Grand Green Working Hunter Champion BACARDI and Havens Schatt
(AlCookPhoto.com)
"He's the horse of a lifetime", said a teary-eyed Schatt when she came out of the ring. "He's done everything I've ever asked him to do. I'm just so proud of him", she beamed. "It's been a really long time that I've had a horse like BACARDI that is that good, and that is only for me", said Schatt, referring to originally purchasing the dutch gelding for herself as a 4 year old and only recently sold him to Moran, but has kept the ride for now. "It was love at first sight", commented Schatt. "He can be a little spooky and then gets very careful, and he's very aware of what's going on, but I know him like the back of my hand", she said. "Every time you put him in the ring he wants to win".
BACARDI and Schatt were also Champions in the First Year Green Working Hunter Championship earlier in the day, while Kelly Farmer and the bay 9 year old MYTHICAL, owned by Dl Glefke and Kenneth Garber, were the Reserve Champions.
In the Second Year Green Working Hunter Championship it was QUEEN LATTIFA who was crowned Champion. The 11 year old mare is owned by Douglas and Kenneth Wheeler, and was ridden by Hunt Tosh. The Reserve Championship went to TRENTINO, a black 7 year old gelding owned by Lee Cesery, and competed Megan Young on board.
"Queen Lattifa is new for us, we got her right Devon and she's been fabulous", said Tosh. "She was Grand Green [Champion] at Capital Challenge last week and for her to come here and be Champion again is really great."
The Pennsylvania National Horse Show, the 2011 National Show Hunter Hall of Fame Horse Show of the Year and the sixth ranked horse show in North America in the 2012 North American Riders Group (NARG) annual rankings, is one of the largest indoor horse shows in the U.S. It hosts horses and competitors from across the country with 10,000 spectators attending from the Mid-Atlantic region.
With over 1,400 qualified horses competing for $450,000 in prize money, the show features Hunter and Jumper competition and is the site of the Pessoa/US National Hunter Seat Medal Final Presented by Randolph College, the Randolph College/USEF National Junior Jumper Championships, North American League (NAL) National Finals and the $85,000 Grand Prix de Penn National.
In addition to world-class equestrian competition, the horse show offers a unique shopping environment with boutique vendors that offer everything from fine art to custom jewelry, clothing, accessories and horse show memorabilia.
Proceeds from the event benefit community equine and youth programs. Since its inception in 1945, the Pennsylvania National Horse Show Foundation has donated over $1.5 million to charitable entities.
Horse show competition can be viewed live free of charge at www.usefnetwork.com and live scoring and results are available at www.Ryegate.com.