Upperville, Va. – June 3, 2019 – The 2019 Upperville Colt & Horse Show (UCHS), presented by St. Bride’s Farm, welcomed its 166th edition of elite hunter and jumper competition on Monday, where the Performance Hunter divisions were highlighted in the Main Hunter Ring. At the conclusion of the first day, it was Brady Mitchell who rode to the top of the Performance 3’6” Hunters aboard Float On Equestrian LLC’s Mayfield.
Brady Mitchell and Mayfield
Mitchell and Mayfield, a 9-year-old Warmblood gelding, posted an impressive score of 89 to win the Performance 3’6” Hunter handy round to top the division in combination with their win in the under saddle class. The pair is coming off their recent success at the Old Salem Farm Spring Horse Show in May, where they earned the Grand Hunter Championship title upon winning all five classes to sweep the division and claim the Performance 3’6” Hunter championship. Mitchell is hopeful Mayfield’s impressive performance on Monday will help prepare them for their first hunter derby together in Saturday’s $25,000 USHJA International Hunter Derby, sponsored by Salamander Resort & Spa.
Brady Mitchell and Mayfield
Samantha Schaefer and In The Know were once again awarded the reserve championship after riding to the same title together at the 2018 UCHS. Schaefer and the 10-year-old Warmblood gelding, owned by Madeline Schaefer, followed just behind Mitchell to earn second place with a score of 88 in the handy round.
Preceding the 3’6” division, the Main Hunter Ring opened competition with the 3’3” division, which was split into three sections. With a clean sweep of Section C, Schaefer and Trademark, owned by Take 3 LLC, earned the blue ribbon in the over fences, handy round and under saddle to ultimately claim the Performance 3’3” Hunter championship and the Mindy Minetto Memorial Trophy, donated by Brett Beason, family and friends. Reserver honors for Section C were awarded to Sandra Ferrell and Stephanie Bulger’s Dapper.
Samantha Schaefer and Trademark with Brett Beason
Professional hunter divisions at the Upperville Colt & Horse Show will continue Tuesday, June 4, beginning at 7:30 a.m. with the Green Hunter divisions and will feature the USHJA Green Hunter Incentive Stakes classes, offered at the 3’ and 3’3” levels, in Hunter Ring II.
FROM THE WINNER’S CIRCLE
Brady Mitchell – Performance 3’6” Hunter champion
On Mayfield:
“This is my second year showing him. He is owned by Dana Schwartz of Float On Equestrian, who is my student. She rides him beautifully and she has a lot of fun with him in the Amateur-Owner Hunters, but she is getting married this summer at the beginning of July. While she is having a little break, I have the reins for a minute. I rode in the Performance division today to prepare for my first derby on him this weekend, which I’m really excited about.”
On the Upperville Colt & Horse Show:
“This is my second time coming here. I came once four years ago and had a great show and a great time. I always liked this show, but I have not been able to come back until this year and we made sure to put it on the schedule. Our bases are in Florida and New York and I find that a lot of shows in New York, although they have hunters, it’s not as focused on hunters as it is here in Virginia, especially at Upperville. We love the hunters and we have a lot of them, so it’s fun for me to come to a show where it feels really important. I also feel like showing horses in this ring in particular makes them better horses after they’ve done it. They leave here better horses in my opinion.”