Washington, D.C.—Oct. 25

 By mid-afternoon today, most riders in the WIHS Adult Amateur Championship were triple checking that their shadbellies were lint-free and hanging out with their horses. But not Jacquelyn Maggiore. She was finishing up at work in South Boston so that she could run out the door to catch a plane to get to downtown Washington D.C.

But that running around paid off when Maggiore captured the WIHS Adult Amateur Championship aboard her own Contina after coming close twice before. She and the 13-year-old Westphalian mare (Contini—Annie) edged out Moonwalk and Kendall Meijer for the title.

“There’s no other horse like her,” said Maggiore, 27. “This is now our third time at Washington, and we were second our first year and third our second year. This year I came back and I said, ‘I want one win.’ I’m just so happy. This is my first final I’ve ever won. It’s very exciting.”

Maggiore balances her job in real estate with riding with Cookie DeSimone and Greg Prince at Woodridge Farm—not that it’s easy. 

Read more about Jacquelyn Maggiore’s inspiring road to the Washington title here. 

“I left work at 3 and ran to the airport,” said Maggiore. “I got there 20 minutes before my flight and hopped on. It’s super hard when the adult amateurs run midweek—which they do almost everywhere—so I’m always missing work. I just always have my phone on the road—and I’m constantly answering emails annd trying to get in early on the days I’m there to catch up. At home I’m always getting prepared for being out of the office. I leave to go to the barn from my house at 4:30 in the morning so I can get there at 5—then ride and change—I don’t even bother showering before I go to work for the day. It’s a crazy life but I wouldn’t trade it for anything.” 

Maggiore cites Washington as one of her favorite shows. 

“I just love the entire environment,” she said. “She thrives in this type of environment because she doesn’t need to go in the ring before. We didn’t even bring her over until an hour before the class—just because she would prefer to be there and she doesn’t need to see the ring. So she’s a very special horse. I’m a lucky girl.”

First Time’s A Charm For Kathryn Crenshaw And Chapman

What do you get when a 6-year-old gelding and his 17-year-old rider’s first steps in the Verizon Center occur during their debut in the WIHS Children’s Hunter Championship? If you’re Chapman and Kathryn Crenshaw, you win.

“I’ve never been here,” said the high school senior from Central York High School (Pa.). “It’s my first time coming here. Ever since I began riding I wanted to come, and I finally got the opportunity. He walked down here today, walked right in the ring and was perfect.

“This was my goal for the year,” she continued. “I really wanted to go to this horse show. Getting here was an honor, much less winning was beyond my mind, I can’t even express it.”

Waking up at 6 a.m. this morning, Crenshaw loaded up “Chappy” in York, Pa., to start the journey to Upper Marlboro, Md,. where he temporarily stayed before migrating to the capital. And for the WIHS class, they exuded calm and confidence like they had competed in the indoor many times before.

“He feeds off me, so if I’m nervous he’ll be nervous,” Crenshaw said. “With him being young I like to give him a chance to relax when he goes in the ring and take it all in and it worked out.”

Crenshaw purchased the warmblood (Contenero—Gladdy) as her first young horse last season and Chappy evolved to become her horse of a lifetime.

“I tried a few horses before him,” she said. “When I got on him I knew immediately that he was the one. I wanted something to work with and we’ve grown. He’s learned so much. He walked in here today not even being in the ring yesterday and was perfect. I couldn’t ask for anything else.”

And with college looming ahead for Crenshaw, her future with Chappy isn’t certain—unsure if she’ll be able to keep the bay gelding through her college years. But for this class, she couldn’t be more proud of the “baby.”

“Winning this—I can’t even express it,” she said afterwards. “I’m going to cry.”

Get full results at ryegate.com.

Want more Washington International Horse Show? No problem—we have you covered.  And don’t miss the Nov. 14 issue of the Chronicle of the Horse magazine for full analysis of the competition.