September 1, 2016 – Handlers, owners, and breeders showcased their top hunter prospects this past week at the 2016 Sallie B. Wheeler/US Hunter Breeding National Championship. The competition was held in two phases. Entrants on the East Coast presented their horses at the Virginia Young Horse Festival in Lexington, Va., on Saturday, August 27, while those on the West Coast took part in the Showpark All Seasons Summer Tournament in Del Mar, Calif., on Wednesday, August 31. Following both phases, judges Sue Ash and Keith Hastings awarded Prospect Hill, East Coast entrant, Overall Grand Champion, and Wynter, West Coast entrant, Overall Reserve Grand Champion. This is the fourth consecutive year and the 10th time in the Championship’s two-phase history that the Overall Grand Champion derived from the East Coast phase.
East Coast Championship
Before winning the Overall Grand Champion Best Young Horse, Prospect Hill (Nob Hill x Sincerely Yours/Ariadus), a 2015 Oldenburg colt owned, bred, and trained by Diana Dodge of Nokomis Farms and handled by Charlie Brown, won the East Coast Best Young Horse Award. He also won the $1,000 Yearling Colts/Geldings class. In addition, Dodge earned the East Coast Leading Owner Award. She received The J. Arthur Reynolds Memorial Trophy, as the breeder of the Overall Grand Hunter Breeding Champion. Prospect Hill received The Dave Kelley Perpetual Trophy as the Overall Grand Champion Best Young Horse.
Last year’s Overall Grand Champion Best Young Horse, Solaris EMF (Sir Wanabi x Panache EMF/Pablo), a 2014 Hanoverian colt, owned by Cismont Manor Farm, handled by Kenneth Wheeler, and bred by Kris Schuler, earned the East Coast Reserve Champion Best Young Horse. He also won the $1,000 Two-Year-Old Colts/Geldings Class and the American Hanoverian Society Breed Registry Award.
Additional Breed Registry Awards went to the following horses:
Amour (Apiro x First Tri/Tricolore), a 2014 Belgian Warmblood filly, owned by Elizabeth Capor, handled by Brown, and bred by Elisha Massong, won the Belgian Warmblood Breeding Association Award.
Kanndid SPF (Banderas x Quartz F.M./Kannan), a 2015 KPWN stallion, owned and trained by Deborah Day, handled by Jay Francella, and bred by Tracy Geller, won the KWPN of North America Award.
Houdini M (Valentino Z x Windsong/Branco), a 2013 gelding, owned, trained, handled, and bred by Sabra Molter, won The Stud-Book sBs (Belgian Sport Horse Society) Award.
Malbec (Windy Chimes x Chimes Band/Chimes Bond), a 2013 gelding, owned, trained, and handled by Christie Saunders and bred by Matt Martin, won the Oldenburg Registry of North America Award.
Reflection (Rosenthal x Pardon Me Boys/Domestic Dispute), a 2015 Oldenburg filly, owned by Harriet Schiele, handled by Emily Anne Belin, and bred by Margaret Sherman, won the Oldenburg Horse Breeders Society Award. Belin also
was named the East Coast Leading Handler and received The Belcort Farm Perpetual Trophy, donated by Walter Lee.
2016 Sallie B. Wheeler/US Hunter Breeding National Championship East Coast Results
West Coast Championship
On the West Coast, Wynter (Vader x Moeder/Walanyka), a 2015 KPWN filly, owned by Matt Green, handled by Carleton Brooks, and bred by Ryan Pedigo, earned the West Coast Best Young Horse Award. The filly also won the Yearling Fillies class. Last year’s West Coast Best Young Horse Award recipient, Reminiscent (Cortez x Rio Grande), a 2013 Oldenburg gelding, owned and bred by Melissa Brandley and handled by Sarah Warner, earned the Reserve Champion
Best Young Horse Award. The Oldenburg gelding also won the Three-Year-Old Colts/Geldings class, the Three-Year-Old Hunter Under Saddle class, and the Three-Year-Old Hunter Hack class.
Additional Breed Registry Awards went to the following horses:
Just Remember (Mosegardens Carina x Carano/Rio Grande), a 2015 Dutch Warmblood filly, owned and bred by Tish Quirk and handled by Emily Esau Williams, won the KWPN of North America Award.
Coronet’s Andros (Coronet D’Honneur x Brescia/All The Gold), a 2015 Deutsches Sportpferd gelding, owned by Elizabeth Davin and handled and bred by Rachel Jansen Jones, won the Rheinland Pfalz-saar International (RPSI) Award.
Diamond Mojito (Diamond Stud x Jo Be Fantastic/Seattle Bound), a 2015 Oldenburg/Thoroughbred gelding, owned, handled, and bred by Mell Freeman, won The Oldenburg of North America Award.
Additionally, Sue Lightner was named the West Coast Leading Handler and received The Ted Fieger Memorial Trophy, donated by Fieger’s friends and family, M. Gale Fenton was named the West Coast Leading Owner.
2016 Sallie B. Wheeler/US Hunter Breeding National Championship West Coast Results
Visit USEF.org for more information on the Sallie B. Wheeler/US National Hunter Breeding Championship.
