The crowd roared when Laura Chapot galloped Little Big Man into the ring at the Pennsylvania National Horse Show.  The defending titleholders in the $65,000 Grandprix de Penn National, they also have a charisma and appeal all their own, and the crowd loves them.  And Chapot and “Pony” didn’t disappoint their fans, racing to their second consecutive victory in the class in their unique style to conclude the show in Harrisburg, Pa., on Oct. 16-21.

Chapot and Little Big Man had the unenviable position of coming back third in a nine-horse jump-off.  They had to really lay it on the line and set a time for everyone else to race for.  “I knew it was going to be close.  When you have riders like Laura Kraut and Kent Farrington going after you, you can’t take it easy,” Chapot said. 

And they didn’t.  Chapot and “Pony” sped around flat-out, shaving the turns and daring a long gallop to a vertical.  They left all the rails in the cups in 33.37 seconds, to the crowd’s delight.  The diminutive Pony—only 15.2 hands—has an eager, game style, and Chapot isn’t afraid to let him go and attack the fences.  He gives her every ounce of effort over every fence.  Their partnership is a treat to watch. “I think his success is in part due to the great partnership we have.  My ride brings out the best in him.  I’m not sure everyone would want to ride him like I do,” Chapot said.

Schuyler Riley attempted to meet Chapot’s mark, and recorded a clear round on Nottingham.  But the athletic bay has such a lofty jump that their time fell short, clocking in at 39.48 seconds to take third.  Laura Kraut rode Miss Independent for the win, really attacking the first few fences.  But a rail fell at a Liverpool oxer at the third fence—her 33.44-second time still wouldn’t have been fast enough.  She did finish fourth as the fastest four-faulter. 

Kent Farrington and the game bay mare Madison went next, and if anyone could beat the little chestnut rocket, it was them.  Farrington turned on a dime, and Madison sped around, but their speed also brought them two rails.  They proved Chapot could be beaten, though, shaving almost two seconds off her time in 32.51 seconds.  The last to challenge was Megan Johnstone on Ollandaise, and she made it clear she was going for the safe clear round, not the top check.  Wide turns and a careful ride brought her home clear in 36.83 seconds for second place.

The night before, however, Johnstone hadn’t played it safe at all.  In the jump-off for the Show Jumping Hall of Fame Amateur-Owner Jumper Classic, she lost both stirrups on a tight rollback turn.  Undaunted, she galloped on, and jumped the last few jumps as the crowd cheered.  She barely hung on, but galloped through the timers.  Unfortunately, the clock showed her to be fractions of a second slower than Cara Raether’s ride on Pedro, and Raether ended up with the win.

In the amateur-owner hunter divisions, two tight championship races resulted in a tie for the grand amateur-owner hunter tricolor.  But Maria Takacs and Lesley Bulechek didn’t mind sharing the honors—they were both thrilled with the wins.

It was the first Pennsylvania National tricolor for both Bulechek, of Los Altos Hills, Calif., and Takacs, of Rumson, N.J., though they’ve both showed at Harrisburg for many years.  Bulechek rode Vida Blue to the amateur-owner hunter, 18-35 tricolor, while Takacs took the 36 & over honors on Mombo.

Bulechek and Vida Blue won both the over fences classes on the first day, but a rail in the first class on day 2 put the championship race into overtime, as Bridget Hallman and Gray Slipper were on their game as well, and winning.  “I don’t think she’d ever had a rail—it was a total shock to me!” Bulechek said.  But in the second class, they redeemed themselves with a fourth place, just edging out Hallman and Slipper. 

“Ever since the beginning, I knew she was going to be the horse of a lifetime,” Bulechek said of Vida Blue.  “She’s the horse everyone dreams of having.”  Bulechek and her trainer, John French, found Vida Blue in Tony Font’s barn in Texas in February, so their successes have come quickly.

Takacs has had a bit more time with Mombo—she bought him in March 2005.  But she was pregnant when she bought him, and didn’t even ride him to try him.  She just trusted her trainers, Rolf and Jennifer Bauersachs.  “He’s just an amazing amateur horse.  We hand-walk him in the morning to prepare him,” Takacs said.  The championship race in the 36 & over division was a tight one, with Caroline Moran, Ellen Toon, and Caroline Clark Morrison all in the hunt.  But Takacs and Mombo pulled out the win in the last class to clinch the tricolor.