Upper Marlboro, Md.—Sept. 28 

They’ve both done their share of winning, and now that top junior rider Victoria Colvin and superstar equitation horse Clearway have come together, big things are on the horizon.

The pair kicked off their fall indoor campaign with the win in the Private Tutoring Services North American Junior Equitation Championships.

There have been big changes for Colvin this year, as she left longtime trainers Scott Stewart and Ken Berkley. For the equitation division, she’s got Andre Dignelli and the Heritage Farm team standing at the in-gate now.

Dignelli believes that Colvin’s strength in situations like these is “that she can produce a top round over and over and over again in the most difficult of circumstances,” he said. “I think the equitation division has been one she has to work at, in terms of making sure the position is top-notch and not losing classes for the wrong reason. I think we’ve been getting to know each other a bit and develop a team, not only her and I, but also with that horse. It’s difficult to catch ride these events, so we’ll see what our strategy is moving forward. I think today was a good sign that we’re on the right track.”

Wtch Tori Colvin’s second round that clinched her victory…

Colvin joined forces with Clearway, who was Lillie Keenan’s mount for wins in the Pessoa/USEF Medal Finals and the ASPCA Maclay Finals last year, this spring when her sponsor, Betsee Parker, bought the 9-year-old warmblood gelding by Cheenook.

Dignelli had discovered Clearway three years ago; Brian Walker imported him as a jumper. It was love at first sight for Dignelli, but he did think to himself, “’What am I going to do with a 17.2 hand horse that’s a stallion? He’s broken-winded, he makes a loud noise.’ But I have to say, I was in love with the horse from the first day and I could not get him out of my head,” Dignelli recalled.

“I’ve been doing this for 25 years, and he’s the only horse that I know that can leave out two strides and add three strides as easily. He’s very, very special. He has a great temperament and is a quiet horse. He’s a special animal, and we treat him like he’s special,” Dignelli continued.
For Colvin, winning the equitation finals at Capital Challenge twice (she also won in 2013) is a unique experience. “Clearway went amazing, and it was great to come back and win. He’s just a phenomenal horse. I wouldn’t dream of winning once, so coming back and winning again is special,” she said. “I love Capital Challenge. It was great to end this year that way, because I’m not going to do any of my hunters or jumpers.”

Colvin will compete for the first time in the USEF Show Jumping Talent Search Finals—East Coast (N.J.) on Oct. 3-5.

There were 79 entries in the Private Tutoring Services North American Junior Equitation Championships, and riders contested a course set by Kenneth Krome. There were five judges for the class: Jeff Ayers, Linda Andrisani, Scott Fitton, Mark Jungherr, and Scott Williamson. In the first round, Colvin and Clearway went straight to the top with a score of 90.20.
“He has a really big stride, and all of the lines were pretty much [riding] easy today. I think the first course was a little more challenging than the second one, but he handled it great,” Colvin said.

The top 20 returned for a second round, and as the last to go, Colvin put down yet another solid trip and improved her score to 90.80 for a total of 181 and victory. With a greater than 2-point difference between Colvin and second place, no additional testing was done. Second place went to Megan MacPherson of Boulder, Colo., and Meredith Darst of Lebanon, Ohio, took third on Soldier.

Iannotti Rises To The Top Of THIS National Children’s Medal Finals

Hayley Iannotti, 16 and of Wellington, Fla., got her first big equitation win in the THIS National Children’s Medal Finals aboard Quasa Granda, a 7-year-old KWPN gelding owned by her trainer, Jane Fennessy. Iannotti was cool under pressure, moving up from third place, to second place, to the win over 39 other competitors.

Iannotti scored an 87.40 in the first round and went for it in the second round, where the top 10 were called back, scoring 88.70. Iannotti was called back for a test with 12-year-old Maria Moore of Powell, Ohio, on Prosecco 24, who had an 88 in the first round and an 88.30 in the second round. The two riders were only .20 of a point apart, so they had to test.

The test called for a trot jump and a counter-canter around a rollback, both of which were well executed by Iannotti and Moore. But it was Iannotti who led the victory gallop after the judges gave her an average score of 91.40 in the test for a total of 267.50. Moore received an 87.60 for a total of 263.90.

“Going back into the second round, I was only behind by .2 points for second place and .5 points for first place, so I wanted to go in there and give it everything I had to try and move up to the top,” Ianotti said. “I was really happy with my round, but when Maria went and I were only .2 points apart and they asked us to test, it was really stressful. But he listened to everything I asked him to do, and he was amazing. I can’t thank him enough.”

Iannotti is a working student at Carriage Hill Farm for Fennessy and Vinissa Blann. She has been riding “Q” for two years and has helped bring him along as an equitation horse. They competed in last year’s THIS finals, but did not make the second round.

“We thought we’d come back and give it another shot. And it worked!” she said with a smile. “He’s improved a lot since last year. He’s my best friend.

“I can’t even believe this happened,” Ianotti continued. “All I’ve dreamed of is winning an equitation final and to get (judges) scores of 92, 93, and 95, is really surreal.”

Hellman Victorious In Adult Equitation Championships

In the North American Adult Amateur Equitation Championships, it was Eleanor Hellman of Kentfield, Calif., who was victorious riding Nigel in a class of 25 riders. Hellman won in two rounds with scores of 83.40 and 87.35 for a total of 170.75. She led through both rounds, returning last to go in Round 2, where the top 10 were called back.

Hellman thought the courses on both days of competition at Equitation Weekend were excellent, and noted that while yesterday’s rounds “gave you a little more room to take a breath,” today’s championships courses “pushed a lot of riders to be on point.”

Close behind, but not within the 2-point margin for a test, was second place finisher Rachel Boggus of Indianapolis, Ind., on Papillon 136. They scored 83.60 and 84.10 for a total of 167.70. Rebecca Clawson of Plympton, Mass., rode Kennebec to third place on scores of 76.70 and 85.50 for a total of 162.20.

This is Hellman’s first time competing at Capital Challenge; the 23-year-old has focused on school until recently. She has ridden Nigel, a 10-year-old Holsteiner gelding by Coriano, for two years. Originally purchased to be a hunter derby horse, Hellman and trainers Hope and Ned Glynn have found he also excels at equitation. Hellman shares the horse with her mother, who also competes him in the 2’6” divisions.

Hellman was excited to get her first finals win at Capital Challenge. “It isn’t about winning, it is about having fun (for me),” she noted.

Final Results: Private Tutoring Services North American Junior Equitation Championships

1 VICTORIA COLVIN/CLEARWAY

91.00 91.00 86.00 89.00 94.00 90.20

90.00 92.00 90.00 92.00 90.00 90.80

181.00

2 MEGAN MACPHERSON/CLOVER

87.00 88.00 88.00 87.00 83.00 86.60

89.00 88.00 89.00 86.50 86.00 87.70

174.30

3 MEREDITH DARST/SOLDIER

90.00 92.00 92.00 86.25 90.00 90.05

83.25 83.50 87.25 83.75 82.25 84.00

174.05

4 HALIE ROBINSON/BAROLO W

87.50 87.50 90.00 88.00 88.00 88.20

84.75 82.50 84.00 85.00 87.50 84.75

172.95

5 SYDNEY HUTCHINS/GAUDI

88.00 89.00 81.85 83.25 84.50 85.32

87.50 89.00 86.75 83.25 84.50 86.20

171.52

6 ASHTON ALEXANDER/ECLYPSO

83.00 84.00 85.00 85.00 84.00 84.20

86.00 86.00 86.00 83.50 82.50 84.80

169.00

7 LILLIAN WAGNER/ANDIAMO

82.35 81.50 84.25 84.85 85.50 83.69

84.50 84.25 87.50 82.75 85.00 84.80

168.49

8 DESTRY SPIELBERG/NAT KING COLE

84.00 82.00 80.15 79.75 82.80 81.74

87.00 86.50 85.00 86.00 88.00 86.50

168.24

9 KELLI CRUCIOTTI/MONTERREY

82.00 82.00 82.00 83.00 81.00 82.00

85.00 85.50 87.00 84.50 87.00 85.80

167.80

10 MACKENZIE MICHAELS/FEDELIO

83.25 84.50 82.00 82.50 83.50 83.15

83.50 83.50 80.50 82.50 83.00 82.60

165.75