June 4—Devon, Pa.

Rocky W’s amateur-owner jumper championship with Kaitlin Campbell was a long time coming.

When Rocky W tore a suspensory ligament back in 2009, Campbell assumed that his career as a top jumper was over. She turned him out in a paddock, hoping he’d be able to come back at a lower level.

But after a year and a half as a pasture ornament, Campbell started nursing him back to competitive form. That slow recovery proved worth the wait when he topped the $15,000 Show Jumping Hall Of Fame Amateur-Owner Jumper Classic today. Coupled with a red ribbon yesterday she earned the division championship and the leading amateur-owner rider title. Danielle Cooper and Kosta claimed the reserve championship.

Now 19, Campbell’s won three different jumper titles at Devon. She and Magic BB claimed the pony jumper championship in 2006, and she and Rocky W earned the junior jumper championship in 2008.

Four riders advanced to the jump-off in today’s 1.45-meter class. After Robert Lee and El Grecco rode a clear go around the short course, Campbell turned on the afterburners and counted on a bit of luck to leave the rails in the cups.

“I left a stride out in the first line, then I came around the turn to the in-and-out and I planted him,” said Campbell, Brookville, Md. “I have no idea how he got over it—it was all him. You could tell he just wanted to win, it was all him. After that I toned it down. I figured I’d already risked enough that time and I didn’t need to risk any more.”

Sure enough, that round held out, leaving Lee to collect second place.

“I know him so well by now that I know exactly how he’s going to be,” said Campbell, who trains with Rachel Kennedy. “He loves the crowd, he doesn’t shy away from that. He has a lot of momentum, so you don’t need to create it. That’s when he tries to run and he can have the verticals down.”

Rocky W will have a new challenge next week, as Campbell will campaign him in the $100,000 Upperville Grand Prix in Upperville, Va. After that she’ll pack her bags and head to England, where she’ll spend a little time training with Dave Quigley in Shropshire, England, before coming back to try her luck at North American Junior and Young Rider Championships (Ky.). She’s already won a junior individual title there, and this year she’ll be trying her luck with Rocky W in the Young Rider division for Zone 3.

Need more Devon news? Check out news from the amateur hunter rings, and there’s lots more videos, photos, news and more at the Chronicle‘s Devon page, and the official Devon Horse Show page has full results.