Wellington, FL – March 11, 2014 – The final week of the HITS Ocala Winter circuit took place last week, and Jennifer Alfano was its tricolor bandit. She teamed up with three different mounts to take home two championships and the reserve championship, adding to all of her horses’ already impressive records.
Alfano topped the Green Conformation division with her very own Candid, a flashy gelding who cannot seem to find any color that suits him quite like blue. Despite only showing on the first day of the division due to inclement weather on the second day, Candid was still able to end up on top for the division. The talented horse started his career off with a bang at the USHJA Pre-Green Incentive Program in 2013, topping a field of exceptionally talented young horses for wins at horse shows across the nation. Candid has since moved up to the Green Conformation classes, where he continues to shine as a truly top-notch hunter.
“He’s been great this season,” Alfano said of the horse. “He’s always been very good, but he was just green starting out this year, and he’s really gotten to be very consistent.”
Alfano was up on Maggie May to ride for the win in the Second Year Green Conformation division. Not only has the mare proven herself a superb jumper, her beautiful gaits have not gone unnoticed by the judges: Maggie May is as close to a sure-fire hack winner as a horse can be. Owned by Billie Steffee, this mare is sure to be one to watch as she continues her career in the hunter ring.
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“The hunters at Ocala this week went over in the new stadium across the street, and she always loves a new venue, so she was really good over there,” Alfano explained. “She’s so brave and not spooky, so she’s fun to take to different rings.”
To complete Alfano’s tricolor collection for the week, Counting Stars jumped to the reserve championship title in the First Year Green Hunter division. A recent acquisition of SBS Farms, Counting Stars is proving himself to be quite the horse, steadily improving and adding to his resume under Alfano’s tutelage. Alfano has had the ride on the gelding since he belonged to previous owner Nikki Murphy, where he showed under the name Diplomacy. The gelding may have a new name and a new owner, but he is his same talented self in the show ring.
“He definitely is coming into his own a little bit,” Alfano said. “We’re really getting to know each other, which is awesome.”
Based out of Buffalo, NY, SBS Farms’ Susie Schoellkopf and Jennifer Alfano run one of the foremost show hunter training operations in the country, and travel nationwide to compete in the nation’s most prestigious horse shows. SBS Farms, Inc. continues the proud tradition of the Saddle and Bridle Club as one of the top show stables in the northeast. Schoellkopf is also the Executive Director of the Buffalo Therapeutic Riding Center, which houses both The Buffalo Equestrian Center as well as SBS Farms. Built in 1922, the 160-stall facility is a historical landmark, with its unique English Tudor and gothic style architecture. For more information on SBS Farms and the Buffalo Therapeutic Riding Center, please visit www.thebtrc.org.
