In the first round, Boyd rode Crack On to a score of 88.33 and was sitting in third place. She had the high score in round two of 91.33 on Corduroy, but still sat in third place behind Scott Stewart and John French.

The third handy round, which included a trot jump, bounce, and hand gallop, was what made such a huge difference for her. Riding Quatrain, a horse her family's Finally Farm owns with Janet Peterson, she laid down a fantastic round. She was rewarded by the judges with equal scores of 95 across the board from the three judges' positions, giving her a total of 274.66. However, she would have to wait and see what French and Stewart would do.

The remaining highlight class of the week for the professional hunter riders is the $5,000 WCHR Professional Finals, presented by the John R. Ingram Fund, for the top six hunter riders in the country on Friday, October 4. The Capital Challenge Horse Show, held at the Prince George's Equestrian Center, will run through Sunday, October 6.


The $25,000 WCHR Professional Challenge, sponsored by Pony Lane Farm, had 23 entries, and 12 of those returned for a second round in the evening session. Coming back on top for the second round was John French on Iwasaki & Reilly's Small Affair, the winner of this class in 2010 and 2011. In the first round, they scored 90.33, and they returned to score 88.08 for a total of 178.41 for victory. Second place went to Kelley Farmer on Mythical. They scored 88.50 and 89.33 for a total of 177.83. Hayley Barnhill and Fonteyn were third with a total score of 175.66. Jennifer Bauersachs and Avignon placed fourth with a score of 173.91, while Havens Schatt and Bacardi scored 171.66 for fifth place.

French said of his rounds, “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. That was good having that cushion coming in. He had a rub in the second round, but otherwise he was great.”

“Third time's a charm,” French said with a smile. “He loves this class. It's pretty hard to win it three times on the same horse. Those are the best horses. Most professionals bring in their heavy hitters, their top horses.”

For Immediate Release

Upper Marlboro, MD – October 1, 2013 – Nine championships were awarded today at the Capital Challenge Horse Show presented by The Gochman Family, honoring the best hunters in the country. Along with the Second Year Green Working and High Performance Hunter divisions, championships were given in six Future Hunter divisions and the Performance Hunters 3'6”. The Capital Challenge Horse Show, held at the Prince George's Equestrian Center in Upper Marlboro, MD, runs through Sunday, October 6. Don't forget, you can watch all of the champions' jumping rounds by clicking on the “Individual Rounds” button at www.capitalchallenge.org. 

The professional hunters will wrap up their divisions tomorrow. The highlight classes of the week for the professional hunter riders are the $25,000 WCHR Professional Challenge, sponsored by Pony Lane Farm, on Wednesday, October 2, and the $5,000 WCHR Professional Finals, presented by the John R. Ingram Fund, for the top six hunter riders in the country on Friday, October 4.

In the Show Place Arena, the first championship awarded went to Queen Lattifa, ridden by Hunt Tosh for Kenneth and Douglas Wheeler. The pair received two firsts and two seconds over fences and were sixth in the under saddle in the Second Year Green division. John French and Oscany, Inc.'s Small Celebration picked up the reserve championships after a first, third, and fourth over fences and a win under saddle.

Tosh, of Milton, GA, has a new ride in Queen Lattifa, an 11-year-old Westphalian mare, and this was their fourth show together. After winning a championship at the Devon Horse Show, Kenneth Wheeler “fell in love with her,” Tosh said. He added with a smile, “(He) spontaneously bought her without me ever riding her. He came to me and said, 'We have a new horse!' He saw her and had to have her.”