Upperville, Va. – June 3, 2019 – Jumper action at the Upperville Colt & Horse Show (UCHS) on Monday was highlighted by the TAKE2 Thoroughbred Jumper class, where Miranda Scott captured the victory aboard West Riding Farm’s Fine Art, a 12-year-old Thoroughbred gelding, in the B&D Builders Jumper Ring I. The pair cleared the first round and advanced to the jump-off to finish in a faultless time of 31.377 seconds, which proved to be untouchable.
Miranda Scott and Fine Art
Holleigh Arledge was also double-clear aboard her own McNick, but their time of 35.984 seconds was ultimately four seconds too slow to catch Scott. Karen Feeney and Quick Show, owned by Leslie Yarbrough, rounded out the top three, also producing a clear effort in 40.627 seconds for the yellow rosette.
Monday’s win was very special for Scott, who has ridden Thoroughbreds her entire life. The Maryland native was excited to be on a horse like Fine Art, who is always game for anything, and enjoyed showcasing his winning talent at the UCHS on Monday.
Scott will continue competing in the TAKE2 Thoroughbred Jumpers during the 2019 UCHS. Jumper divisions will continue on Tuesday with the 1.40m Open Jumpers highlighting the day’s competition.
Garrett Warner and Limbeus HS
Earlier in the day, the B&D Builders Jumper Ring I kicked off with the North American Young Jumper Development Program (NAYJDP), sponsored by Skyland Farm, which was established to demonstrate the conservative approach in developing a young sport horse for a long career in jumping. The first event was a blue ribbon class, where athletes were rewarded for jumping the fences clear and remaining within the time-allowed. The second class was based on style, where 50% of the scores were judged on technique, rideability and suitability for the jumping sport, while the other 50% were scored on performance.
The winner of Monday’s NAYJDP Style class was Garrett Warner aboard Hyperion Stud LLC’s Limbeus HS, who earned a total score of 89 to edge out last year’s winner, Danny Mahon with Joseph D. Melnik’s Plumpjack.
Limbeus HS is a 5-year-old Holsteiner stallion, and Warner appreciates the opportunity for his horses to gain experience in the show ring thanks to the NAYJDP division at the UCHS. With successful rounds aboard his mount on Monday, he is looking forward to Tuesday’s NAYJDP Rising Star Stakes class.
FROM THE WINNER’S CIRCLE
Miranda Scott – TAKE2 Thoroughbred Jumper winner
On the TAKE2 Thoroughbred Jumper division:
“I love Thoroughbreds and this is a really nice division to showcase them. I loved it in Florida, it’s a great money division. A horse like Fine Art can do this all day long and it’s nice to celebrate the Thoroughbred.”
On Fine Art:
“He’s hot, but he’s very game. I grew up on Thoroughbreds. When I was 14, I bought a Thoroughbred and he paid for my college education — I went to Sarah Lawrence College. Fine Art is great. It’s fun to have real courses for the Thoroughbreds in the big ring at Upperville, the oldest horse show in the country. It’s special because it used to all be Thoroughbreds!”
Garrett Warner – NAYJDP Style class winner
On the NAYJDP division:
“The format and the way it’s all laid out and how the courses go really helps horses along in the season to be able to come up through the ranks smoothly. They are very straightforward and they try to make it very inviting for the horses. I especially liked today’s format, where you do the same course two times so they can really get a chance to smooth out any problems you had in the first round.”
On Limbeus HS:
“He is a 5-year-old Holsteiner bred by Hyperion Stud. He is by Limbus out of Vision VI. He has a very uphill feel with a rhythmic canter.”