Richard Spooner threw his fist in the air and reached down to give his distinguished long-time partner, Robinson, some much-deserved scratches after winning the $30,000 Ariat Challenge today, Feb. 9, in Thermal, Calif. And though it may have been Spooner’s 93rd career grand prix victory and Robinson’s 37th, this one struck an emotional chord both for Spooner and Robinson’s legion of fans.

Robinson, 19, and Spooner have kindled a steadfast following among show jumping fans throughout their 12 years together. Spooner’s third grand prix victory ever was aboard this horse. Though the striking gray’s competition schedule and blue ribbon count have become more selective in his ripe age, there’s nowhere he’d rather be than in the show ring, said Spooner, and this win proved he’s still got his spark.

“I let him tell me when he wants to show and when he doesn’t want to show,” said Spooner. “To leave him at home or to not compete is the last thing he wants. The happiest that horse ever is, is in the show ring.”

And he definitely wanted to show today. In the 53-entry class, Spooner and Robinson posted the sixth and final clean round of the field in true first-class form over a testing Anthony D’Ambrosio course. “I think Tony did a good job. The time was just right where you had to push your horse but you didn’t need to race them off their feet. I have to say though that we’ve jumped a lot of vertical-vertical combinations these past few weeks, but look forward to some oxer-to-oxers coming up.”

Combination 9ab, in particular, was a liverpool-to-vertical out of a tight turn and kept many horses out of the jump-off, as did 6ab. Of the six competitors who returned to vie for blue, only two left every fence in tact. Laura Linback, the only amateur in today’s line up, piloted Sampras threw the jump-off in 43.55 seconds and lofted over every fence with plenty of breathing room.

“Laura is a great rider and that horse is a phenomenal jumper,” said Spooner who rode just after Linback in the envious final slot of the jump-off. “When I saw her go clear in 43 [seconds] and after watching the other riders who had rails go in 41, I knew as fast as Robinson is, I could get to 41 as long as I really took a shot at the last jump.”

With the audience’s audible support, Spooner gave Robinson an extra kick over the last oxer and stopped the clock at 41.50 seconds. And after his top-notch performances, Robinson had some extra carrots and scratches to look forward to.

“You know he’s always there to give me a clear round, but more importantly, he’s always there just to cheer you up. It just makes me happy to ride him,” said Spooner. “For him to be winning grand prixs—period—or at 19 is just a testament to his strength.”

In the rings on the other side of the VIP tent, junior hunters and amateur-owner hunters presented their best rounds to vie for Saturday’s division championships and collect enough points for a coveted mid-circuit championship.

Lucy Davis and Clockword started with the right foot and hoof forward by winning both over-fences classes in small junior hunters, 15 and under. For the younger amateur-owners, the eye-catching Vida Blue looked promising as always and received blue and yellow ribbons with Lesley Bulecheck in the irons.