June 4—Devon, Pa.

Jane Gaston didn’t have the best start to Devon.

“The first class yesterday he came in, and I thought we were prepared,” said Gaston. “But we jumped [a fence heading into] the crowd and it took his attention away. I don’t know why—he just wasn’t quite himself.”

But Gaston took a deep breath, let her mount Lumiere get his bearings, and returned to the Dixon Oval to claim the rest of the amateur-owner, 36 and over, over fences blue ribbons. That was good enough to clinch the division championship and the overall amateur-owner title. Rock Steady and Katie Robinson earned the reserve amateur-owner, 36 and over, ribbon.

Last year Lumiere tied for the division championship with another of Gaston’s mounts, Listen, and she opted to give Lumiere the reserve ribbon. Last year was Gaston’s first time back to Devon after a 30-odd year hiatus.

“Lumiere was [USEF amateur-owner, 36 and over] Horse of the Year and tied for champion here, but you always come here and think, ‘Please don’t let me go blind and mess up the whole year so everyone thinks this was a fluke!’ ” said Gaston.

The 10-year-old Oldenburg lives at Whitewood Stables in The Plains, Va., where Gaston takes care of him herself. That farm, which is also home to steeplechase horses and cattle, provides the perfect warm up environment for the hubbub of Devon.

“They have Hackney ponies that come through, and they foxhunt through there so the hounds come through, plus carriages,” said Gaston. “We have a Devon experience almost every day, just with no Dixon Oval, and no food.”

Just One Goal

Heading into this weekend, Wesley Newlands had one goal: to win a blue ribbon. But she left having outdid herself, riding Pure Abundance to the amateur-owner hunter, 18-35, championship. Kingston and Jazz Johnson claimed reserve.

Newlands clinched that title with a blue in the stakes class today.

“He tries so hard and he’s always there for me,” said Newlands, 23. “My handy was my favorite trip. We had a nice flow and the jumps came up really nicely. I’ve been working on keeping my pace, and holding him off the ground.”

Newlands started riding Pure Abundance four years ago when he was a green 5-year-old, and he’s come a long way since then.

“He’s a sensitive horse, and you have to be calm on him,” she said. “You can’t do a lot of moving around, or carry a crop. But he’s matured a lot. He’s always been very straightforward to the fences. He’s the sweetest horse.”

Pure Abundance lives with Morgan Thomas, who trains Newlands. She meets up with Minneapolis, Minn., based Thomas and “Piper” at shows from her home base in Toronto, Ont., and studies fashion marketing online. 

Fitzhugh Finds Blue

It’s been a busy few weeks for Grace Stuntz. She just finished her Master’s degree at University of Virginia, graduating just a week and a half ago. That’s precipitating a move from Charlottesville, Va., to Alexandria, Va., and she’s been living in trainer Claiborne Bishop’s basement during the transition.

“My beta fish, Fireball, has been living in the tackroom, and my car is full of my entire life that’s going to Alexandria,” said Stuntz, 23. “The week before graduation my brother got married.”

Even though the rest of her life may be in chaos, Stuntz still managed to stay cool and focused at Devon, riding Fitzhugh to the low amateur-owner championship over Alisette and Alise Oken.

“He was a baby last year, and he’s still immature,” she said. “His biggest issue is getting distracted and not listening to me. I try not to get mad and just laugh it off.”

That was illustrated clearly during the first class of the day, when the Hackney pony carts and Saddlebreds were warming up alongside the hunters.

“In the beginning of the first class it was fine, they hadn’t started,” said Stuntz. “But by the time then he had a mental breakdown when he saw them. We bombed that class.”  

They rebounded to claim second in the stakes class. Coupled with yesterday’s red over fences and yellow under saddle that pushed her to the top of the division.

Stuntz had been planning to show Fitzhugh at Upperville (Va.) next week, but she’d joked that if he was champion here she’d give him the week off. Now that’s proven a reality she said she’ll put him out in his paddock tonight and let him take a deep breath before she makes a decision.

Hungry for more Devon news? Check out the news from the jumper ring, and visit the Chronicle‘s Devon page for videos, photos and stories from senior week and junior weekend. The Devon website has full results.