LaurenGallops

Well, we are really behind this morning: we got up uber-early and galloped through a gazillion photos from Saturday. We missed a few of our favorite classes, but were fortunate to snag some pix on the run, so to speak, of the Silver Foxes (Piedmont Invitation) winner and third place, but totally missed the Family Class (we’ll probably beg a photo of the winners for print coverage), and the rains came after we shot Connemara Mare and Stallion (purebred) champions, but not before we turned in time to catch Tracy Weinberg and Larone scorch to the win in the $10,000 Junior/Amateur Jumper Stakes – they’re trained by Joe Fargis.

Jeanne Blackwell, keen polo player & Sidesaddle rider, presents the Madcap Farm Perpetual Trophy and championship tri-color to Penny Denegre and Garnet - their third consecutive win. Garnet seems more interested in the bowl: looking for a celebratory swig of champagne, no doubt. © Lauren R Giannini

Tracy Weinberg and Larone scorched the jump-off in the $10,000 Junior/Amateur Jumper Stakes on Saturday to take first. Tracy placed 5th with her other horse, Wild Card - she trains with Joe Fargis. © Lauren R Giannini

Earlier in the day we watched the Ladies Sidesaddle, a tradition in the main ring under the oaks. Penny Denegre and Garnet won the flat class and the hack, pinned second in the Hermen Greenberg Memorial Side Saddle Stakes. Penny, Jt-MFH Middleburg Hunt, and Garnet won the SS Championship for the third year running. The reserve champion won the Side Saddle Stake: Rock Star and Gillian King (Malvern, PA) whose website declares: “I was “born to ride; I am a 5th generation rider on my father’s side and a 3rd generation rider on my mother’s side. Rumor has it I sat on a pony the day I came home from the hospital.”

Gillian King and Rock Star after winning the Hermen Greenberg Memorial Side Saddle Stakes over fences - and harvesting the reserve championship. © Lauren R Giannini

Lead Line was adorable, of course. The 1-3 winner was Madison Michael Bodmer on Rowfantina Apollo. Sophie Bell aboard Foxfor Roundabout won the 4-6 Lead Line.

Betty Oare reported that the vote was unanimous for Patty Heuckeroth to receive the J. Arthur Reynolds Horseman Award in honor of her father.

Scott Stewart was Best Hunter Rider, taking home the Charlie Weaver  Memorial Perpetual Trophy and piloted Empire to the Grand Championship and the Sallie Sexton Challenge Trophy. Tori Colvin earned Best Child Rider aboard Touchdown – trained by Scott Stewart.

Meredith Darst picked up the title of Best Child Rider (pony hunters) with Dr. Betsee Parker’s Enchanted Forest, trained by Richard Cunkle.

There’s so much more: check out horseshowsonline.com for the results and be sure to visit www.upperville.com

OMG – look at the time – wrap this up & head to Upperville!

Upperville: ask any show rider who lives somewhere in Virginia about the Upperville Colt & Horse Show and you’ll get chapter and verse about what it means to compete under the hallowed oaks or across John Mosby Highway in the jumper rings. Upperville is Mecca – it’s not the only version of Mecca, but here in Virginia, it’s a showcase for horses and riders, a country atmosphere that retains its unique and individual voice, a place where the shops offer goods ranging from tack and horse-related supplies to high fashion to riding fashion to jewelry to whatever might capture your fancy.

Tori Colvin won the $25,000 Welcome Stakes, sponsored by Windsor Farm and Friends, on June 10th. Barely 14, Tori partnered with Monsieur du Reverdy, owned by Rivers Edge Farm, and they nailed their second round in the time of 36.800 seconds (time allowed: 55 seconds), besting the field of eight who qualified for the jump-off, including her trainer Ken Berkley, Callan Solem, and Aaron Vale. © Lauren R Giannini

The ultimate jewel in the crown that is Upperville happens to be the Grand Prix. On the way to Sunday’s finale are classes that allow horses to get into the T. A. Randolph Grand Prix ring: the grass ring is a rarity in the show world. To help improve footing it now has French drains and other improvements are in the works (more on that in the next few days).

For horses accustomed year-round to the artificial surfaces of indoors and outdoor arenas, it must come as a total shock to the system to jump on grass. Plus, the Randolph field is all-natural terrain: the lay of the land rolls, and it’s far from flat. You can bet that factor gets used by course designers: a line set on a slightly downhill or uphill cant can test the adjustability of any horse as well as quiz the rider’s eye.

We first wrote about Tori (Victoria) Colvin six years ago when she was a pony catch rider from Loxahatchee showing on the Florida circuit. She was maybe 7 or 8, a pony-crazy kid who loved riding and showing, but business-like about doing her best and getting the best possible performance out of each pony. Sometimes she didn’t know the ponies very well at all – after all, that’s the meaning of catch ride – and had only minutes to suss out a new mount before going into the ring. In the pony hunters she learned precision, rhythm, and balance. She may have counted strides, but in the course of riding thousands of courses she also developed her eye.

Tori Colvin and Monsieur du Reverdy scorched the jump-off, besting the field of eight who scored clear first rounds in the $25,000 Welcome Stakes. It's hard to see, but she's already turning her horse in mid-air to make a quick roll-back to the oxer in front of the announcer's stand. The phrase "she's only a kid" gets replaced by 'Dang, that kid can ride!" © Lauren R Giannini

That’s an old-fashioned concept you don’t see too much of these days and it comes in really handy in the jumpers where clear rounds against the clock decide the winner. Tommy Lee said it at the end of a long Friday Under The Oaks: “Tori has a great eye – she rode that last fence off her eye, she didn’t count strides.”

Pow – she nailed it. All those rounds on ponies and junior hunters, all uncountable hours in the saddle are paying off. Literally. The win earned a paycheck of about $8,500. Not a bad few hours’ work, but make no mistake: Tori Colvin has a lifetime of experience already and has earned her success the hard way – with hard work and determation.

By the way, Tori scored her first Grand Prix win on the same horse at the Equestrian Sport Productions Spring 6 Horse Show (April 19-23) in Wellington (FL) in a field of 32 entries.

Welcome Stakes winner Tori Colvin and Monsieur du Reverdy. © Lauren R Giannini

The action continues with a full schedule of hunter and jumper classes at Upperville. More later…

www.upperville.com

With that old saying in mind that one picture is worth a thousand words, you all must make do with pixies as yesterday was a very long day and we collapsed as soon as we got home and fed our dog, who also collapsed after a long day accompanying us via golf cart on both sides of John Mosby Highway at Upperville. Because Upperville is too huge for one person to cover with a camera, we decided to concentrate on the jumpers on Thursday, because that’s part of the soul of Upperville and there is a committee to raise funds to improve the jumper rings similar to the hunter side which boasts great footing. Upperville show manager Tommy Lee Jones told us to speak with committee leader, rider/trainer  Joe Fargis, and we caught up with him early Thursday evening. More on that later: if we don’t post photos and get out of here pdq we won’t get to ride our pony and that is one of our greatest joys…

So, here are a few pix and ‘deep captions’ to describe Thursday at Upperville.

Allen Richards and Copper Futures in the Adult Amateur Jumper class where they placed 2nd to Alison Wichman riding Mrs. Mary B. Schwab's Candide: both trained by none other than Joe Fargis. Allen and his wife Jennifer are dear friends and it's great to see him riding so well. No, they did not pay us to post this photo - it's here out of pure friendship for the Richards and sincere admiration for Joe Fargis - we still want to ride like Joe! Plus, we missed Alison's round trying to be in two places at once - really sorry about that, Alison! © Lauren R Giannini

Don’t you love the smile on Allen’s face! That’s what horses are all about – moments of shameless joy, mixed into 24/7 devotion and dedication and lots of work, but that’s all part of the picture…

Okay, all you sharp-eyed folks: help out Metro Golf Cart – they’re missing cart 1982. It’s around somewhere, but they can’t find it. If you have it, take it back and/or check in with them. If you see it, tell someone right away. If you ‘borrowed’ it and were thinking of keeping it – BAD BAD BAD karma will haunt you!

Upperville defines the meaning of the word “hospitality” – on the hunter side there is morning coffee with donuts and yoghurt, thanks to – oh, phooey, can’t find that note, but we’ll make it up to them later with a photo from Saturday morning. On the jumper side there is the rider’s lounge with a lovely water cooler and chairs and air conditioning, sponsored by Charles Owens, the helmet people. The tent on the west side of the permanent grandstand on the hunter side offers hospitality from 4:30-6:30, hunter-side: Thursday’s “Happy Hour” from 4:30-6:30 was sponsored by the Woodhall Gang, who were showing in ring 2 – the buffet by Back Street Cafe featured scrumptious fried chicken, among other things. Today, “happy hour” moves over to the TA Randolph Grand Prix ring for the $25,000 Welcome Stakes, 5-7 pm.

The jumps are scrumptious affairs by Belle Grey Farm – check out their signature fence in the TAR Grand Prix ring…

Belle Grey Farm's gorgeous jumps are getting a great workout at Upperville. © Lauren R Giannini

We gotta dash out the door to ride, but more later from Upperville, but check out this young rider who is already whupping some long established veteran in the jumpers…

Tori Colvin placed 3rd in the $10,000 1.40meter Jumper Stakes with Monsieur du Reverdy, owned by Rivers Edge Farm - Aaron Vale pinned 1st and 2nd, Joe Fargis placed with Lariat but results aren't posted yet. Wakefield School is what the red & white W stands for - one of the sponsors of the Upperville Colt & Horse Show. © Lauren R Giannini

www.upperville.com

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It’s tough for the oaks at Upperville to counteract this horribly muggy heat wave – like breathing underwater. We just don’t have much energy tonight. We rode this morning – not for long: brief trots and canters, then out of the ring to hop the stone wall three times and then back to the barn. Then deliver photos and pix, then home with very hot doggle who proceeded to argue about staying home while we ran to Upperville to check on the status of the Sidelines delivery – yes, three boxes on the hunter side, but jumper side concierge tent had closed by the time we crossed John Mosby Hwy, but we’ll be there all day Thursday, crossing back and forth to photograph the action.

Meanwhile, we had no clue who this was when we took the photo, but think the rider looks very cool and collected for late in the hot day…

Hunter Ring 2 was still going and we zipped up to catch a quick photo of the adult amateurs 18-35 and caught Jill Waligura-Diemar and Riverside on course. © Lauren R Giannini

It’s getting late – omg, 11 pm and it’s still about 90* outside: way too hot for this long after darkness fell and too hot to breathe, but we must get some sleep.

Here’s hoping the heat breaks, the t-storms re-route completely around Upperville (nice weather both days this weekend, please, Mother Nature),  and that every cloud offers a wonderful silver lining!

PS One silver lining takes place in the Exhibitor’s Hospitality Tent from 4:30-6:30, through Thursday afternoon (it moves over to the Jumper side for the Welcome Stakes on Friday, 5-7 pm). Hospitality is staffed by volunteers, led by Diane Jones (we think – still have to buy a program!) and yesterday Punkin Lee (Journeyman) was there, also dispensing bevvies. Wednesday’s hospitality tent sponsor was King Construction (New Holland, PA) – when you have a chance, check out their eye-candy barns – scrumptious, functional pony palaces…

For information: www.upperville.com

For results: http://horseshowsonline.com

This is the 158th year of the Upperville Colt & Horse Show – the oldest show in America boasts some great improvements, but more than anything else it is a timeless tradition in the heart of Virginia’s horse country. The week is young, but already competition is heating up on both sides of John Mosby Highway just east of the picturesque village of Upperville.

Here are a few photos to make you wish you were there… Oh, and we have to tell you that we were very remiss about jotting quick notes while catching quick pix of winners and we simply can’t figure out who is on #149 or what class it was on Tuesday, but the shot is win-win all the way. Be sure to check out the results on horseshowsonline – Upperville has two listings, one for Hunters and one for Jumpers.

First stop at Upperville - get your golf cart! We do a lot of running back and forth between hunter and jumper rings. Handing out magazines, taking photos: add the weight of cameras to typical June heat and it's exhausting, so we get to motor in a Metro Golf Cart. Leann Smith, part of the family who owns and runs this business, couldn't have been nicer. Conveniently located on the east end of the hunter show, right near the horse crossing. © Lauren R Giannini

Improvements at Upperville include footing – the main hunter ring and ring 2 on the hunter side both sport state-of-the-art all-weather footing. The rings still have their distinctive trees but the going is foot-perfect!

Winning isn't everything, but it sure is nice, especially under the oaks at Upperville!!! © Lauren R Giannini

The Exhibitor's Hospitality tent on the hunter side provides sustenance every morning of the show and also 4:30-6:30 pm Tuesday through Thursday afternoons. Tuesday's late afternoon hospitality was sponsored by Chartris Private Client Group and AHT Insurance. On Friday from 5-7pm, hospitality moves to the jumper side for the Welcome Stakes. Shown here, Upperville Show Secretary Al Barber and Diane Jones, whose husband is Tommy Lee Jones - not the actor, the horseman/huntsman & Upperville show manager. © Lauren R Giannini

Our favorite bootmaker, Dubarry… the vintage pair dates back about 11 years and on Thursday will keep our tootsies happy from dawn to dusk. We plan to arrive for the first class at 8 am on the hunter side – Local Hunter O/R – to shoot some friends – and then we’ll make tracks in our golf cart to the jumper side to catch the action. By the way, Dubarry boots look absolutely fabulous with white jeans and any kind of a top – a real fashion statement at any kind of event or social function…

Dubarry gets the style 'thumb's up' but they also top the charts in terms of comfort and useful longevity. We couldn't live without ours... © Lauren R Giannini

Dogs and horses go together and while they must be leashed at Upperville (we resisted taking photos of  faithful Fidos following their people down the lanes or searching out their favorite person in the hospitality tent), they are part of the landscape and serve as guardians.

Nobody messes with this cart and cooler! © Lauren R Giannini

Of course, our best canine friend found her first-time ever at Upperville quite an adventure. Beezer is a rescue we adopted from the Middleburg Humane Foundation and we are about to celebrate our seventh month together. She really got the hang of the Metro Golf Cart on her second day and because of the ‘no carts beyond this point’ and the heat, we parked her under a tree near the hospitality tent while we took some photos and enjoyed the buffet catered by Tutti’s Back Street Cafe.

Our best canine friend discovered the advantages of riding in a golf cart and the joy of being parked in the shade and getting some lovely tidbits as a reward. Photo taken from inside the hospitality tent with a 70-210mm telephoto and cropped - not perfect focus but we didn't bother to change the setting for tracking action over fences. Love the ears: she's a Mountain Feist (Blue Heeler X Rat Terrier). © Lauren R Giannini

Then there was the gray horse who cantered into ring 2 for the under saddle class and we thought, dang that’s a nice mover – wonder if it will win… We were right, but only that a gray horse won, and not the one we had picked. No way would we ever want to judge hunter classes – too much like really hard work and way too subjective!

This horse and rider didn't win, but the composition of the shot pleased us and shows the great all-weather footing in Ring 2. © Lauren R Giannini

The action continues at Upperville all week and reaches the grand finale on Sunday with the Grand Prix. For information and the daily schedule, please visit Upperville and, if possible, bring family and friends and enjoy it in person – great shopping and gorgeous horses. Life in the Piedmont doesn’t get much better than that!