Stewart guided Catch Me to the division championship in the Second Year Green Working Hunters on their way to top honors on Wednesday. The pair won the under saddle and finished first, second, and second over fences. John French and Iwasaki & Reilly’s Small Gesture earned reserve honors with two wins over fences, as well as a third place under saddle.
For the Grand Green Working Hunter Championship, Stewart and Catch Me were awarded the Claire Lang Miller Challenge Trophy. For the overall WIHS Grand Hunter Championship, they accepted the Rave Review Challenge Trophy, donated by Stoney Hill. Catch Me’s owner, David Gochman, was also presented with an award as the Leading Hunter Owner.
Catch Me is a nine-year-old Holsteiner gelding (sired by Casiro) that Stewart began riding in 2015. The pair started off the year strong with a win in the $100,000 WCHR Peter Wetherill Palm Beach Hunter Spectacular in Florida, but Catch Me then spent several months off due to illness, and just started back in competition at the end of the summer. The gelding returned to the show ring with out missing a beat, however, and Stewart explained that he has matured a lot in 2016 and has been winning ever since. The pair recently won the Grand Hunter Championship at the Capital Challenge Horse Show and the Grand Green Hunter Championship at Pennsylvania National Horse Show, as well as taking a major win in the $25,000 WCHR Pro Challenge at Capital Challenge.
Stewart also earned the division championship in the Green Conformation Hunters, sponsored by The Ingram Family. He rode David Gochman’s Fun to two wins over fences and a third place under saddle to earn the Valiant Hawk Memorial Challenge Trophy, donated by Mrs. Stephen J. Clark. Fifi Schmidt and Elizabeth Phillips’ No Doubt took the reserve championship with three second-place ribbons and one third place.
“Fun was awesome,” Stewart noted. “He got a little green today, but I didn’t expect him to be this good in these environments yet because he is only six years old. I am thrilled with him. I didn’t think he would be this consistent.”
Concluding the professional divisions, John Bragg and Early August earned their second championship of the day in the First Year Green Working Hunter division to top off a fantastic two days at WIHS. They earned second, second, and fifth place ribbons over fences and won the under saddle. Nick Haness finished in reserve with Lindsay Maxwell’s Technicolor after earning first and second place ribbons over fences. Hillary Johnson and Copper Fox LLC’s Voyager were awarded the Windy Acres Challenge Trophy for the best Green Working Hunter stake round. They earned a high score of 90 in the First Year division.
