Richard Taylor Wins Third Consecutive Best Young Horse Title with Renoir at Devon Horse Show

Richard Taylor and Renoir
Richard Taylor and Renoir

Devon, Pa. – June 4, 2017 – For the third year in a row, Venture Stable’s Richard Taylor of Montpelier Station, Virginia, was the handler of the winning Best Young Horse at the Devon Horse Show and Country Fair. This time, it was Renoir, owned by Susan Tice-Grossmann, who won the honors in the Dixon Oval on the final day of the historic show.

Sponsored by Renaissance Farm, the class presented the award and the Kenneth Wheeler Perpetual Trophy to Renoir, who is by Rosenthal out of Parabol. Bred by John Barilar, the 2-year-old Oldenburg colt was on his best behavior and impressed the judges throughout the duration of the class.

Originally sitting in second place, the pair moved up to take the top spot from second place finisher, Solaris EMF, owned by Cismont Manor Farm, who was handled by Kenneth Wheeler, Sr. While Taylor did not show Renoir as a yearling at Devon in 2016, due to holding the Wheeler family’s Arbor Hill with whom he won Best Young Horse with for the past two years, this year was Renoir’s time to shine.

To prepare Renoir for Devon, Taylor showed the colt at the Rose Mount Farm Horse Show as well as the Keswick Horse Show and felt he was ready after competing at those venues. Renoir has a simple routine and lives with his owners at their farm in Keswick, Virginia. Susan and Chuck Grossmann supervise and participate in every aspect of Renoir’s program, and Taylor acknowledged that was undoubtedly a contributing factor to his top performances on Sunday.

Looking ahead, Taylor has his sights set on competing with Renoir in the Sallie B. Wheeler/US Hunter Breeding National Championship in August.

Following the Best Young Horse competition, the Leading Handler Award, sponsored by Renaissance Farm, and the Michael E. Grady Memorial Perpetual Trophy was presented to Oliver Brown of Reva, Virginia.

While Sunday marked the conclusion of the 2017 Devon Horse Show and Country Fair, the always highly anticipated event looks forward to returning in 2018 on May 24 through June 3.

Oliver Brown
Oliver Brown

FROM THE WINNER’S CIRCLE

Richard Taylor

On the history of the Rosenthal foals:
“I saw [Renoir’s sire], Rosenthal, at the farm where he stands in Maryland when I went to look at some broodmares. When I saw Rosenthal, I thought, ‘This horse has a use as a hunter sire.’ Subsequently, I bred a Thoroughbred mare to him that my wife and I own. She had a lovely Rosenthal colt that we sold as a yearling to the Grossmann family. That was their first Rosenthal [foal]. They have been buying more since then. The first [foal by Rosenthal] came here and won his class and won some after that. That’s the history of the Rosenthal [foals]. They’ve done very well. This colt, Renoir, is a beautiful mover. I think that’s what won it for him today. He showed wonderfully.”

On Renoir:
“The great ones step up on a day like today. It’s almost like they say, ‘I want to win.’ He was a show horse today. It was tough out there but he’s horse enough and showed well enough to win. I don’t think there’s anything I would change about how he performed today. He was straight and through in the jog. He was perfect.”

Richard Taylor and Renoir
Richard Taylor and Renoir
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