Rock Star came to the Pelzels as a two-year-old. Mom Jill broke him and started his training, but it wasn’t easy going. Apparently, Rock Star can be “super saucy” on the ground according to Katie. “In fact, the woman we got him from was a little afraid of him,” she added with a laugh. “But we deal with it and acknowledge it’s just his personality.”
While Katie had several solid trips during the show, her favorite was the second round in the equitation classes. In fact, it was the round she had been hoping for all week–smooth and well-planned, easy and relaxed. Katie even noted that she wasn’t nervous entering the ring.
Going into the ASPCA (Maclay) Horsemanship Medal class was a bit of a different story, though. Katie knew she had had some great rounds leading up to the competition but still wasn’t sure how things would turn out. Was her horse tired? Could she keep her focus? Was the course going to be what she hoped? It would seem the worry was all for naught as she scored one of her top finishes in the Maclay classes yet this year.
Riding horses that are a bit challenging seems to be something at which Katie excels. Case in point, Ravissant, the mare Katie rode for her mom to champion for the second week in a row in the Children’s Jumpers. Ravissant has an interesting history and is a relatively new ride for Katie. She came to the Pelzel’s Fall River Farm in September as a prospect for the University of Colorado’s Equestrian Team. Even though the mare still is in the pool of horses used for the intercollegiate program, it was clear that she just was a little too unpredictable for most of the collegians to ride in lessons. But that didn’t stop Katie from riding her, and in fact, they will be competing in the Children's Jumper Finals as part of the USHJA’S Emerging Athletes Program.
And it wasn't just Katie Pelzel cleaning up in the jumpers. Older sister Allison was the champion in the $1,500 NAL Children's/Adult Amateur Jumper Classic. The engineering student at the Colorado School of Mines topped a field of 23 aboard her mother's horse, Vis A Vis.“This is a super cool horse who really is coming into his own,” said Tracye Ferguson, one of the two trainers working with Arcadian. Arcadian is based in Carbondale, Colorado, where professional Debbie Fischer works with him and his owner hacks him. When he goes to shows, Tracye takes over training duties. Becky, who is based out of Arizona, recently earned the ride on Arcadian when his regular rider was injured earlier in the year. “It’s one of those ‘it takes a village’ situations,” Tracye added. “But he is such a lovely horse with such delightful owners, it’s something we all willingly take on.”Taking top honors in the USHJA National Hunter Derby during the third week of showing at the Colorado Horse Park was Arcadian (Marilyn Steane, owner) with Becky Warner in the irons. The win marked the third time in four derby outings this year the horse has taken home the tri-color. In fact, Arcadian and Becky are in contention for two different LEGIS Hunter Rider Bonuses, one for LEG’s Colorado series of shows and the other at Collman Equestrian Productions’ Arizona series. Becky may be the first rider to win two bonus checks in a year.
Bjorn was thrilled with the performances of all his horses including the three others he had entered in the class, two of which were ridden by his daughter Isabel. "All my horses are jumping great," he said. "I'm very excited to have so many nice horses in our barn right now and am looking forward to showing them more this summer."Over in the jumper ring, professional Bjorn Ikast had three of the top five horses in the $25,000 Markel Insurance Grand Prix. He won the class on Colorado. Spice Boy was third, and last week's runner-up Supernatural was fourth in a class that saw 18 competitors attempt the first round.
He also had good things to say about the show and facility. Following an epic hail storm early in the week, many were concerned about how the show ring footing would withstand the pounding it took and how the weather event would affect the show schedule. As Bjorn quickly noted, the footing held up nicely and the show management was very nimble in moving things around to accommodate the safety of horses and riders. "Many thanks to Langer Equestrian Group! It was a great show with great course designers. And the footing was in really good shape even though the weather wasn't always all that cooperative."Langer Equestrian will return to the Colorado Horse Park in the Fall with the Colorado Fall Preview September 8-11, 2016.