Haley Schwab has spent two years forging her way as a professional in the horse world in England and California, and while winning her first grand prix on July 26 aboard Wedding Day could be seen as a brilliant step forward, she’s going to be hanging up her saddle soon.
The Sonoma Horse Park offers a competitive 1.40-meter circuit that attracts many of the best riders on the West Coast. Course designer Michael Roy Curtis bumped up the level of difficulty for this most recent week of competition, setting the course to national standards with 1.50-meter spreads and difficult combinations that set some horses and riders back on their heels.
After more than 20 rounds, Schwab and Jill Humphrey with Zubliem were the only clears. In the later portion of the class, the jump-off roster filled out more, with many in the audience putting their money on veterans Peter Breakwell with Lucas or Kristin Hardin and Bert for the win. Hardin, of Santa Maria, Calif., has been on an impressive hot streak this year on the West Coast; she’s won over a half dozen grand prix classes with Bert alone, and was victorious in Thursday’s grand prix warm-up, the $10,000Horse & Style Magazine 1.40-meter Jumper Derby. But it wasn’t Hardin’s day; a rail down in the jump-off landed her in sixth place. And while Breakwell was fast, his time wasn’t quite quick enough to best that of Schwab’s. click here for the results