Washington, D.C. – October 22, 2013 – The 55th annual Washington International Horse Show (WIHS) hosted its opening day at Verizon Center in downtown Washington, D.C. on Tuesday with a full day of hunter competition. The professional and amateur-owner riders showed throughout the day in the first classes of their divisions and will conclude their competition for championship honors on Wednesday. The children’s and adult hunter riders competed for their championships in the evening. The WIHS continues its six-day competition through Sunday, October 27.
The $10,000 WIHS Children’s Hunter Championship featured 31 entries on Tuesday competing over a course set by J.P. Godard of Aiken, SC, with the top 12 entries returning for round two. Fifteen-year-old Abigael Kaufman of Chevy Chase, MD, came out on top with high scores of 86 and 84 for a combined total of 170 aboard her mount Ivanhoe. For their win, the pair was awarded the H. Fenwick Kollock Memorial Perpetual Trophy, donated by Friends of Fen.
Kimmee Gottwald and Catina finished second with scores of 91.5 and 76 for a 157 point total. Third place honors went to Darby Cole and Valerie Renihan’s Tuscan Sun with a pair of 77 scores to total 154.
Abigael Kaufman and Ivanhoe
Abigael Kaufman trains with Alan Lohman and has leased Ivanhoe, a 17-year-old Selle Francais gelding, for two years now. The pair has shown together in the Children’s Hunter and equitation divisions.
“We’ve just been doing local shows trying to qualify for zone finals and we finally qualified for Washington, which was a very nice end to the year,” Kaufman noted.
Although she showed at WIHS with a pony two years ago, this was the rider’s first time competing on a horse, and the experience was a little different.
“It’s my first time winning, which is very nice,” she smiled. “It’s pretty much the same, but it’s different because when you are on a horse it’s a lot more important, and it’s harder to ride around the ring, especially on a big horse.”
“I also got to show on a weekday, which I think is really cool because all of the good riders get to show on weekdays,” she added with a smile. “It’s a lot of fun.”
Abigael Kaufman and Ivanhoe in their winning presentation
The experience of competing in downtown Washington D.C. is always exciting, with the horses temporarily stabled in the streets surrounding Verizon Center, and people walking through the city day and night.
“The coolest part is probably walking down the ramp from the stalls to the ring,” Kaufman noted. “You see people walking home from work and they wonder why there is a horse walking around in D.C. and you say ‘Yup, that’s my horse.’ It’s really cool.”
Ivanhoe and Kaufman handled the city setting likes pros and put in two winning rounds. Kaufman described Ivanhoe as a very slow horse that takes a lot of leg and commented further on her rounds.
“Once I got my pace and had him out in front of me, everything else was golden. He was right there, ready to do it for me,” she detailed. “The first round I felt really good about. I feel like I was able to fix all the mistakes I’ve made during the year. The second round, my trainer just told me to go in and have fun and make it as smooth as possible. I think we did just that. We had a few little minor errors, but he made up for it and jumped all the fences nicely. I was really happy with both of them.”
Second place finishers Kimmee Gottwald and Catina
Authentic and Dudley MacFarlane Win $10,000 WIHS Adult Amateur Hunter Championship
The $10,000 WIHS Adult Amateur Hunter Championship concluded day one at the 2013 WIHS with 29 entries showing over the first round course and the top twelve returning. Dudley MacFarlane of Darien, CT, rode her 17-year-old Royal Dutch Warmblood gelding Authentic to the championship with scores of 87 and 85.5 for a 171.5 point total.
Devon Braswell and Showgirl placed second on a two-round total of 171 with scores of 85 and 86. Daryl Whitmoyer and Sweet Potato Pie earned an 84.5 and an 85 to finish third with a score of 169.5.
Dudley MacFarlane and Authentic
Dudley MacFarlane has had her winning mount, Authentic, for 13 years since purchasing the horse as a stallion when he was four years old with the help of then-trainer, Jimmy Toon. The pair has shown all over the country in their years together, and Authentic now spends most of his year living in a field and going on trail rides on MacFarlane’s farm in Charlottesville, VA. He showed in order to qualify for the championship this year and completed his years of showing at WIHS with a well-deserved victory.
“He is a really cool horse,” MacFarlane said proudly. “He is 17 years young and he is amazing. He only comes out about four times a year. He does enough to qualify. I take him to Upperville and Middleburg because I love those two horse shows, and we did the $250,000 in Saugerties. He lives on the field at my farm and he just sort of hangs out. He’s the boss. Whatever he says and whatever he wants, he gets.”
MacFarlane and Authentic showed at WIHS in the amateur 3’6” division multiple times and also showed in the Adult Hunter Championship last year, but MacFarlane explained that Authentic was a little starstruck with the jumbotron in the arena. This year they put a computer screen in his stall to get him ready for the competition.
“We sort of made him sit in front of the computer all week,” she laughed. “We made him watch Harrisburg rounds. We got this big trash can and put the computer on it and made him watch the Second Years! It worked. We were fortunate we had a great stall (here). We’d take him there (to the ring) when they were dragging and let him look. He was fantastic. He’s the best horse ever. I’m so fortunate.”
Dudley MacFarlane and Authentic in their winning presentation
“He was just on it today,” MacFarlane described of their jumping rounds. “I really can’t remember two rounds that he was as wonderful as he was. No rubs, no swaps. I promised him he would never have to come back if he would just go in and win the class!”
MacFarlane rides with trainer Rodney Bross now and explained that it does not take much to keep Authentic in top form.
“We never jump him at home. He knows his job,” she said. “Sometimes he actually knows it a little bit too well, and he’ll decide he wants to take over a little bit. We have a really good relationship. When I walk in the barn, as soon as he hears my voice he nickers or comes running from the field to see me. We give him lots of peppermints. The main thing is to keep him happy and healthy. As soon as he decides he doesn’t want to do it anymore, he doesn’t have to. He loves stepping up to the plate. He’s a horse of a lifetime, there’s no question.”
In addition to their championship ribbons and coolers, the winners of the Children’s and Adult Hunter Champions were each awarded a pair of custom chaps courtesy of Journeyman Saddlers, Ltd.
Second place finishers Devon Braswell and Showgirl
Also showing earlier on Tuesday, the professional hunter divisions completed their first day of competition at Verizon Center with several winning rounds for Kelley Farmer of Keswick, VA. The Robotyping Challenge Trophy was presented to Farmer’s mount Mythical, owned by D. Larry Glefke and Dr. Kenneth Garber, for the best Green Working Hunter round of the day with a high score of 90. Farmer also accepted The Fairfax Hunt Race Association Challenge Trophy for the best Green Working Hunter handy round with a score of 89 aboard D. Larry Glefke and Quail Run Partnerships’ Skorekeeper.
The Washington International Horse Show continues tomorrow with championships for the professional and amateur-owner hunter divisions as well as the $10,000 Children’s Jumper Championship during the day. The evening session, which begins at 7 p.m., will feature the $10,000 Adult Jumper Championship and the $10,000 Open Jumper speed class. For full results, more information, or to watch the free live feed of the show, please visit www.wihs.org.
Final Results: $10,000 Children’s Hunter Championship
Placing/Back Number/Horse/Rider/Owner/Round 1/Round 2/Total
1. 278 IVANHOE Abigael Kaufman Abigael Kaufman 86.000 84.000 170.000
2. 161 CATINA Kimmee Gottwald Kimmee Gottwald 81.500 76.000 157.500
3. 431 TUSCAN SUN Darby Cole Valerie Renihan 77.000 77.000 154.000
4. 595 CARSON Carilynn Peyton Tyler Stewart 78.000 75.000 153.000
5. 681 DALAMAR Mary Claire Medeiros Dana Watkiss 81.000 71.000 152.000
6. 648 PLATINI Sydney Gever Sydney Gever 82.000 68.000 150.000
7. 427 RIGHTEOUS Zander Lichacz Zander Lichacz 79.000 70.000 149.000
8. 328 CURIOUS GEORGE Lucy Loper Lucy Loper 75.000 65.000 140.000
9. 735 TRIBUTE Lindsey Bland Gulfstream Equestrian 77.500 62.000 139.500
10. 428 TAYLOR MADE Katherine Robertson Katherine Robertson 84.000 42.000 126.000
11. 682 OLIVIA Mary Claire Medeiros Mary Claire Medeiros 80.000 45.000 125.000
12. 597 LEADING LADY Rachel Okun Rachel Okun 76.000 43.000 119.000
Final Results: $10,000 Adult Hunter Championship
Placing/Back Number/Horse/Rider/Owner/Round 1/Round 2/Total
1. 773 AUTHENTIC Dudley Macfarlane Dudley Macfarlane 86.000 85.500 171.500
2. 441 SHOWGIRL Devon Braswell Devon Braswell 85.000 86.000 171.000
3. 264 SWEET POTATO PIE Daryl Whitmoyer Daryl Whitmoyer 84.500 85.000 169.500
4. 262 URBAN Chelsea Director Chelsea Director 78.000 84.000 162.00
5. 523 WISH LIST Diane Wade Diane Wade 79.000 78.000 157.000
6. 533 SGT. PEPPER Connie Mcrill Connie Mcrill 75.000 80.000 155.000
7. 326 TYCOON Laurie Barna Laurie Barna 82.000 70.500 152.500
8. 528 UFONIA P Kevin Foster Paulexi Llc 81.000 71.000 152.000
9. 263 ROCOCO Brittani Director Brittani Director 76.000 75.000 151.000
10. 202 IN OUR TIME Nicole Shaw Ben Guanciale 84.000 64.000 148.000
11. 421 CASANOVA Elizabeth Kirby Elizabeth Kirby 80.000 62.000 142.000
12. 740 KIPLING M. Stuart Landin The Barracks 87.000 45.000 132.000
Photo Credit: Photos © Shawn McMillen Photography, www.shawnmcmillen.com. These photos may only be used in relation to this press release and with full photo credit.