Callahan made his presence known in the 3' Green Hunter section, taking reserve championship honors and second place in the USHJA Green Hunter Incentive class in just his second outing on the Winter Equestrian Festival circuit in Wellington, Florida, on March 1-5.
Callahan and Liza Boyd
Owned by Rolling Hills Show Stables, Callahan is a bay 7-year-old Oldenburg gelding.
"He was great this week and so brave," said rider Liza Boyd. "He went in the Rost Arena and just marched around. He scored in the mid- to high-80s in each round, which was wonderful."
Liza credited owner Joann Loheac of Rolling Hills Show Stables for preparing him so well.
"Joann picked him out and has brought him along since he was a young horse with lots of flatwork," noted Liza. "He’s a striking horse, quite pretty with lots of show ring presence, which I love about him. He's quite a good jumper and is for sale, so someone will have a super nice show hunter."
Sarah Ekola and Zanzibar picked up their second reserve championship in the Children's Hunter, 15-17, section.
"Sarah and Zanzibar are really clicking, and they'll shortly move up to the 3'3" Junior Hunters," said Liza. "She's leasing Zanzibar from trainer Jim Hagman, and I want to thank them for such a wonderful horse. Sarah will have lots of fun this year with him."
Stella Styslinger added a new mount to her string with the purchase of Cassiana. Not to be confused with her top Junior Hunter Cassanto, her new horse will take a starring role in the jumper ring.
"They started out with nice ribbons in the 1.10m Children's Jumpers, and I couldn't be happier," said Liza. "I want to thank Brady Mitchell for helping to pair them up. She's a nice mare, and I think Stella will have a lot of fun learning the ropes in the jumper ring. The mare had good experience in Europe, so she came here ready to go. It will be exciting to have Stella in the jumper ring, too."
After last week's success in the Children's Hunters, Maggie Hill and Shamrock moved up to the 3’3” Junior Hunters and collected ribbons in two classes.
"I was especially thrilled with their sixth place in the Handy round," said Liza. "It was their first Handy together, and they were quite competitive in the field of 31 horses. Maggie also scored an 87 on CoCo Chanel and was third in the Stake class. Just to be up there and getting scores like that is quite an accomplishment."
