Lexington, Ky. - The East Coast portion of the 2017 Sallie B. Wheeler/USEF Hunter Breeding National Championship took place Saturday, August 26, at the Virginia Horse Center in Lexington, Va. Judges Christina Schlusemeyer of Wellington Fla., and Meg Schulman of Littleton, Colo., assessed the young hunter prospects and awarded the Overall Grand Champion and East Coast Best Young Horse Champion titles for the second year in a row to Prospect Hill.
Prospect Hill (Nob Hill x Sincerely Yours/Ariadus), a 2015 Oldenburg stallion owned by Nokomis Farm, bred by Diana Dodge, and handled by Charlie Brown, also took top honors in the Two-Year-Old Colt/Gelding class and won the ISR/Oldenburg of North America Award.
Susan Tice-Grossman won the Leading Owner Award and Charlie Brown won the Leading Handler Award, receiving The Belacort Farm Perpetual Trophy.
The Overall Reserve Grand Champion and East Coast Best Young Horse Reserve Champion was Solaris EMF (Sir Wanabi x Panache EMF/Pablo), a 2014 Hanoverian stallion owned by Cismont Manor Farm, bred by Kris Schuler, and handled by Kenneth Wheeler. He also won the Three-Year-Old Colt/Gelding class.
Numerous other champion titles and breed awards were up for grabs for a strong group of hunter prospects:
Yearling Colt/Gelding – Will Pleaze (Willemoes x Malibu Barbie/Zarr), a 2016 Oldenburg colt owned by Christy Sciarretta, bred by Hil Cat Farm, and handled by Emily Belin
Yearling Filly, Rheinland Pfalz-saar International (RPSI) Award, and Masquerades Cove Perpetual Trophy for the Sallie B. Wheeler/USEF Hunter Breeding National Championship Best Filly – East Coast – Qismet (Qredit x Skattered Dreams/Dream In Gold), a 2016 RPSI filly owned by Dawn Taylor-Bell, bred by Signature Sport Horses LLC, and handled by Emily Belin
Two-Year-Old Filly – Reflection (Rosenthal x Pardon Me Boys/Domestic Dispute), a 2015 Oldenburg filly owned Harriet Louise Schiele, bred by Margaret Sherman, and handled by Matt Davis
Three-Year-Old Filly - Fleur de Vie (Cunningham x Fleur De Lis/Laurentianer), a 2014 Holsteiner filly owned and bred by Kristen Nelson and co-owned by Barbara Jannah and handled by Oliver Brown
Three-Year-Old Hunter Under Saddle – Fine Tuned (Flint GSF X Lostris/Laskin), a 2014 Oldenburg gelding owned and bred by Suzanne Miller and ridden by Lauren Rockwell
Three-Year-Old Hunter Hack – Finnegan GSF (Flint GSF x Donner Blume GSF/Donnerwelt), a 2013 Warmblood gelding owned by Amy Lambert, ridden by Karen Pound, and bred by Carolyn Miller
Four-Year-Old Hunter Under Saddle and Four-Year-Old Conformation Over Fences – Soleil (Samba HIT x unknown/unknown), a 2013 Berlin-Brandenburg mare owned and ridden by Catherine Ellis
American Hanoverian Society Breed Registry Award – Clearly Classic (Cabardino N x Escalla/Embassy I), a 2015 Hanoverian filly owned by Heather McInerney, bred by Tara Lambie, and handled by Charlie Brown
KWPN of North America Breed Award - Life's Grand RYU (Grand Cru x Sakura Hill Czola/Alla Czar), a 2016 KWPN colt owned and bred by Sheila and Shirley Murphy, handled by Dowell Junior Johnson.
Belgian Warmblood Breed Award - Verbatim HM (Viscount 22 x Milwaukee’s Finest XX/Milwaukee Brew XX), a 2016 Belgian Warmblood filly owned and handled by Whitney Brunner and bred by Kimberly Risser
Amateur Handler – Megan Wischner-Stewart handling Sir Jacopo, a 2014 Oldenburg/Thoroughbred gelding owned by Marianne Centorino and bred by Sara Goetz
The Foxwick Farm Perpetual Trophy – Have U Heard, a 2016 Thoroughbred filly owned and bred by Cheryll Francella and handled by William Howland
Just Remember (Just the Best x Mosegardens Carina/Carano), a 2015 KWPN filly owned and bred by Tish Quirk and handled by Emily Esau Williams, was named the West Coast Best Young Horse Title on Wednesday, August 23.
Find out more information on the Sallie B. Wheeler/USEF Hunter Breeding National Championship at usef.org/hunterbreeding.