Wilmington, Ohio – Winter Classic 3 concluded competition for 2023 Sunday, December 17 at World Equestrian Center – Wilmington. Sarah Meier (USA) and Nightshade SCF (Baldev x Olisina) earned their first career grand prix win together in 30,000 Grand Prix Saturday evening, while Rokeechobee STB Gino H x Massima Van’t Spieveld) won the $10,000 Futures Prix with Sam Pegg (CAN). Melissa Donnelly (USA) swept the $15,000 USHJA National Open Hunter Derby and the WEC Professional Medal, and Richard Rinehart (USA) began the week with a win in the $10,000 CWD Welcome Stake.
Sarah Meier and her 10-year-old Belgian Warmblood gelding jumped to a time of 40.598 seconds to win the $30,000 Grand Prix by a full two seconds.
“He is a little bit quirky, but I can’t say enough good things about him. I have a great relationship with him. Aaron Vale and David O’Brien started him, and it took me a minute to get to know him. He can be a bit funny, but those guys put a great background on him, and he has been nothing but good to me. He loves his job, which is half the battle, and he is super brave,” Meier spoke highly of her mount.
Sam Pegg added another win to his 2024 Winter in the Midwest Series with Lawren Brockelsby’s promising seven-year-old Belgian Warmblood mare Rokeechobee STB (Gino H x Massima Van’t Spieveld) in the $10,000 Futures Prix.
“We love it here. For the horses it is great. We come two or three weeks at a time. The rings are open for schooling, you can jump any height you want. Now in January with the Young Horse Incentive it is becoming very cost effective to produce your horses here as well. They can even jump in this $10,000 class with no entry fee when they are enrolled in the program, so it is really a great place to produce them,” said Pegg.
At the conclusion of an over-fences phase and a flat phase, it was Melissa Donnelly who secured the win in the WEC Professional Medal aboard her top equitation mount in the barn, Cinda (VDL Douglas x What Pride), owned by Elizabeth Becker. Along with a blue ribbon and friendly bragging rights, Donnelly walked away with a free stall for three horse shows at WEC – Wilmington.
“It was such a fun class to do. We were all joking around in the schooling that it is fun to really have to think and go in with a different mentality. We spend all our time on the hunters and teaching our equitation students, but we really had to think about where to show off. The kids were all so excited to watch us do it as well. All of the professionals agreed that it is such a nice class to see on the schedule and it would be fun to see it more often!”
Donnelly and the 17-year-old Holsteiner gelding Corlando 49 owned by Elizabeth Becker topped the $15,000 USHJA National Open Hunter Derby with scores of 88 and 91.
“’Corey’ [Corlando 49] had me a bit worried about the halt after the trot jump. He doesn’t like to halt. Once he stops, he doesn’t believe in going again,” Donnelly laughed. “I made the turn snug and tidy from the end jump to the in-and-out and he was really good about following me. He was great about the gallop down to last jump and it was nice to have a little bit of space to show off.”
Vanessa McCaughley and her own 12-year-old Holsteiner gelding Capitol Hill bested the $15,000 USHJA National Non-Pro Hunter Derby with scores of 89 and 87.
“I thought the handy was nice because it wasn’t overly technical, and you could flow around. There were a few places that weren’t in Henry’s [Capitol Hill] favor. He doesn’t land right very often, so after the trot jump and the halt, I wanted to go inside to the oxer, but I couldn’t quite do that. But the end jump to the one-stride worked out really nicely for me.”
Team ‘This One’s for Hannah’, made up of Madison Barnett and Caden Nolt, accurately maintained a three-stride distance apart and jumped in perfect sync to claim the win in the $1,500 Ugly Sweater Hunt Team Class.
Richard Rinehart and Captain America 10 (Contendro) scored their second consecutive $10,000 Welcome Stake win in a blazing 36.628 seconds Thursday evening.
“I thought it was a nice course today. There were several questions. ‘Captain’ made a great effort at the last jump in the first round because I got there a little bit deeper than I wanted to be,” said Rinehart. “In the jump-off, nobody but Captain did the sharp turn from one-to-two, and he has the perfect stride length for a turn like that. He is getting to the stage where he knows his way around a jump-off track! I got a nice distance into fence nine and was able to comfortably leave the stride out coming towards home.”
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Results can be found at wec.net.
All horse show images are provided by Winslow Photography and can be purchased onsite at WEC – Wilmington or online through their website.