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

    “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