We may be deep into January in Virginia, but it didn’t really feel like it this weekend at the Virginia Horse Center. The Stonewall Country Horse Show brought USEF ‘A’-rated hunter/jumper competition to Lexington. With the weather about 50 degrees, the show felt more like a spring event then one deep in January.
Saturday afternoon was filled with the show’s largest division, the junior hunters, with 16 horses shown.
The show will repeat Feb. 2-5. Here’s hoping the weather is just as fabulous as it was this past weekend.
An over-achieving mini leaps one of the hurdles in the field set up for trail and mini jumping.
The New London Horse Show held its final show of its 2016 series on Oct. 22 at Coyote Crossing Cattle Company in Bedford County.
The October show was on a beautiful, sunny fall day, except for the unrelenting winds that blew hair bows, arena dust, and anything else not weighed down. Cattle Crossing Cattle Company has a nice, spacious arena with deep footing. The arena is nice and wide and more square than at most shows. There is also a small warm-up arena as well.
The grounds around the arena is rolling hills and the parking is in surrounding pastures and down the hill from the arena in a field. The parking seemed a little bit tight, often inside fenced areas. Larger rigs that are hoping for a pull-through parking spot won’t want to arrive late on a busy show day and may find the parking a little awkward. There was a little shade, but the area was mostly open fields and likely gets very hot in the summer. There are some covered stalls but reserve early if you want to get one as they are limited.
The show, judged by Wendy Snyder, has a wide variety of classes for English, Western, Minis and more. The classes and competition seemed to be appropriate for various levels including beginners. English classes are scheduled at the beginning of the day before switching to Western in the late afternoon. The show is Blue Ridge Horse Force sanctioned and in 2016 partnered with Sprouse’s Corner Ranch Horse Show series for a circuit championship award in five divisions. The circuit championship prizes were an embroidered jacket and an embroidered cooler for the winning rider/horse combination. Proceeds from the show benefit local organizations. October’s show benefited St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital.
On Sept. 17, the Virginia 4-H State Horse Show crowned its top Western riders in the Classics classics. The evening classes were held in the East Complex at the Virginia Horse Center and featured the top riders from the qualifying classes earlier in the weekend.
The Classics closed with the Western Pleasure Horse Classic. With 14 showing, the two judges agreed on the top horse: Ima Glowin Coco Chip, ridden by Morgan Strickler. Strickler was also named the Sr. High Point winner.
Second went to Mary Ann Johnson riding Zippos Sweet Te. Third went to Madison Martin riding Jets Lopin Lady.
Halter. Showmanship. Leadline. Coached classes for new/young riders. Classes for beginner riders. English Pleasure. Western Pleasure. Ranch horses. Trail. Miniature horse jumping. Miniature horse trail. English equitation. Stock seat equitation. Speed. Racking. There was a class for every kind of horse at the Cross View Rock & Roll Open Horse Show.
Just along for the ride with your horse-crazy companion? (Or like my daughter, dragged along with your mother.) There was stuff for you, too! Corn hole and roping practice was a fun diversion from the horses going round and round.
Gillian Davis won the day’s Go As You Please Jackpot class on her red roan quarter horse gelding, The Roan Rangger (registered AQHA as VS Red Solo). And they were winners in many other classes throughout the day and won the Western high point award under judge Ken Davis.
Turnout was good for the show, with many English youth classes with more than 10. Adult riders typically saw 3 or 4 entries. The Western Pleasure classes were a bit smaller, with between 2 and 5 entries, typically. However, the Ranch horse classes had over 5.
The Cross View Show Series will continue on June 25-26 with the Aloha Shows. Katie Jackson, owner of Sneek A Peek Farm in Spotsylvania, Virginia, will judge the hunters on June 25 and Beth Gouthro of BMG ShowHorses will judge the open show.
The Cross View Horse Show series opened Friday night at Green Hill Park Equestrian Center in Salem with a special jumpers edition, which then rolled into Saturday’s Hunter/Jumper show.
Despite rains that fell overnight, the show had a nice turnout with about four to five riders in the morning hunter divisions. More horses began to mill about the show grounds at lunchtime for the afternoon divisions, and by then the sun was shining and the temperatures were warming.
The arenas seemed to actually benefit from the overnight rains. While there were puddles here and there, the wet weather kept the sometimes-hard Green Hill Park footing softer than on a typical day.
The show continues Sunday with an Open horse show that includes classes for hunters, gaited, western, ranch and more.
Jason Berry and Cobalt Blue R. Photo by Teresa Ramsay Photography
Jason Berry was on top of his game May 6, 2016, claiming three of the top four spots in the $5,000 USHJA National Hunter Derby. He picked up the victory aboard Cobalt Blue R with a score of 185.0. Elizabeth Bailey and Acido 7 scored the second place spot with a score of 173.5, while Berry also placed third and fourth on IAmWhatIAm and Attila, respectively.
Berry imported Cobalt Blue R, an 8-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding owned by Oak Ledge Farm, last year. Everything came together for them in the derby class. “For the handy tonight he was just on it.” Berry said “From the time I picked up the canter it was like they put the jumps where I needed them to be. He was super easy to ride for that.”
A Virginia native, Berry was enthusiastic about his win at the Virginia Horse Center. “It’s definitely our home show,” he expressed. “It’s great to win a class here, it’s great to have this facility in your backyard. They have a great indoor Coliseum where they had the class tonight. To have the weather that we’ve had, pouring down rain for the last few days, the option of having a good class no matter what the weather is the best thing about the Virginia Horse Center!”
Manuel Torres and Christofolini H gallop to the final fence of their winning jump-off round.
Manuel Torres put in two clean rounds to win the George L. Ohrstrom Grand Prix on Saturday, May 7, 2016, as part of the Lexington Spring Encore horse show at the Virginia Horse Center in Lexington, Virginia.
Torres, a five-time Olympian for his native country of Colombia, rode Christofolini H, owned by Andrea Torres Guerreiro, to the win. Torres now operates Santa Catalina Farm in Waterford, Virginia.
Final placings in the $30,000 George L. Ohrstrom Grand Prix
Taft Dickerson and Best on the Rocks accept the Dave Higgins Memorial trophy.
Taft Dickerson and Best on the Rocks won more than a Green Western Pleasure class on Sunday at the Virginia Quarter Horse Association’s Spring Breakout horse show at the Virginia Horse Center. They also won the chance to be part of honoring the late Dave Higgins, a VQHA hall of fame member who died last year after a car crash.
Taft Dickerson and Best on the Rocks lopes down the rail during the Green Western Pleasure class.
The VQHA honored the former show manager by awarding the Dave Higgins Memorial Trophy to the winner of the Green Western Pleasure class.
Dave Higgins, show manager of the association’s annual Virginia Classic horse show, died last year after being involved in a wreck on the way home from the April show. He later died of his injuries.
Best on the Rocks performed with a good cadence and pleasant expression throughout the class to unanimously win the class of eight under all four judges. He later that afternoon would also tie to win the Sr. Western Pleasure class.
Each competitor was asked to drop their horse’s bit for inspection by the judges.The Green Western Pleasure lineup.Horses lope down the rail.A roan lopes on the rail.
Ranch riding has become one of the most popular classes at AQHA shows and it’s no different at the Spring Breakout in Lexington, Virginia in March. The more natural gaits, and emphasis on working tack instead of silver and sparkles seems to be attracting a new group of riders to AQHA shows.
Steve Meadows and KR Justa Spark were Circuit Champions in the All Age Ranch Pleasure class. The Novice Amateur Circuit Championship went to Dun Resolved It All and Dana Laney, while the Amateur Circuit Championship went to Julie Rogers and Gunner Got Out.
Julie Rogers and Gunner Got Out were Circuit Champions in Amateur Ranch Riding.
Saturday also included Hunter classes including Hunt Seat Equitation.
