Scott Stewart and VIP Z. (Jennifer Wood Media, Inc.)
It was a great night for Stewart, who led the class from the very start when he rode his horse VIP Z to a score of 91.33. In the second round, he and Winnetou had another fantastic round and the judges rewarded them with a score of 90. The third round had Stewart up on Capilan 2, and he received his highest score of the night, a 91.66. The final round was a handy hunter class, and Stewart rode Savvy to another high score of 90. Stewart finished with a total of 362.99, almost eight more points that the second-placed rider, Peter Pletcher.
“The horses went really well and the courses were a little bit more challenging than past years,” Stewart said. “Everybody did a great job and the horses were super.”
Pletcher brought his new junior hunter horse Savvy to the competition, and they scored an 81.33 after an unfortunate rail. His second ride on CR Carolato II scored an 88.66, and his third ride was on Sander, who helped him score a 90.5. Pletcher excelled in the handy hunter class, scoring a 94.33 on equitation horse VIP Z.
Pletcher said, “It was excellent to get to ride with these guys and girls. The horses were probably the best they've been.” He noted that he knew VIP Z could handle the tricky inside turn he did in the handy course because he saw Victoria Colvin accomplish it during Equitation Weekend. Pletcher brought Savvy to this class because he felt that the horse has “a great attitude, excellent personality, and he always tries.” He added, “He’s a good hunter choice. I thought it would be nice to have more of a hunter type for the class.”
John French brought Sander who was named the Best Horse. They scored an 89.66 to start out French’s night, and French went on to have a 90.66 on VIP Z, an 89.16 on Winnetou, and an 84.33 on Capilan 2 for a total of 353.81 and third place.
“I was really happy with the horse that I brought and that he ended up winning the high score horse,” French remarked. “Even if I didn't win, it was good he won. I’ve done a few derbies on him. He wasn’t supposed to come to this show; he came two days ago and he’s doing the Children’s Hunters here. I knew he would be a great horse for the class. I said to his owner before, ‘He's probably going to get leading horse.’ Afterward I saw her and she said, 'You called that one.'”
Elizabeth Boyd of Camden, SC, finished in fourth place with a total of 346.33. She received scores of 84 (Winnetou), 86 (Capilan 2), 86 (Savvy), and 90.33 (CR Carolato II).
She said, “This class was good quality and they were great courses. Everybody did a great job and it was fun to be a part of it.” Boyd noted that Winnetou has not had as much hunter experience after moving from the jumper ring, but that he was “cute and a good boy.” She added, “It was nice of them to let me use him.”
Fifth place went to Hunt Tosh, who received scores of 87.33 (CR Carolato II), 90.66 (Sander), 83 (VIP Z), and 82 (Winnetou) for a total of 346.33.
Tosh noted that while all of the riders are very serious during the week, this night class lets them have a good time. In the handy class, he said he “had nothing to lose,” so he tried an inside turn that no one else attempted. It didn’t quite work for Tosh, but he had fun in the class nevertheless.
Of the horse he brought, he noted, “He behaved for everyone. He was fun to ride.”
Kelley Farmer finished up in sixth place after her horse Red Sky was replaced after her round. She scored a 35 in the first round after Red Sky had a refusal and looked uncomfortable in the ring. The WCHR Appeal Committee for the show decided that Farmer would have to keep her score since it was her horse that she brought for the class, but replaced Red Sky with the alternate horse, Capilan 2.
Kelley Farmer and Savvy. (Jennifer Wood Media, Inc.)
Farmer explained of the situation, “He felt like he hit himself or stung himself. I wouldn't have walked in the ring if he didn't feel great. He showed here this week. He can be a little quirky, but that had nothing to do with it. He warmed up perfectly. From the first jump, I knew something was wrong, and I didn't know if he was going to level out. He obviously didn't; the more he jumped, the worse it felt.”
The Chair of USHJA WCHR Committee, Geoff Teall, also explained, “This is the procedure and why we have an alternate horse in case something went wrong. We ultimately made the right decision. We want it to be even for everybody. It was not an easy choice, but we made the right choice.” Teall noted that this was the third time in the 19-year history of the class that the alternate horse was needed.
Stewart won his first WCHR Professional Finals in 1998, and then again in 1999, 2003, and 2010. He expressed, “It's always an honor to be in the group of top riders. This was probably the most relaxed I’ve been. I had a really good week here, so it was really just a nice, fun class to do.”
For his win tonight in the WCHR Professional Finals, Stewart was presented with the “All the Way” trophy. The Far West Farms Perpetual Trophy donated by the Karazissis Family was given to Sander as the Best Horse.
All of the riders thanked the owners for letting them use their horses in the WCHR Professional Finals. The horses in tonight’s class were:
Hunt Tosh
CR Carolato II
12-year-old Holsteiner gelding
(O) Buddrus Equine LLC
(T) Jordan Seigel and Laura Hightower
Scott Stewart
VIP Z
9-year-old Zangersheide gelding
Sire: Hemmingway
Dam: My Illusion
(O) Scott Stewart
(T) Scott Stewart
Liza Boyd
Winnetou
Nine-year-old KWPN gelding
(O) Ponies and Palms LLC.
(T) Gary Duffy
Kelly Farmer
Red Sky
Nine-year-old DWB gelding
(O) Ken and Selma Garber
(T) Larry Glefke
John French
Sander
13-year-old KWPN gelding
(O) Lily Blavin
(T) Archie Cox
Peter Pletcher
Savvy
Nine-year-old German Sporthorse gelding
(O) Ashley Cross
(T) Peter Pletcher
Alternate Horse
Capilan 2
Seven-year-old Holsteiner Gelding
(O) Georgie Maskray Segesman
(T) Karen Healey
More from Friday at the Capital Challenge
Annie Finch Clinches Second Finals Win at Capital Challenge
Final Results: WCHR Professional Finals
1 SCOTT STEWART
90 92 92 91.33
90 89 91 90.00
93 92 90 91.66
92 88 90 90.00 362.99
2 PETER PLETCHER
85 78 81 81.33
86 90 90 88.66
91 91.5 89 90.50
95 95 93 94.33 354.82
3 JOHN FRENCH
91 90 88 89.66
92 89.5 90.5 90.66
92 85 90.5 89.16
87 81 85 84.33 353.81
4 ELIZABETH BOYD
81 86 85 84.00
83 86 89 86.00
84 87 87 86.00
94 89 88 90.33 346.33
5 WINNETOU HUNT TOSH
87 89 86 87.33
89 91 92 90.66
82 82 85 83.00
84 80 82 82.00 342.99
6 KELLEY FARMER
35 30 40 35.00
85 81 84 83.33
88 91 91 90.00
93 90 89 90.66 298.99