Kristin Glover wasn’t overly concerned about the difficult course set for the jump-off in the $25,000 High Junior/Amateur-Owner Classic at the USGPL Finals on Sept. 27.

Despite the fact that her horse stood at least a few inches shorter than most of the other horses in the class, Glover said height is never a factor for The Boy Wonder, a 15.2-hand appendix Quarter Horse.

“He just makes up for it with his heart,” Glover said. “He’s got a lot of spunk. He’s a feisty little thing, and he loves doing it.”

Glover, Richmond, Va., and The Boy Wonder clocked around the shortened jump-off course with the fastest clear round to nab the top placing and a check for $7,500.

Glover said she had no issues with any tests on the course and that the 12-year-old gelding, owned by Stoney Brook Farm LLC, made light work of all the obstacles, clearing each of them by several inches.

“Friday was not so smooth,” she said. “He was a lot fresher on that day, but today we were just right on the mark. I think we had him better prepared today. I wasn’t concerned about the time. He’s a really fast horse.”

Glover, a mother of four, and The Boy Wonder found each other by fortuitous circumstances a little over two years ago. At the time, she wasn’t even in the market for a new horse.

“I was up at Evan Coluccio’s farm taking a lesson, and they brought him out. I said, ‘What is this, the Pony Express?’ ” Glover recalled. “Evan was like, ‘You’ve got to try this horse. You’ll love him.’ So I tried him, and I did love him. I ended up selling one of mine to get him.”

Glover, 45, adjusted to her new horse quickly, and the two have won jumper championships from Florida to Virginia with the help of trainer Teddi Ismond Harpman.

“He’s just a remarkable little horse,” she said. “I quit riding when I was about 20 and just started again when I was 40, and he’s made it so much fun. He’s really wonderful.”

Laura Linback was on a hot streak before she and her husband and trainer Troy Linback even arrived at Culpeper with their horses. A week earlier, Linback won the $40,000 Columbia Classic Grand Prix (Md.) on Woodrun’s As Di Villagana and the accompanying $10,000 Junior/Amateur-Owner Jumper Classic on Cartusch 15.

So when she entered the ring on Cartusch for the $15,000 Low Junior/Amateur-Owner Jumper Classic, she had a good feeling about her chances with the 11-year-old Holsteiner (Contender—Ina VI).

But after a slow, clear first round, she knew she had to kick Cartusch into high gear in the jump-off.

“He was a little pokey the first round, but I tried to hunt a little bit in the jump-off, and he was just lovely,” Linback said. “He’s a little slower than I’m used to, so I need a little more stamina to ride him well.”

Linback, 41, also rode As Di Villagana in the grand prix and another Woodrun horse, Uppsala, in the $25,000 classic at Culpeper. One of the show’s high points for Linback wasn’t the riding, however, it was exploring the area with her 8-year-old son. The Linbacks regularly make the 15-hour drive from Mundelein, Ill., to spend the summer in Virginia.

“We just love it here,” Linback said. “Everybody is so nice, and we just bring our campers and our son comes and catches tadpoles and frogs. It’s like summer camp for him. We used to travel to England and go to Europe and show, but with a child in school, that’s what’s most important to us now. We do the horses for fun and try to hit the shows we can hit.”