HARRISBURG, Pa.--Martha Ingram on Jenkins won the 3’6” Amateur-Owner Hunter 18-35 division championship, and she was the Grand 3’6″ Amateur-Owner Hunter Championon Thursday, Oct. 17 at the Pennsylvania National Horse Show.

Martha Ingram on Jenkins (Photo by Andrew Ryback)“It means the world to win here at Harrisburg, especially because this is my first time being champion in the 3’6” amateurs,” said Ingram of Nashville, Tenn. “Then, to add grand on top of it is just very special. What makes it even more special is the horse. He was reserve champion here with Nick Haness this week in the High Performance Conformation] To finally get that cooler for him meant a lot. They do such a beautiful job here, it’s so special and historic, and it runs amazingly.”

"He’s the most incredible animal ever; he’s just the sweetest horse, and I trust him so much," said Ingram. "He doesn’t ever do anything wrong, and I’m just so happy for him to get this award because I think he deserves it.”

Callie Seaman on Silver Lining was eserve championship in the 3’6” Amateur-Owner Hunters .

Margot Peroni on Just Apple was champion In the 3’6” Amateur-Owner Hunters 36 & Over division for the second year in a row.

 

“I GREW UP in Pennsylvania and this show and Devon were sort of it as a little kid,” said Peroni. “Last year I was champion on Just Apple here, and it was my first time being champion here. It’s just really special. There’s just so much history here, especially as a kid from Pennsylvania. There was way more crying last year. There’s just a little bit of crying this year! It definitely is one of the shows that we work for all year long.”

“He didn’t really know the hunter job, but he was definitely way too slow to be a jumper,” said Peroni, who has been riding Just Apple for about two years aftr buying him from Holland. “We tried him and just fell in love immediately. He came over and went right into the 3’6”. He’s just so trustworthy and reliable, and his step is so big; there’s so much scope. You just feel so comfortable on him every time you’re out there, and he’s just the same every day. We just couldn’t love him more.”

Meghan Rohrbaugh Bear of Mechanicsburg, Pa., on Waverly won the 3’3” Amateur-Owner Hunters championship and grand championship.,

“My first memory of coming here was we had a friend, she was doing the hunters,” said Rohrbaugh Bear, who was 5 or 6 years old at the time. “They let me sit on that horse’s back, and that was it! I was like, ‘I’m going to ride forever, and I want to show here someday!'”

“I’ve ridden here for many, many years as an adult, and I’ve never been champion here." saidRohrbaugh Bear. "I was reserve champion once a long time ago. I just love coming here. It’s so nice that the venue has always been here at the same place; it makes it really special.”

The venue is extra special for Rohrbaugh Bear as she lives in nearby Mechanicsburg, allowing her to be home with her three kids each morning and evening, even while showing during the day.

“I actually live so close that I’m getting up in the morning, and I’m getting my kids to school,” said Rohrbaugh Bear. “Then, I’m coming here and showing, and then I’m going to go home and get them back out of school and take them home. Then, I also work with my husband and my father. So, I’m working and riding and raising three young children. It’s busy!”

“I knew from the second that I sat on her that she was just the perfect match for me,” said Rohrbaugh Bear of the 11-year-old Hanoverian mare she's  been riding for three years. “We’re very careful with her. We take her to only the special horse shows, and we try to give her enough time off in her field. It’s an amazing connection, and it has been since the beginning. At this point, after three years with her, we just want her to go to the best shows and take good care of her and make sure that she has a good life so that she can keep going.”

Mary Beth McGee on Cwllwarino was reserve champion.

Lexi Maounis on Forsini, and Heritage Farm barn mate Callie Seaman on Divine Romance were championand  reserve in the 3’3” Amateur-Owner Hunter 18-35 division,