Telluride Farm had another successful week of showing at the Ledges Summertime Horse Show in Roscoe, IL. The students and horses at Telluride Farm train with Diane Carney in Hampshire, IL.
Caitie Hope competed with her new mount, Total Touch, in the $5,000 Low Junior/Amateur-Owner Jumper Classic. The pair earned second place out of 38 entries, just missing the win by 2/100ths of a second. "Caitie had a great weekend," said Carney. "It was a great course and set to the exact specifications—not an inch under. The jump-off was great, with places to gallop and options for nice turns. You had to jump a vertical at one end of the field and then gallop to another vertical down at the other end, which was really exciting to watch. Caitie and Total Touch are a great match, and they are coming together. I'm looking forward to seeing what the two of them can do!"
Hope also rode Redfield Farm's Don Juan in the equitation classes. They finished second overall in the WIHS Equitation class after earning third-place ribbons in the hunter and jumper Phases. She came away with third in the USEF Show Jumping Talent Search as well.
Alex Carlins showed Ricardo, owned by Canterbury Farm, in the Low Children's Jumper Classes and earned fourth and sixth place ribbons. They also scored ninth place in the $1,500 Low Children's/Adult Jumper Classic.
Carney stated, "Alex is getting a taste of what it's like to be serious about showing, from polishing his boots to learning the courses. This focus helped him finish ninth in the classic, which was great," she said. "He is learning how important it is to focus on his work and when he does, his horses get a better ride from him."
Carlins also rode That'll Do, owned by Diane Carney, in the Maiden Junior Equitation and earned a first and a second, tying for the championship with Telluride Farm rider Lauren McGraw. In addition, Carlins won two second place ribbons in the Limit Junior Equitation and took home first place in the Modified Children's Hunters.
McGraw competed with Diabella, owned by Kathleen Hope. She pinned first and second in the Maiden Junior Equitation, and she earned two more blues in the Limit Junior Equitation, adding another championship to her collection.
Additionally, Diabella and McGraw won two Novice Children's Working Hunter classes and captured the reserve championship. The pair received the championship for their success in the Maiden Junior Hunter division, and they were presented with the reserve tricolor in the Limit Junior Hunters.
Carney has been both an active participant and influential trainer in the hunter and jumper community for many years. Her contributions to the industry extend to the many clinics that she teaches every year, in addition to those that she hosts annually for U.S. Show Jumping Chef d'Equipe George H. Morris and top hunter/jumper trainer Don Stewart, Jr. In 2008, she was voted Horse Person of the Year by the Illinois Hunter Jumper Association, and she is also Vice Chairperson of the Zone 5 United States Hunter Jumper Association Hunter Committee.