Wayne, Ill. – July 29, 2018 – On the final day of Equifest I at the Lamplight Equestrian Center, the Amateur Owner 3’6” Hunter division championship was decided following the morning’s under saddle, over fences and handy rounds. After taking an early lead Saturday with smooth rounds that impressed the judges, Silas Jaramillo and Ultigro were named the division champions. The pair earned a blue ribbon in their over-fences round, as well as a second place in the under saddle class and second in the handy phase.
Jaramillo has been developing a solid partnership with Ultigro, a 15-year-old Polish Warmblood gelding, for over 10 years. Fine tuning their skills together, Jaramillo was thrilled that Ultigro stepped up to the plate this week, landing on all of his correct leads and feeling especially handy today to help them take home the championship.
Mary Antonini was awarded the reserve championship with her mount MTM Making Waves, who also had a good start in the division the day prior. Taking first place in Sunday’s under saddle and second place over fences helped her secure the reserve. Antonini also rode her gelding The Governor to a good finish in the division, clinching the blue ribbon in Sunday’s handy round to help the horse-and-rider combination ultimately finish overall in third place.
In the Junior 3’6” Hunter division, 17-year-old Claire Azar and her gelding Capitol Hill maintained their lead from Saturday, clinching the championship title. The pair earned blue ribbons in both the over fences and handy rounds Sunday to help them claim their top placing. Amanda Traphagen and Debra Morrison’s Lena Van T Ruytershof were named the reserve champions in the division, earning a first place in the handy portion.
FROM THE WINNERS CIRCLE
Silas Jaramillo – Amateur Owner 3’6” Hunter division champion
On Ultigro:
“I’ve had this guy for about 10 years now, he’s a Polish Warmblood. He has a lot of scope and always gets down the line and just tries. It’s been a really good week so far with him and this weekend was a lot of fun.
On his rounds:
“I thought both rounds were really nice. He let me be handier than he has let me be with him before, so that was a lot of fun. In the first round he was a good boy, and in the handy course he let me have him land on all his leads, which makes it a lot easier. He let me do an inside turn to a line, which is something we haven’t been able to do in the past, and he was able to do an inside turn after the oxer to the trot jump, which was a lot of fun. Today he was just landing and felt together enough that I could do that with him so it was fun.”
On Lamplight Equestrian Center:
“I’m from Wisconsin so I have shown here for a long time now. I always love coming to Lamplight, we love the town and the show facility. It’s a lot of fun!”