Make it an even dozen.  That’s how many grand prix classes Up Chiqui and Kent Farrington have won in their amazing year.  So far.

They added the $65,000 Budweiser Grand Prix de Penn National CSI-W to their record on Oct. 27, concluding the Pennsylvania National, Oct. 22-27 in Harrisburg, Pa.  And they did it in truly dramatic style.

Farrington and Up Chiqui went second in a 12-horse jump-off that included some of the fastest horse-and-rider combinations competing, including Olympic and World Equestrian Games medalists Authentic and Beezie Madden, and McLain Ward on Larioso.  “McLain is fast on anything, especially that horse, and with Beezie and Authentic, too—that’s probably as tough as a class can get,” Farrington said.

He knew he’d have to set the mark high, and that he did, as he and Up Chiqui blazed around the jump-off, turning on a dime and absolutely flying to the last oxer.  They stopped the timers clean in 37.24 seconds, and then sat back to watch everyone else chase them.

No-one even came close until Madden and Authentic.  The catty bay nipped around the turns and was right on Farrington’s mark until the rollback to an oxer, where Authentic lost a little impulsion on the turn.  The back rail of the oxer came down—Authentic’s time was still a bit short, at 37.90 seconds.  Mac Cone briefly claimed second place with a clean round in 41.13 seconds on Melinda—almost four seconds slower than Up Chiqui.

But the last to go—Ward on Larioso—meant business.  He set off at a furious clip, and shaved all the turns.  It looked like it was going to be close, and as Ward came out of the corner for the long gallop to the last oxer, the crowd was on their feet, cheering him on.  But Ward decided to err on the side of caution, and decelerated a bit on the way to the last, adding a stride and jumping it clean.  But he fell just shy of the time, stopping the timers in 38.17 seconds.

“He’s just an amazing horse,” Farrington said simply of Up Chiqui.  “When he’s really on form like that, he’s just unbelievable.  He’s got a tremendous heart, he’s full of energy, and he wants to do it.”

The grand prix rounded out a full week of action.  Earlier in the week, Liza Towell Boyd completed the trifecta of indoor shows, riding Brunello to the grand hunter and regular working hunter at the Pennsylvania National, adding the titles to their regular working tricolors from Capital Challenge (Md.) and the Washington International (D.C.).  Brunello’s owner, Caroline Clark Morrison, rode him to the amateur-owner hunter, 36 & over reserve championship.

Jennifer Alfano took home the leading hunter rider title after piloting Rock Star to the second year green hunter championship and the regular working reserve championship, as well as riding Violets Are Blue to the first year green reserve tricolor.  The regular conformation division belonged to Archie Cox, who rode Delanie Stone’s White Oak to the championship, and owns My Cap, who Winn Alden guided to reserve honors.  Scott Stewart took the green conformation hunter championship on West Point, over John French and Scout.

Caroline Moran is no stranger to winning at the Pennsylvania National.  She took the grand amateur-owner hunter tricolor in 2002 and 2003 with Saint Nick.  And then, in her first year in the amateur-owner, 36 & over division, she rode In Return to that championship.  She returned this year with Just Jack and claimed the title again.  Dawn Fogel, the 2001 amateur-owner hunter, 18-35 champion on the legendary Osczar, brought her own new horse—Grandeur—for this year’s title.

Victoria Watters Leblond and Eye Remember Rio have won just about everything in the adult amateur hunter ranks, but until this year, the NAL Adult Hunter Finals had eluded her.  “I was so tired of being the Susan Lucci of this class!” Leblond said.  But a stellar second round, earning a score of 87, brought them the blue this year.

Tracey Mack wanted badly to improve upon her second place in the Washington International Adult Jumper Classic the week before, and she accomplished that goal, winning the NAL Adult Jumper Classic aboard Lucky Four.  Mack survived a flyer to the first vertical of the jump-off to post a time none could beat.  “John [Brennan] told me not to whip it, so apparently I translated that into ‘run as fast as you can!’” Mack said. 

Michelle Spadone and R Mable KZ ran as fast as they could on the way to the blue in the Show Jumping Hall of Fame amateur-owner jumper classic.  She’s been riding the feisty bay mare, 13, for seven years, and knows what it takes to win on her.  “I know I can trust her.  I’m always nervous when I walk into the ring, but I know I can count on her,” she said.