UPPER MARLBORO, Md.--For the first time in WCHR history, two riders were tied at the top of the Professional standings coming into Capital Challenge on Tuesday, Sept. 29.
Scott Stewart continued his usual dominance in the professional hunters at CCHS with four championships – including Gracious (above) – and five reserve championships. Photo by Shawn McMillen Photography.jpgScott Stewart and Victoria Colvin both had 1,950 points before their hunter divisions started.
Wednesday night’s WCHR Professional Challenge will determine the top four riders that will participate in Friday night’s WCHR Professional Final.
“I know Scott has been competing in WCHR a little longer, but it feels like we've been doing it forever, since I was a junior,” said Colvin of her history with Stewart, who was her trainer as a pony and junior hunter rider. “It was fun to be tied. I didn't know that that could happen, so it's cool.”
“It was funny, they came up this morning and were going to give me the reserve armband to wear, and I said, ‘Wait, I think we're tied, because I looked last night because I couldn’t sleep,’” said Stewart. “Even when Tori was 10 and 12 years old, she was showing against me with my horses, so I'm pretty used to it! It's nice that she's doing so well and is such a good rider, and that I'm still up to that level with her.”
FOURTEEN champions were named on Tuesday at Capital Challenge.
Green Hunter 3’6” Section A, Champion: A Lister, ridden by Scott Stewart; Reserve Champion: Imperial, ridden by Kate Conover.
Green Hunter 3’6” Section B, Champion: Timing, ridden by Scott Stewart; Reserve Champion: Margaux, ridden by Laura Bowery/
“He was only two weeks out of quarantine, and we went to Upperville," said Stewart of A Lister. "That was his very first horse show. He went right to the 3'6", and he was reserve champion. He's pretty much won every horse show he's been at. Actually, he's very similar to Encore. He's very brave, very scopey, and took to it really easily."
"For horses like India’s A Lister, it is nice to come to Capital Challenge and be competitive without having done a lot of horse shows and getting a lot of points." said Stewart. "Timing has been pretty successful, and he is a great horse for India in the junior hunters."
Green Conformation Champion: Well Played, ridden by Christina Serio, owned by Clementina Brown; Reserve Champion: Velvet Elvis, ridden by Jacob Pope.
“He's grown up and really come a long way in the past year, and it's been so wonderful to be able to ride him and bring him along," saidSerio. "It just all clicked. Everything finally came together, and everything we had been working towards added up to the perfect round, and it was a great feeling. I've been watching my mom win here for years, and I've always been trying to keep up with her, so it's kind of a huge deal in that way.”
Green Hunter 3’9” Champion: Cannon Beach, ridden by Michael Britt-Leon; Reserve Champion: Pavlova, ridden by Victoria Colvin.
"He tries, so, so hard," said Britt-Leon. "He knows when it's time to shine, and when he goes in that indoor, he brightens up a little bit and jumps a little bit higher, and it always works out. It's wonderful to be rewarded when the horses go well, so I'm quite excited about it. It's absolutely amazing to start our week this way."
High Performance Conformation Champion: Odette, ridden by Victoria Colvin; Reserve Champion: Atlas, ridden by Christopher Payne.
“Odette is a super, super simple mare that just wants to win all the time," said Colvin. "She's a character. She's sweet, but she can also be a little sassy. She's the best of both worlds.”
High Performance Hunter Champion: Encore, ridden by Scott Stewart; Reserve Champion: Lafitte de Muze, ridden by Amanda Steege.
“I started showing him at Upperville this year and a few more times just for fun for myself," said Stewart. "He's always really brave. You never have to worry about him, and he jumps the four foot really easy. He was a fun one to show, and I thought he was great in every round.”
Performance Hunter 3’6” Section A Champion: Dicoblue PS, ridden by Victoria Colvin; Reserve Champion: All Inklusive, ridden by Samantha Schaefer.
“He's my man. He looks quite big, but he doesn't ride like a big horse; he's very light," said Colvin. "His jump is obviously super high. He tries to give a lot of effort on every jump.”
Performance Hunter 3’6” Section B Champion: Lifestyle, ridden by Halie Robinson; Reserve Champions: Daydream, Scott Stewart; Crystal Blue, John French; and Cosworth, Abby Jorgensen.
“This mare is definitely one of my favorite horses I think I'll ever get to have in my lifetime," said Rpbnson. "We were the first ones originally in 2023 to show her as a hunter. We sold her just four horse shows into her hunter career, but we actually just had the opportunity about a month ago to buy her back. It's so great being reunited with her again, and this is a really fun way to celebrate it. I feel like we all kind of manifested it together.”
