October 2024 Issue

Page 40 October 2024 EAST COAST EQUESTRIAN Please submit your events to steph@eastcoastequestrian.net. Please provide event name, location, city, state and contact information for inclusion at no cost in East Coast Equestrian's calendar. Attention Event Organizers! The news East Coast horse owners need to know. Real Estate Caitln Boyle Has First Professional Win at the Devon Fall Classic The Devon Fall Classic, hosted at the iconic Devon Show Grounds, returned September 12 – 15, 2024. This jumper-only show offers classes for juniors, amateurs, and professionals ranging from 1.0m to 1.45m with highlight classes each day. $5,000 Welcome Jumper Stake The Devon Fall Classic wel- comed back the final four days of under-the-lights action for 2024 in the Dixon Oval September 12, kicking off with Thursday’s $5,000 Welcome Jumper Stake. In the end, it was Melissa Straw- ser and her 2013 Selle Francais Gelding, Darwin De Mars, “Dar- win” who topped the class. Strawser was first partnered with Darwin at the Devon Horse Show three years prior, and the duo have been competing in the High Amateur Owner Jump- ers for several years, claiming Championship honors in the di- vision at The Devon Horse Show and a win in the 1.40m jumpers at The Devon Fall Classic last year. Laura Chapot claimed sec- ond-place aboard Mary Chapot’s 2015 Irish Sport Horse mare, C&C Willow. Seth Vallhonrat and his own Lordy P, a 2016 KWPN gelding rounded out the podium coming in third place. Kama Godek and her own 2015 Holsteiner mare, Lady Stak- kata ran away with the victory in the 1.30m Jumper Class earlier in the day. September 13, 2024 Speed was the name of the game on Friday, September 13th. The first 2024 Devon Fall Classic Champion was crowned, and the weekend kicked off with the $10,000 Speed Stake presented by Meridian Bank under the lights of the Dixon Oval. Friday night's $10,000 Speed Stake presented by Meridian Bank was all about the clock. Ibra- him Barazi and Lennox Van De Zeshoek ran away with the win. The Jordanian show jumper just recently partnered with his winning mount, “Lennox” a 2011 Belgian Warmblood gelding. The pair have already posted impres- sive placings in the few short weeks that they have been to- gether, taking a third-place finish in the ranking speed class at the Hampton Classic this summer. “I have been here many, many times and it is one of my favorite shows,” stated Barazi. “And I love, love, love the town. It’s just such a great show and a nice turn-out and you don’t get this atmosphere at many places. Having a feature class every night makes it really exciting for the riders and the locals to come out and watch.” After two days of division competition, a Thoroughbred Jumper Champion was crowned on Friday afternoon. It was a tight race for points as Rachael Lively and Andrew Ross vied for the coveted tricolor ribbon, claimed in the end by Devon Fall Classic newcom- er, Rachael Lively of Should Be Fine Farm in Hampstead, MD and Prayer Hope. It was their first-ever Devon Championship ribbon. Veterans, Andrew Ross and Electra added a Reserve Champi- on ribbon to their 17 year list of accomplishments. Prayer Hope started out as a flat horse and even- tually was purchased by Kingfisher Farm where he raced over hurdles. He had a respectable career in racing for 3-4 years before retiring. He and Lively have been together for two years and have shown up to a 1.35m and in some local mini prixs. More recently Prayer Hope has found himself as the school- master for several amateur riders as well as Lively’s daughter, Cassie. Lively grew up showing hors- es, but came from a racing family, as did her husband, both of whom worked in racehorses prior to starting Should Be Fine Farm. “My husband and I both worked for Kingfisher Farm and we now have a lot of thoroughbreds in our barn,” stated Lively. “When there are ones that are retiring they check with us to see if we want another one!” Andrew Ross, a rider and trainer based out of Foxfield Farm in Reinholds, PA, has been show- ing at The Devon Horse Show and The Devon Fall Classic for years. He returned to the 2024 Devon Fall Classic with his longtime partner, Electra. The 1998 Thoroughbred mare went second to last on the final day of Take2 Thoroughbred Jumper competition, laying down the fastest time out of the field to take the win on Friday morning. But the Devon blue ribbon had more meaning than met the eye. Electra is far from a stranger to the Devon podium, having shown at Devon since 2007. In those 17 years, she has competed in count- less classes including the $25,000 Devon Fall Classic Grand Prix where she placed 10th, the Wel- come Jumper Stake, and the 1.40m jumpers where she placed first. Electra started off her career as a racehorse in Maryland. After a brief stint on the track, she was deemed too “uphill” to be fast and was restarted as a hunter. It wasn’t until Olympic trainer, Pierre Jolicaire saw Electra doing a one stride in a Hunter two stride in and out that she was intro- duced to the jumper ring. Jolicaire took over her train- ing with the hope of marketing her with his other high-end show- jumpers, and though she was one of the best in the barn, her thor- oughbred breeding held potential buyers back from jumping on the sale of the horse. Ross periodically rode the off-the-track thoroughbred when he was still an amateur rider in Virgin- ia while she was with Jolicaire. She passed through the hands of a few trainers before Ross purchased her as his own personal mount when she was just six years old. And that is just the beginning of their two-decade-long partner- ship together. When asked about the early months of their partnership, Ross noted: “…she would just jump so high over everything.” He contin- ued, “We had a lot of time faults in the beginning because she spent so much time in the air jumping that high over all the fences…she just hung in the air so long.” Eventually, the athletic mare found her stride and became the “cheat code” horse that she still is 20 years later. Ross reflected on her character stating, “She still loves it, you know, she wants to come to the shows and wants to go in the ring. I was thinking about something today, ‘don’t you always want to go back and do something in your life that you had done a long time ago?’And she lets me do it. I’ve had her for so long and she’s still competitive. She has the biggest heart of any horse I have ever met. There was nothing she wouldn’t try to win.” After a highly successful ca- reer jumping 1.45m Prixs and larger jumper classes, Electra has a new- found passion for speeding around in the Thoroughbred Jumper divi- sions, taking current rider, Rachael Kealey to Thoroughbred Jumper Champion titles at The Devon Fall Classic in 2022 and 2023. Ross took back the reins of his longtime partner for the 2024 Devon Fall Classic, claiming the Reserve Champion title in the division. September 14, 2024 The Dixon Oval grandstands were packed for the final under-the- lights class at Devon for 2024 as riders faced off in Bryn Mawr Hos- pital’s $25,000 Devon Fall Classic sponsored by Main Line Health. Caitlin Boyle rode two mounts in the class, ultimately taking Beyaert Farm INC’s 2013 Belgian Warmblood gelding, Navaar to the jump-off. The duo, who have been partnered together since last November, have been working at stepping up into the CSI4* level, and took on Saturday night’s track with confidence. Having competed extensively at The Devon Horse Show as a junior, Caitlin has collected many Devon blue ribbons in the equi- tation, including the coveted R. W. “Ronnie” Mutch Equitation Championship in 2014, but never competed in the jumpers. Saturday night’s victory with Navaar marked her first big win in the Dixon Oval as a professional show jumper. Juniors and amateur riders also took to the Dixon Oval in the afternoon for their own highlight event of the week, the $7,500 Show Jumping Hall of Fame 1.45m Junior/Amateur Jumper Class sponsored by Jaguar Land Rover Main Line. Ultimately it was James Leone who captured the win with Galliano W as the final horse- and-rider pair in the class. The future's brightest tiny talents took center stage in the Dixon Oval for the beloved Dev- on Leadline on Saturday after- noon. All of the riders and their mounts were dressed to impress, so much so that the judge couldn't pick a winner and everyone walked away with a prize! September 15, 2024 Juniors and Amateurs closed out the last day of competition at The Devon Fall Classic. Adina Gesthalter and Douglas topped the $5,000 1.25M Ju- nior Jumper Classic. Madison Rauschenbach and Easy Girl De Kreisker took the final blue ribbon of the show in the $5,000 1.25M Amateur Jumper Classic. Devon Fall Classic newcomer, Rachael Lively of Should Be Fine Farm in Hampstead, Maryland and Prayer Hope claimed their first-ever Championship ribbon at Devon. Photo by Olivia Airhart