November 2020 Issue

EAST COAST EQUESTRIAN November 2020 Page 27 Real Estate Reach families with horses and equestrian professionals looking to relocate to this region with an ad in East Coast Equestrian . For more information, call (717) 509-9800. The news East Coast horse owners need to know National Steeplechase Foundation Shawan Downs Point to Point, held September 26, may not have been a National Stee- plechase Association sanctioned meet this year (no fans meant no purse money), but despite the challenges wrought by Covid-19, the event was chock full of racing thrills and opportunities for up-and-coming riders to gain invaluable experience in real competition. The nine-race card at the Hunt Valley, Md., course featured a tossed salad of hurdle, timber, and flat races for amateur, apprentice and seasoned veteran riders. The races also attracted plenty of four-legged talent, including timber champion Doc Cebu, along with old friends Mystic Strike, Canyon Road, Class Indian, Pured It, Stand Down, and many more. In a meet showcasing the stars of tomorrow, none shined brighter than teen riding sensa- tion Skylar McKenna, whose Neilson family has been in racing since 1875. Skylar won three events, starting with Charlie Fen- wick’s Royal Ruse (open timber), Welcome Here Farm’s Second Amendment (amateur appren- tice timber), and Gill Johnston’s Brianbakescookies (open amateur apprentice training flat). With a riding pedigree like hers, the sky’s the limit for Skylar. Another young rider with a great pedigree, Teddy Da- vies, took the Maiden Amateur Apprentice Training Flat with William F.C. Marlow Jr.’s Hail Michigan by two lengths over Al- exandra White’s Optical Illusion. Teddy is the son of champion steeplechase rider Blythe Miller and Joe Davies, a winning rider and trainer of Maryland Hunt Cup champions. Two other riders looking to make their mark, Archie Macau- ley and Colin Smith, also boasted wins on the card. Archie took the opener – an amateur apprentice hurdle – aboard Armata Stable’s Zanzi Win for trainer Ricky Hen- driks, while Smith romped by 12 in the finale on the flat, restricted to young adult riders, on Bruton Street-US’Agravain, for trainer Todd Wyatt. In other action, it was an emphatic return to the races for Graham Watters, who has competed on the NSA circuit since 2017. The jock, who was injured in the spring and missed the Saratoga and Colonial Downs summer seasons, captured the second and third races, taking the maiden hurdle aboard Holwood Stable’s Road to Oz and open hurdle on Rather Be Racing’s Our Legend. And picking up where he left off at Saratoga, jockey Gerard Galligan, the season’s leading rid- er, piloted Leipers Fork Steeple- chasers’ Tomgarrow to victory in the maiden timber race for trainer Leslie Young. Ironically, Galligan earned his first victory win at Saratoga in August aboard French Light, who overtook Tomgarrow that day for the win. The Next Generation Rules at Shawan Downs Submit your events to steph@eastcoastequestrian.net for inclusion in our calendar at no charge! Please provide event name, location, city, state and contact information by the 10th of the prior month. Attention Event Organizers! The news East Coast horse owners need to know