Devon, Pa.—May 28
Yes, she is just that good.
Tori Colvin, the junior rider phenomenon, continued to add accolades to her remarkable career at Devon. Last year, Colvin split her time between the pony ring and the junior hunter divisions. This year, she left the ponies behind for good and made a big impression on all her horses.
Colvin, who is just 13, rode Sanzibar to the grand junior and small junior hunter, 15 and under, tricolors and then guided Touchdown to the top of the large junior hunter, 15 and under, division. She also won a section of the ASPCA Maclay equitation class on VIP Z and was second in a junior jumper class on Monsieur du Reverdy.
Colvin’s exploits in the Dixon Oval earned her the Best Child Rider on a Horse honors.
Colvin, of Loxahatchee, Fla., started riding Sanzibar, 8, in November. The elegant bay Oldenburg gelding (Sunny Boy—Roxiana) showed in the pre-green division with Colvin’s trainers, Scott Stewart and Ken Berkley, in 2009 and then the first year greens last year. Heather Hooker showed him in the junior division last year until Colvin took over. “He has an amazing canter,” Colvin said. “He’s like a big couch!”
Karen Long Dwight owns Sanzibar, but she wasn’t at Devon to witness his big win. “She’s very superstitious; she thinks that if she watches, her horse won’t go well. So after this, I don’t think she’ll ever watch!” Colvin said.
Colvin’s partnership with Touchdown is newer. Before Devon, she’d only shown the flashy chestnut eight times, though they’d been champion or reserve half of those. Touchdown, just 6, spends much of his time showing in the green conformation division with Stewart. “He’s a lot of fun. I was a little bit worried, because he’s green and he can be a bit spooky, but he was great from the first day,” Colvin said. Touchdown is an Oldenburg (Quattro B—Schila).
Colvin was bright and cheery in the junior rider press conference at the end of Devon’s junior weekend despite having ridden four junior hunters, a jumper and an equitation horse. Her fellow junior riders groaned in awe when she revealed that her early mornings haven’t stopped. She’ll stay at Devon for senior week, helping Stewart prepare his string of professional division hunters.
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The Beginning Of The End
Hannah Goodson-Cutt, however, will be going home to Beverly Hills, Calif., and she’ll be clutching a Devon championship ribbon that means quite a bit to her. Goodson-Cutt and Caretano flew east last fall and steam-rolled through the indoor show season, taking small junior hunter, 16-17, championships at the Capital Challenge (Md.), Pennsylvania National, Washington International (D.C.) and the National Horse Show (N.Y.). But Goodson-Cutt had never won at Devon.
In the spring of her last junior year, she’s fixed that omission, riding Caretano to the top of the small junior, 16-17, section. “This really means a lot,” Goodson-Cutt, 17, said. “In the first round, I was a little bit conservative. [They were fifth.] Then for the handy and the stake, I spiced it up a little. We were a little more on top of our game.” Caretano won both the handy and the stake to clinch the tricolor.
Goodson-Cutt is scheduled to start college at Georgetown University (D.C.) in the fall, and she revealed that she’ll put her riding career on hold while she starts college. “I want to try something different and really concentrate on being a student,” she said.
Inspiring Him To Win
Hasbrouck Donovan has spent a lot of, well, quality time on Quality Time. She’s shown the bay gelding since 2009, and they’ve won their fair share. But they’d never won at Devon. Donovan fixed that with a first, second and third over fences in the large junior hunter, 16-17, division to take the championship.
“He’s pretty lazy; it’s takes a lot to get him going and excited,” Donovan said of “Jack.” Because of his lackadaisical attitude, Donovan has to work to inspire him to brilliance in the handy rounds. But at Devon, Donovan got it done in style in the handy round, including a daring inside turn to the last oxer, to win.
Madeline Thatcher’s Catch Phrase might have missed on a division tricolor, but the bright chestnut was awarded the Angelo Award. “I think he won it because he really goes like a traditional hunter. He likes to gallop, and you just float the reins at him and go,” Thatcher said.
It’s A Family Tradition
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Charlotte Jacobs had already had a spectacular weekend at Devon, having earned the Ronnie Mutch Equitation Championship. So, when she finished with another big win in the Show Jumping Hall of Fame Junior Jumper Classic, she was over the moon.
Jacobs rode Karonda v Schl’hof to a daring jump-off ride to snatch the title from Samantha Schaefer on Trezebes. The packed house on the Saturday night of Devon Junior Weekend loved it. “I loved riding in front of the crowd!” Jacobs said. “Karonda started bounding and pawing; she got so excited.
“She’s such a naturally quick horse that once I get on a gallop with her, I just have to keep going,” Jacobs continued. She set her pace early, though she did have a moment of hesitation on course.
“Skinny jumps are kind of my bogey fence. I tend to get ahead with my upper body at them,” she said. “So, at the skinny, I kind of stayed out on the turn and added a stride to be careful.”
The decision left the door open for the last to go, Katie Dinan on Belle Dame D. And Dinan looked to be on her way to blast through that door as she flew around the course and barreled down to the last oxer. “Katie is such a fast rider, and I was really nervous when I saw her coming to the last jump. I thought, ‘Oh shoot, I’m second!’ ” But Dinan’s speed backfired as Belle Dame D toppled the front rail of the oxer, leaving Jacobs op top.
Jacobs’ family has a history of winning at Devon, as her uncle Louis and father Charlie have both etched their names on Devon trophies. Charlotte has shown at Devon for years, but this was the first year she’s won a class. She was ecstatic after just the equitation division’s conclusion, where she took two blues and two thirds for the championship. “This is a huge deal for me,” she said. “When you walk in this ring, there so much history here.”
Click here for results from the Devon Horse Show.
