I arrived at the Winter Equestrian Festival in Wellington, FL, with the goal of qualifying for the RW Mutch Equitation Classic. It is better known on the East Coast because it is a very prestigious class that is named after famous rider and horseman Ronnie Mutch.
In order to qualify you need to win one of the “big eq” classes during the WEF circuit. This is not easy because these classes have over a hundred competitors on proven equitation horses. The win eluded me until three days before the class and then I won two classes in a row, the Maclay and the Hunter phase of the Washington.
I was so elated just to qualify because the whole reason that I am showing at WEF is that, in 2005, I was the recipient of the Ronnie Mutch Working Student Scholarship. This enabled me to form an association with legendary equitation trainer Missy Clark and her husband John Brennan.
I spent the 48 hours after qualifying cleaning my tack, polishing my bit, stirrups, and other metal trim, as well as assembling the perfect grooming kit. The format for the class involves points being added or deducted in the warm-up area. Each rider must walk the course and warm-up without trainer assistance. A groom may assist by holding the horse and setting the warm-up fence, but no coaching is allowed.
Forty, of the hundreds of riders that competed in the big equitation classes throughout the WEF circuit, qualified for the class. I rode Missy Clark’s amazing horse Littlefoot and went 36th in the order. I had a really smooth round over a challenging course of single jumps, forward lines, and scopey combinations.
The course started with a single vertical right down the center, which I chose to gallop directly to from the in-gate. It continued on to a forward four-stride and a bending line to a skinny oxer. After that, there was a short turn out of the corner to a steady five-stride line to a forward one-stride to an extremely easy four-stride. The riders then had a moment to settle down and re-organize before the next section of the course. From there, there was a vertical and a right roll back to an oxer and then a left bend to a cross rail oxer on the rail. From the oxer, there was a long, open bending line to a single vertical, a right roll back to a skinny vertical and then a long ride up to the last two-stride double of hanging rails.

A Great First Half
The judges were Olympic chef d’equipe George Morris and superstar Grand Prix rider Rodrigo Pessoa, as well as the pair of Mark Leone and Linda Andrisani.
I got an astonishing (to me) score of 93.5, which was comprised of a 93 from the Morris/Pessoa pair, a 92 from the Leone/Andrisani pair, and a +1 from the schooling area judges. That was the second highest score and as a result I was tied for second with Maggie McClary going into round two. Maria Schaub was in first.
I made it through half of the course. I had no problem with the airy one-stride combination, nailed the trot fence and blew it on the counter canter rollback to the bogie vertical. I just forgot for a split second which vertical I was going to (there were two side by side). So…I circled, figured it out and had a perfect rest of the round, but got justifiably dropped to tenth place.
It was a disappointing, but humbling experience. I guess I was just concentrating so hard that I had a mental glitch. I have reviewed the video of my round dozens of times and if you took out the four-second hesitation while I searched for the right fence and the dubious circle, it is a nearly perfect round.
So what does it all mean? Missy has seen it happen with a few of her very focused riders and says it probably won’t happen again. I hope to have a chance to try again next year.
The Nations Cup was super exciting. For the second year in a row, the Canadians triumphed. The Irish came in a strong second and the Americans just could not quite pull it off and, despite a strong start, they trailed in third.
There was more excitement as a crane with massive night-lights crashed into the DeNemethy ring as we were all practicing on an otherwise tranquil morning. Many minds were required along with some heavy equipment to straighten out the mess.
I made my debut in the Low Junior Jumper ring at WEF. Fortune favored me. I had the ride on a splendid Selle Francais, Espina du Manoir. Peter Wylde found her in France for a client of Missy Clark’s. We did quite well with two fifth-placed finishes in the speed classes.

Stormy Encounter
My foray into the Low Junior Jumpers was on track until my encounter with an electrical storm. I am told these are quite common in Florida, but usually not until later on in the season. I was actually on course when the announcement came out show-wide: “Riders, back to your barns immediately!”
Jump poles and standards started flying around me while mini-tornados spun the dirt and sand upward. Lightning split the black clouds as thunder boomed in my ears. My trainer John Brennan screamed at me to canter out of the ring. Espina and I were deluged by a waterfall of rain as we galloped down the road and straight into the barn aisle where a crowd of friends and strangers took refuge from the elements. Margie Goldstein Engle just drove her golf cart in and passed the time making calls on her cell phone. It was a harrowing experience and I can only imagine that a serious hurricane is a million times scarier. An hour later the sun was out and the show was back in action.
For all you fans of Richard (The Master of Faster) Spooner, I am happy to report that he is winning and placing like crazy on his horses Ace, Apache and Cristallo. He managed to qualify for the Tampa Invitational in one week. It took most of the other riders the entire circuit to accomplish what Richard did in seven days. It’s great fun to cheer for him.
I’m home for a week and then I’ll check in from the Tampa Invitational where the grand prix riders will be tuning up for the World Cup.