I screw up I just don’t even care. I love him so much.” The WCHR victory is a highlight so far in Wasserman’s three-year career with Back In The Game, a 15-year-old warmblood by Robin II Z. She fell in love with the elegant bay after seeing him compete on the West Coast with trainer Dick Carvin and owner Paris Sellon. “I thought he was just the most beautiful horse, and I would die to ever have him,” she recalled. “And then we were back East three years ago, and he was at indoors. I was looking for a horse, and Archie said, ‘There’s the horse you’re in love with.’ I’m like, ‘Can we try him?’ Wasserman knew after jumping one fence that Back In The Game was going back to her barn. “He was awesome. He’s been kind of a fairytale for me ever since. I just love him,” she said, adding that she wouldn't be living the dream without the support of her husband and two children. This is Wasserman’s second trip to the Capital Challenge, and she’ll also compete at the Washington International during this coast-to-coast journey. “It’s fun for us to do something different and come back East with the really great riders,” said Wasserman. “And it’s fun to be indoors, and it’s really exciting. It raises the stakes. I love it.” WCHR AMATEUR OWNER 3'6 CHALLENGE
Pl Number Horse Rider Nat J1 J2 J3 Round Final ______________________________________________________________________________ 1 289 BACK IN THE GAME LAURA WASSERMAN 88.00 86.00 82.00 85.33 2 480 CASTLEWALK NANCY HOOKER 84.00 84.00 85.00 84.33 3 508 REALITY KRISTA WEISMAN 85.00 83.50 83.50 84.00 4 953 O.C. KAITLIN PORATH 83.00 85.00 83.00 83.66 5 563 COSTAR JOHN INGRAM 79.00 83.00 84.00 82.00 6 753 INVINCIBLE ELLEN TOON 82.00 82.00 81.00 81.66 7 193 SIENNA LEXI MAOUNIS 78.50 82.50 82.50 81.16 8 511 CHAMONIX ELIZABETH FARACI 81.00 81.00 79.00 80.33 9 822 SCOOP THERESE PECK 78.00 79.00 80.00 79.00 10 741 DRUMLINE NICOLE LYVERE 80.00 78.00 78.00 78.66
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“Then, when I rode him I thought, ‘Oh, this works.’ From the first two or three jumps you knew he was special,” she recalled. Amarillo had two starts in the 3’ Pre-Green section on the HITS Ocala circuit in Florida before moving up to the 3’3” Amateur-Owners with Gaston. “That [section] works in my schedule better even though it’s a little harder for a horse that green, but he’s been great,” she said. “He’s been an honest horse and a smart horse—it’s like he got the playbook, read it and went, ‘I got it!’ ” Gaston had the WCHR and the Capital Challenge on her radar throughout the year, and this is her second victory in a WCHR Challenge after claiming the 3’6” Amateur-Owner Challenge aboard Lumiere in 2010. “I love the WCHR. I really think of all the things you can win, it’s the best,” said Gaston. “It’s exciting, and what I like is in the end it’s a head-to-head competition. I knew I probably couldn’t catch Daryl [Portela, who won the WCHR National Amateur-Owner title], but I’ll keep on hammering. It’s exciting.” Amarillo lives at home with Gaston in The Plains, VA, and has already established himself as a trustworthy trail horse, even crossing water confidently. “He’s really easy and pretty straightforward,” she said. “I couldn’t be happier with him.” “It means everything to win this class,” she added. “It’s hard work. It’s been a hard year. I was down there with the horse in Florida, taking care of him myself. I haven’t been able to meet up with [trainer] Hunt Tosh as much as I would like, but we’re reunited. He got us right back where we needed to be and on track. It’s been a very satisfying year. It’s all worth it.” WCHR AMATEUR OWNER 3'3 CHALLENGE
Pl Number Horse Rider J1 J2 J3 Round Final ______________________________________________________________________________ 1 1104AMARILLO JANE GASTON 88.00 89.00 90.00 89.00 2 879 MTM INSIDE SCOOP DIDI MACKENZIE 84.00 86.00 82.00 84.00 3 131 QUITE SIMPLY ELIZABETH DE GOLI 81.50 83.50 85.00 83.33 4 294 WINFIELD TONIA COOK-LOOKER 81.00 85.00 84.00 83.33 5 158 VALENTINE JAIME AULETTO 80.00 87.00 83.00 83.33 6 650 BALIN AINSLEY SADLO 82.50 82.00 81.00 81.83 7 1174WINNER DARYL PORTELA 83.00 84.00 78.00 81.66 8 1022COLUMBUS KATHRYN HAEFNER 79.50 82.50 82.50 81.50 9 235 ENCORE MISSY LUCZAK SMIT 82.00 81.00 80.00 81.00 10 547 CATAMOUNT SANDRA EPSTEIN 79.00 83.00 77.00 79.66 |
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