Spanish Eyes looked irritated in the jump-off of the $25,000 Grand Prix of Estes Park II. She was being asked to do something she’s not used to doing–going slow. The 16-year-old mare is among the fastest horses on the grand prix tour and knows perfectly well that it’s her job to run. So when John McConnell asked her for a slower pace, her ears went back and her head came up.

But she left all the jumps standing, and that double clear was all it took to win. The class was one of the featured events of the Festival II Horse Show in Estes Park, Colo., Aug. 3-7.

“She always wants to be careful, and if I give her a good ride, she does well,” McConnell said.

McConnell, of Elizabeth, Colo., was almost too cautious in the jump-off, nearly costing his horse a rail. “I tried to miss,” he said, ruefully. “But she was trying hard.”

McConnell, who also finished second on Lapicolina, has scored victories in Santa Fe, N.M., Parker, Colo., and Estes Park this summer, piling up a heap of cash for the John McConnell Partnership. A second-placed finish in the $60,000 Grand Prix of Denver was just icing on the cake.

Now, both McConnell and his horses are ready for a break. “We started the first week in May,” he said.

The veteran Spanish Eyes in particular deserves a bit of rest. McConnell takes great care to make sure she stays fit and sound. “She’s getting older,” he said. “We have to favor her, let her have her good days so that there aren’t bad days.”

McConnell, who was holding one of his children in his arms, has his own plans for the fall. “Stay home with the kids for awhile,” he said, smiling.

Amateur Charlie Dennehy finished second and third in consecutive $25,000 grand prix events in Estes Park and was understandably thinking about what might have been. He made himself feel a little better by taking The Cottonwoods Ltd. entry Oksana to the championship in the amateur-owner, 36 and over, hunters.

He’d rather have gotten the ride on the 8-year-old Hanoverian in some other way, though. His sister Liza suffered a bad fall during the winter and was still not quite ready to return to the show ring. It was up to Charlie to step into the irons.

“I’ve shown her in the amateurs six times, and she’s been champion four of them,” he said. “She’s been great.”

Dennehy gives full credit to his sister for getting the horse into such good form. “Liza put in a lot of time on this horse,” he said.

Despite her German bloodlines, Oksana was bred in Montana by David Hopper. Hopper’s operation has turned out a lot of good horses, among them the famous grand prix jumper Alley Oop.

Oksana was showing occasionally as a hunter, but her primary job was as a broodmare. She came to the Dennehy barn in a swap for a jumper that was not fitting in with the family program. Both parties were happy with the trade, and Charlie was happiest of all. “She’s super fun to ride, and she’s simple,” he said. “She’s really, really good.”

A Real Passion

How Kate Van Hee finds time to ride is a mystery to her friends and sometimes to herself as well. The teenager plays midfield for her high school soccer team, competes in slalom and giant slalom on the school’s ski team, and of course carries a full load of classes. Her high energy and competitive nature led her and her trainer Philip Dreissigacker to choose Belle as her next hunter.

“We were looking for a project. We didn’t want to buy a made horse,” said van Hee, of Edwards, Colo. Then she laughed. “She definitely has been a project.”

Belle, previously named First Class, was a grand prix prospect at Plum Creek Hollow in Larkspur, Colo. Van Hee and Dreissigacker thought she was beautiful and decided to retrain her as a hunter. “It took a while to kind of calm her down, chill her out,” van Hee said.

Her patience and hard work have paid off; Belle has been a consistent winner all year in the large juniors. In Estes Park she was not only champion in the large juniors, 16-17, but also the winner of the Junior/Amateur-Owner Hunter Classic. Van Hee has very much enjoyed the challenge of bringing the mare along. “I really have a passion for it, ” she said. “I enjoy working toward my goals and what-ever I’m working on with a particular horse.”

It was a perfect week for Elizabeth Boles. She and her lovely hunter Bimini won all five classes in the small juniors on their way to the championship. “This is my last junior year, so it’s very exciting to be able to be this successful,” said Boles, who trains with Laurie Jueneman.

Boles, of Edwards, Colo., lives next door to the ski mecca of Vail, but the slippery slopes are not for her. “I haven’t been up on the mountain for three years,” she said. “I’ve just been on my horse trip.”

Boles decided she really preferred riding horses to skiing, and she doesn’t want to risk the former by doing the latter. “I don’t want to hurt myself,” she said, quite sensibly.

Boles has one more year of high school. She had considered giving up riding when she goes off to college but has changed her plans. She’ll stay in the equestrian game with the aim of becoming a professional. “I look at people like Peter Pletcher, and my trainer, and how successful they are, and want to do that, too,” she said.

The Perfect Ride

Heather Christie won all four classes over fences in the amateur-owner, 18-35, hunters with Rivoli, a horse she’s only had for a month. “I still to this day keep pinching myself,” said the Arvada, Colo., amateur. “He’s a Cadillac.”

Christie, who trains with Kris Nixon, remains amazed at how simple the chestnut gelding is to ride. “If I can just sit there and point him in the right direction, he pretty much does all the rest by himself,” she said.

Nixon showed Rivoli in the regular working hunters, with pretty much the same result–four classes over fences yielded three blue ribbons and a red. “It’s nice to get to ride one that knows more than I do,” she said, laughing. “I don’t get to do that very often.”

Hunter Holloway got her large pony Sleeping Beauty for her sixth birthday. “She’s a great pony,” said Holloway, now 7, of the black mare. “I already told my mom I’m not going to sell her.”

Holloway, who lives in Topeka, Kansas, is a newcomer to the A-rated ponies. Her mother and trainer, Brandie Holloway, said she was afraid to jump oxers as recently as last summer. Now nothing fazes the young rider. “St. Louis last month was her first horse show doing the children’s ponies,” said mom. “This was her first time doing the large ponies.”

Hunter wears her hair in two long braids tied up in red ribbons. “Red ribbons go better than blue with my pony because she’s black,” she said firmly.

There were plenty of blue ribbons as well for Holloway. She was the champion in the large ponies and won the classic.

“She takes great care of Hunter, and Hunter takes great care of her,” said Brandie. “Hunter takes her job very seriously, and she’s riding really well.”