In addition to being highlighted on the cover of the November issue of USHJA In Stride magazine, Finally Farm's Liza Boyd was featured in the news coverage from the Capital Challenge Horse Show.
Click here to read the full article.
The World Championship Hunter Rider program's grand finale is held each year at the Maryland show, and Liza was the star of this year's show!
Finally Farm student Erin McGuire and her Casallo earned a variety of top honors at the Capital Challenge Horse Show, including the Large Junior, 16-17, reserve championship as well as the Large Junior Owner/Rider Award, presented by ESP Farm.
In a super competitive section, Erin and Casallo won the Handy Hunter class and placed third in the Stake and the first over fences class. A sixth-placed finish in the under saddle added some green to their primary ribbons and the tricolor ribbon to the Finally Farm banner. Congratulations!
Watch Erin McGuire and Casallo's winning Handy Hunter round at the Capital Challenge.
A gallery of images from the 2013 WCHR Professional Finals, held October 4 at the Capital Challenge Horse Show in Upper Marlboro, Maryland.
When Liza Boyd heard about the new format for the $5,000 WCHR Professional Finals, she had a premonition that this might be her year. The six top riders in the WCHR Professional National standings qualified to compete over two rounds on unfamiliar horses and then rode their own horses for the third and final Handy Round.
"I brought Quatrain here specifically for this class and the Pro Challenge," she said of the 9-year-old Westphalian gelding she owns with her parents and Janet Peterson. "I'm so fortunate to have him, and I know him so well and trust him."
That familiarity turned out to make all the difference in the Handy Round, as Boyd earned the night's highest scores of 95, 95 and 95 to clinch the victory with an overall score of 274.66. Her solid performances aboard the borrowed horses Crack On and Corduroy in Rounds 1 and 2 had put her third going into the Handy Round, just within striking distance.
"So, Quatrain won this class for me, for sure," said Boyd. "He's amazing, and I'm so proud of him. He's really coming into his own, and I kind of knew early on in the week. He got an 88 and won the handy in the High Performance section, it was pretty much a no-brainer that I should ride him."
Boyd's trip to the winner's circle had a few nail-biting moments, though. She had to place eighth in the WCHR Professional Challenge on Wednesday to qualify for the Professional Finals, but after a rider error in the first round she just squeaked into the second round in 12th.
Liza and Quatrain showed off their handiness with tight turns.
"I've never worked so hard for an eighth-placed ribbon," she said with a laugh.
Scott Stewart, of Wellington, FL, took the lead in the first round aboard the borrowed mount Contelido and maintained that position with a second solid round aboard All The Right Moves.
He returned for the Handy Round with Fashion Farm's Declaration, but a slip on the turn from fences 1 and 2, and a few bobbles later in the course, earned a score of 76 in the round and a 257.66 overall for sixth.
"I chose Declaration, who I've had for a really long time," said Stewart. "He's usually really, really good in the handy rounds-until tonight. I don't know what set him off. He's usually perfect. I'll have to try again."
Amanda Steege, of Far Hills, NJ, was the sole rookie in the field of veteran professionals, and she moved up in the Handy Round from fourth to second overall with a stellar performance aboard Zidane.
"This is the first year that I've shown him," said Steege. "I show him in the High Performance, and I did my first [USHJA International Hunter] Derby Finals on him this year. [Owner] Susan Darragh shows him in the Modified Adults. He's totally dependable, and I knew he would help me out when I needed it."
Peter Pletcher, of Magnolia, TX, returned to the Handy Round in sixth place, but an impressive performance with Eva Bisso's Aura vaulted him to third place overall with a score of 87.33 and an overall total of 262.49.
The 2013 WCHR National Professional Champion Kelley Farmer, of Keswick, VA, finished fourth overall with 261.16. John French, of Woodside, CA, dropped down in the standings to fifth during the Handy Round (257.83) after Lily Blavin's Sander stepped off his lead.
Liza and Quatrain successfully navigated the bounce.
With just 6.5 points separating the six riders going into the Handy Round, those third-round performances shuffled the standings tremendously, providing for an exciting finish for competitors and spectators.
This year's horses were generously donated by: East Coast Sport Horses (All The Right Moves); Georgy Maskrey-Segesman and Savannah Dukes (Contelido); King's Wood Farm, LLC (Corduroy); Old Willow Farm & Emma Heise (Crack On); Katherine Boettcher (Lamont); and Alexis Graves (Copperfield 39).
Contelido, the horse donated by Maskrey-Segesman and Dukes, earned this year's Far West Farms Perpetual Trophy awarded to the high-score horse of the competition. Contelido, trained by Karen Healey, achieved an average of 90.83 with rides by Stewart and Farmer.
With this victory, Boyd, of Camden, SC, will have her name engraved on the All The Way Perpetual Trophy. She also won prizes from USHJA/WCHR sponsors Blue Ribbon Blankets, the Official Cooler Sponsor of WCHR and Charles Owen Inc., the Official Helmet of the USHJA.
After three previous appearances in the $170,000 USHJA International Hunter Derby Championship and a second- and third-placed finish, Liza Boyd was hoping for a little luck this time. And, today, it came in the form of a four-leaf clover given to her by Jen Alfano, last year's winner.
The good fortune carried through and Boyd and Brunello, her 15-year-old Hanoverian gelding, jumped to the top of the $120,000 Tier I section of the USHJA International Hunter Derby Championship, held at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington.
"I'm really happy for the horse. He deserved it," said Boyd, of Camden, SC. "He's an amazing horse."
Scott Stewart, who held the top spot after yesterday's Classic Hunter Round with Garfield, couldn't quite repeat the performance tonight under the lights and placed eighth. Stewart didn't go home empty handed, however, as he guided Fashion Farm's Declaration to victory in the $10,000 Consolation Round held earlier today.
Boyd and Brunello placed second in the Classic Hunter Round yesterday with 276 points, 10 points behind Stewart and Garfield. Brunello's Handy Hunter Round tonight was brilliant and scored 301.75 points, giving them the win.
Tonight's competition at the Kentucky Horse Park featured a beautiful Tier I and II Handy Hunter course by acclaimed designer Steve Stephens. The fences and decorations created a feeling of cantering through hunt country, with natural jumps of planks and logs, abundant trees and shrubbery and decorative elements such as carriages and barns. The fence heights ranged from 3'6" to 4' and offered riders an opportunity to pick up bonus points by taking any one or all of the four option fences set at a minimum of 4'3".
The 11-obstacle course featured several areas where riders could show off their handiness with tight turns and rollbacks, a trot fence at 4, and for the grand finale riders could choose the safe route over a 3'6" oxer or an impressive 4'6" higher option set in the center of the arena, which offered spectators in the stands a beautiful view.
The final fence became an influential part of the course, with multiple rails down. Boyd and Brunello had a light rub there but otherwise their performance was spectacular.
Liza Boyd and Brunello in action.
"I tried to listen when Steve was talking about how he wanted the course to ride," said Boyd of her strategy. "He said, 'This is a jumping contest, and I don't want the course to win. I want the riders and the horses to win.' There were no traps; it was really well done, and I took that to heart. He designed it, and he knew what he had in mind, so that helped me. You needed scope and careful, which is what these derbies are supposed to be."
Kelley Farmer and Mythical, co-owned by Kenneth and Selma Garber and Larry Glefke, won the Tier I Handy Hunter Round and leapfrogged up the standings from sixth to second overall with 571.75 points.
Farmer, of Keswick, VA, was thrilled with the First Year Green hunter in his first Derby Championship. "What about Mythical? He's mythical, isn't he?" she said with a smile. "For a first-year horse, he's an amazing animal. He's done everything. He tries to step up on the biggest stages. I moved up from sixth to second. He's an amazing horse who doesn't let you down."
New this year was the Tier I and Tier II Handy Hunter Round format. The top 30 pairs returned for action in the $120,000 Tier I Handy Hunter Round, with 14 Tier I entries qualified and 16 Tier II entries qualified. The $40,000 Tier II Handy Round included a field of 25 riders, with nine jumping for Tier II money only. The scores for the 16 Tier II entries in the Tier I Handy Hunter Round carried over to the Tier II Handy Hunter Round and Overall standings.
The judges included Rick Fancher and Jimmy Torano (Panel 1), Danny Robertshaw and Don Stewart (Panel 2), and Carleton Brooks and Ralph Caristo (Panel 3), who were placed in strategic positions around the Sheila C. Johnson Ring at the Rolex Stadium.
Kelsie Brittan, 17, of Westlake, TX, rode Argentum, a 12-year-old warmblood, to top honors in the $40,000 Tier II USHJA International Hunter Derby Championship with a gorgeous Handy Hunter Round, under the watchful eye of trainer Peter Pletcher.
"I've just been doing juniors on him this year, and every now and then there would be derby in Texas or Michigan and I'd do it," she said. "I've been a little bit of a chicken; I've been doing the small ones and playing it safe. Since I was here, of course, I thought I'd be like all the top riders and do all the big jumps. I really trust him, and yesterday, too, I just let him show off and tried not to ride him like a junior hunter anymore and more like a derby horse. It's a big adjustment for me."
Judge Danny Robertshaw was impressed with Brittan's partnership with Argentum and praised her after the class.
"I saw her in the pouring rain in Florida [this winter], and I was talking to her mother. And I said it then, and I said it yesterday and today. It's fun when you see a horse that loves his rider as much as Argentum loves her."
Shawn Casady, 19, of Harriman, TN, guided HJ Group LLC's Ascot to second place in the Tier II USHJA International Hunter Derby Championship.
2024
Liza Boyd rides Crooner Brimbelles Z to the Reserve Championship in the USHJA International Hunter Derby Championships!
2023
Brunello inducted into the National Show Hunter Hall of Fame!
Mary Caroline Nolan and Bettina place fourth overall at the Adequate/USEF Junior Hunter National Championships - East
2022
Jack Towell received the WCHR Old Springhouse Lifetime Achievement Award during the Capital Challenge Horse Show!
Elle Boyd rides Kensi to victory in the WCHR Children’s Hunter Challenge at the Capital Challenge Horse Show!
Liza Boyd pilots Guess Who to the Grand Green and Grand Hunter championships at the Capital Challenge Horse Show!
Liza Boyd rides Rebekah Warren’s MTM Hand Him Over to sixth in the $252,505 USHJA International Hunter Derby Championship!
Mary Caroline Nolan’s Bettina receives the Best Mare Award in the 3’6”/3’9” USHJA Green Hunter Incentive Championship with Liza Boyd in the irons!
Elle Boyd earns the Best Child Rider on a Pony Award at the Aiken Charity Horse Shows!
2021
Liza Boyd rides Rebekah Warren’s Cassico to third place in the $311,740 USHJA International Hunter Derby Championship!
Elle Boyd rides Betsee Parker’s Medium Pony Baroness Of Lochiel to victory in the USEF Pony Finals! Elle also guides Jill Shulman’s Secret Crush to the Small Pony Reserve Championship!
Liza Boyd and Gigi Manigault’s Walk-Off jump to victory in the $25,000 Aiken Spring Charity Hunter Classic!
Elle Boyd rides Sugarbrook Pink-N-Blue to blue in the USHJA Pony Hunter Derby at the Aiken Charity Horse Show.
Liza Boyd captures the $15,000 USHJA International Hunter Derby Hunt and Go at WEF 12 with Sherry Crawford’s Carento!
Liza Boyd rides Gigi Manigault’s Walk-Off to second in the WCHR Peter Wetherill Palm Beach Hunter Spectacular!
Ned Towell establishes Wateree Hounds in Camden, South Carolina, with co-founders Lea Edwards and Vince Paschal.
