“I know him so well, and I’ve been riding him since his first year in 2009,” said French. “His first round was exceptionally great. He just jumped high, and it was super smooth. I think I had enough of a lead coming into the second round. I'm not sure where I ended up in the second round, not the top, maybe third or fourth. But when you add the two scores together, it was enough to win.” Indeed, French’s two-round total of 178.41 points earned him the Little Brook Farm Perpetual Trophy, and his name will now be engraved as the winner for 2013, as well as in 2010 and 2011. WCHR Professional National Champion Kelley Farmer guided Mythical to second place with 177.83 points, and Hayley Barnhill rode Fonteyn to third place with 175.66 points. “That was good having that cushion coming in,” said French, who edged Farmer by just .58 points. “He had a rub in the second round, but otherwise he was great. He showed here during the week in 3'6” Performance Hunters and was reserve champion as well.” While French was on the sidelines healing, Small Affair led many victory gallops over the year with junior rider Samantha Sommers, including grand championship honors in the West Coast U.S. Junior Hunter Finals. “He tries really hard,” said French of Small Affair. “When he first started out, he was very cautious and a little bit spooky because he's so careful. He always wants to jump a really good jump. I think there are some horses that you just have a partnership with. I wouldn't have wanted to ride any other horse in the class tonight because I know him so well. He always gives 100 percent and tries to jump a beautiful jump every time.” Final Results: $25,000 WCHR Professional Challenge
1 SMALL AFFAIR JOHN FRENCH 91.00 90.00 90.00 90.33 88.25 87.50 88.50 88.08 178.41 2 MYTHICAL KELLEY FARMER 89.00 87.50 89.00 88.50 87.50 89.50 91.00 89.33 177.83 3 FONTEYN HAYLEY BARNHILL 87.00 88.00 87.00 87.33 88.50 88.50 88.00 88.33 175.66 4 AVIGNION JENNIFER BAUERSACHS 83.75 84.50 86.50 84.91 89.00 89.00 89.00 89.00 173.91 5 BACARDI HAVENS SCHATT 82.50 82.00 84.50 83.00 91.00 91.00 84.00 88.66 171.66 6 PADDINGTON NICK HANESS 86.00 84.00 86.00 85.33 87.00 87.00 85.00 86.33 171.66 7 BAY LANE JAMIE TAYLOR 87.50 87.00 85.00 86.50 85.00 83.00 82.00 83.33 169.83 8 QUATRAIN ELIZABETH BOYD 83.50 81.00 83.00 82.50 86.00 88.00 87.00 87.00 169.50 9 EVERLY SCOTT STEWART 84.00 83.00 81.00 82.66 88.00 84.00 86.00 86.00 168.66 10 UNDENIABLE JENNY KARAZISSIS 88.00 85.00 88.00 87.00 83.00 82.00 80.00 81.66 168.66 11 INVINCIBLE AMANDA STEEGE 82.00 86.00 84.00 84.00 84.00 86.00 83.00 84.33 168.33 12 ROMANCE PETER PLETCHER 87.75 85.50 86.75 86.66 50.00 45.00 45.00 46.66 133.32
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