I have been very busy this spring trying to get points in order to qualify for the medal finals.
Amber Levine offered me her wonderful grey equitation horse Undorado Tibri to ride at the Del Mar National Horse Show. I love the shows at this venue. The main ring feels so big-time professional. I think it’s because it is so large and the seating goes on forever. The jumps and courses are always a little spooky and technical and it’s really pretty close to the feel of an indoor final like the Maclay at Syracuse, NY, or the jumper Prix de States competition in Harrisburg, PA.
There was some grumbling about the footing at the show. It was the new racetrack footing with a shredded fiber/wax blend that was used the previous week for the dressage show. Many of the upper level dressage riders refused to take their horses in the rings for fear that they would suffer soft tissue injuries. The complaints continued into hunter/jumper week. It seemed fine to me, but most of my classes were first thing in the morning, after the footing had just been rolled and was compacted.



I heard from a few riders and trainers that, as the day went on, it fluffed up and became heavier and deeper. Apparently the Southern California climate means that the footing needs more maintenance than originally anticipated. An unpleasant side effect is the pervasive odor of petroleum from the footing. It will be interesting to see the reaction by riders, trainers and owners when the racing season opens this summer. I should add that it was a non-issue in the main Grand Prix ring as that has different footing altogether. I believe it is sand base.
One of the more popular classes at this show is the $25,000 Open Equitation Championship. Many of the riders had spooks and stops in the class. It had an extremely technical and adjustable course. Jenny Karazissis won it and junior rider Sophie Benjamin was awarded a noteworthy fourth place prize.
Another class that is unique to the Del Mar National is the $25,000 Dearborne Open Hunter Challenge. It takes place under the lights before the Friday night Grand Prix in the main Del Mar ring. This class is a really amazing class that is great practice for anyone planning on taking their hunters to the Indoors circuit back East, or just wants their horse to get more experience. The course included scopey jumps, long lines and the need for an open hand gallop. Jack Hammond and a stunning horse, Sanmorino Retto, won it. They came from Oregon and Washington respectively. Nicoletta Von Heidegger, a junior, had an impressive second and third place finish.
Each of these classes has the potential to give a horse and rider much needed experience with crowds and spectators, as well as nightlights, which can create spooky shadows and unexpected reflections off of the fences. Management actually allows the horses to come into the ring and hack as the course is being measured and set. This, at least, gets the horses into the dark corners and down to the far end of the ring where the scoreboard is set. Many horses get balky and resistant the farther they get from their horsie friends in the comfort zone of the in-gate.
Also offered at this show is an important NAYRC (North American Young Rider Championship) qualifier. This took place on Saturday afternoon in the Del Mar Arena. Leopoldo Palacios was the show’s course designer and he is known for building large challenging courses. This one was no exception.
As a concession to racing fans, a large screen television was set up to broadcast the Kentucky Derby. Dale Harvey, the ever-thoughtful show manager, does this every year. It’s always an exciting event and the spectators in the stands love it. There is an on-site betting area and there is a mad rush to place last minute bets. I’m sure that a lot of money changed hands within a few minutes.
It was also interesting to see a few new faces in the jumper ring. Of note were international grand prix riders Keri Potter and Megan Johnstone and the new rider/trainer team of outstanding junior rider Aimee Aron and international Grand Prix rider Ray Texel. They all put in some amazing rounds on amazing horses.

Ranch & Coast
The following week I made the trek from Santa Monica to the Ranch and Coast Show at Del Mar Showpark. What would we do without the carpool lane? I had the unexpected privilege of showing the legendary equitation horse Gladiator. He has won at Indoors medal finals with Randy Sherman, Nicole Adamson and countless other riders from around the country. He currently belongs to Paris Sellon.
Gladiator is a tall statuesque horse with tremendous presence. He seems like he is used to winning. We competed on the large grass jumper field and had a few bobbles in the first class due to our lack of horse/rider experience. By the next class, the USET, we improved significantly and finished in sixth place. Natalie Rae Medlock won the class with a very precise and smooth round on St. James and Hannah Selleck came in second with an ambitious and forward ride on Apartico.
It was a challenging course, once again, designed by Leopoldo Palacios. It included a tight roll-back to a steady seven stride line into a short to long, one stride-one stride triple set right beside the in-gate and another triple combination set right next to the open water, as well as many other horse and rider tests.

Devon
My next stop was the Devon Horse Show and Country Fair outside of Philadelphia in Pennsylvania. It originated in 1896 with the goal of promoting horsemanship and horse breeding for conformation, performance and speed. Celebrating its 110th anniversary this year, the show is the oldest and largest outdoor multi-breed horse competition in the United States.
The age-old slogan that is painted over the entryway is “Where Champions Meet.” Devon is a prestigious competition because the hunters and jumpers must qualify in order to receive an invitation. Some of the best horses in the U.S. can be found for two weeks in May at the Devon Horse Show. I was able to travel to Devon through the generosity of Hannah Goodson Cutt and her mother Marjorie Goodson Cagle as well as Olivia Esse and her mother Tracy Katayama Esse. They kindly included me in their plans. A heartfelt thank you to each of them for inviting me to stay with them.
My plan was to meet up with Missy Clark and John Brennan in order to compete in the Equitation classes. There are no warm-up classes at this show and the schedule is tight because there are only two rings. My first class was the USEF Talent Search. I rode Missy Clark’s talented horse Littlefoot and won the class. I put in a very smooth, but slightly conservative round as I did add a stride in one of the bending lines. The courses were extremely challenging and a lot of riders had unexpected difficulty as the rounds continued. Even with the added stride, I was smooth enough (with no time faults and no rails) and my flat work impressed the judges enough for me to win. It was and is a triumphant feeling to win a class at this ultra-competitive show.
That was my only first-place, but the show was great fun nevertheless. I got a respectable fifth in the Maclay as well.
Micaela Kennedy, a delightful trainer from St. Louis, offered me Contender, a lovely Small Junior Hunter to ride. It is thanks to Micaela that I have my stalwart jumper Eva Hesse. Three years ago at Indio, Micaela, in an amazing act of generosity and faith, arranged for me to become Eva’s owner and take her home with me.

But, back to the hunters....
Some of the hunters had difficulty with the very bushy brush jumps, the naturals, the extremely long lines and especially an unexpected airy jump with just plain rails and a bit of brush at the bottom. If your horse is short strided, you are in big trouble at this show. My rounds were acceptable and improved by the hour. I finished sixth in the stake class, not bad, and eighth in the Handy Hunter class.
The West Coast riders had a great show with Lucy Davis, Olivia Esse, Hannah Goodson-Cutt and Taylor Seibel all putting in excellent hunter rounds. The whole experience was wonderful and I can’t wait to go back next year. It truly is a place where champions meet.
Zazou Hoffman is an accomplished junior hunter/jumper rider who lives in Santa Monica. California Riding Magazine is pleased to have this hard working young rider as a regular columnist. She can be reached via e-mail at barnum1126@adelphia.net.