lancaster Street, West Boylston,
MA 01583-0369), Phone: 508-835-8813, www.ahjf.org, E-mail: AHJF@earthlink.net.
 Download
Results
All photos ©Diana De Rosa Photography
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The U.S. team consisted of (l-r)
John French (CA), Peter Pletcher (TX), Scott Stewart (NJ) & Louise Serio
(PA). |
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-(l-r) The European Team consisted
of Marcus Ehning, Michael Whitaker, Nick Skelton and Rodrigo Pessoa. The U.S.
Team consisted of Peter Pletcher, Scott Stewart, Louise Serio and John
French |
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