Amanda Steege has quite a cheering section, and during the HITS III Ocala Masters, they must have been cheering themselves hoarse, as Steege collected multiple tricolors.

“We had an amazing week!” Steege said of Feb. 22-27 in Ocala, Fla., where she rode to three championships and one reserve in the professional hunter divisions. “I’ve had a lot of nice horses over the years, and I’ve had some success, but this finally feels like the first year I have a whole team of horses that are really quality,” said Steege.

“It seems like if one of them has a bad day, there’s another one that’s right there to step up. That’s been nice for me. I’m lucky; I have a great group of clients and horses and a team of people who help me put it all together.”

Tony Arena’s Majestic cantered off with the high performance hunter tricolor. Steege has been campaigning the 10-year-old since March of 2009, when he was a first year horse Arena bought from Emil Spadone.

“This year, he’s really come into his own. He was a nice first year horse, and then he was a more successful second year horse. Finally, this year, it seems like every time he goes in the ring he’s been really good. He’s much stronger physically,” Steege said.

Majestic is a Dutch Warmblood by Voltaire, and Steege thinks the 4′ height of the high performance division suits him. “He’s really scopey, so jumping the 4′ is easy for him. That being said, he still puts a lot of effort into jumping that size. He always jumps high, but I can go so slow, and I never feel like I have to worry about anything,” she said.

Arena started riding six years ago so he could spend more time with his daughter, Lisa, who has ridden and shown her whole life. He shows in the 2’6″ divisions now on his Pebble Beach but has big plans to show Majestic himself one day.

“I’ve been showing Majestic during the week, and then Tony has lessons on him on the weekend. We’re hoping that by the end of [the HITS Ocala] circuit he can do some small classes on him,” Steege said.

Tony owns Arena Products in Roches-ter, N.Y., an industrial packaging firm. He flies back and forth between Ocala and Rochester but doesn’t miss a chance to see his horse show.

“Tony is there in his swim trunks ringside watching me show his horse and taking pictures,” Steege said. “He gets so much joy and pleasure out of these horses. It’s not so much about ribbons, but he’s a major perfectionist and he wants to learn how to do everything well. They’re a very supportive family and lots of fun to have around.”

More Than Expected

Lisa Arena does quite a bit of winning on her own on in the amateur-owner, 18-35, division on her Endo Fino, but another mount of hers is making headlines, too. Steege rode Lisa’s Balou to the first year green championship.
Balou wasn’t really supposed to be a star—Lisa bought him last year as a practice horse to live with her in Rochester, since Steege is based out of Far Hills, N.J., and Endo Fino lives with Steege.

“[Lisa] decided she wanted something that could just live with her in New York and she could play with every day.

“I was looking for an older horse she could bomb around on and have a good time,” Steege said.

But a trip to Spadone’s farm changed that. They caught sight of Balou, a 7-year-old Westphalian who had just been imported, and Lisa fell in love.

“Even though he was green, he was quiet and easy, so we decided we’d try it,” said Steege. “She rides every day on the flat and every once in a while, I fly up and give them lessons. Other than that, they meet me at the shows.”

Balou did well as a pre-green in 2010 and has been champion or reserve in each of his five outings as a first year horse this year. “It’s a fluky thing; he turned out to be so much more than any of us expected,” Steege said.

Steege’s ride for the 3’3″ performance hunter division title was Prestig-ious, owned by her longtime amateur client Megan McGuire, who bought the Oldenburg in April of 2009.

“He’s an amazing mover and very consistent to the jumps,” Steege said. “He feels happy and like he’s stepped into our program, and we’re enjoying having him.”

McGuire rode Prestigious to the low amateur-owner hunter championship at HITS II Ocala Winter Festival.
Steege made a clean sweep of the 3’3″ performance division, taking the reserve title on Michelle Barber’s Harvard. Michelle is the wife of Dr. Robert Barber, the official HITS Ocala veterinarian.

“He doesn’t show much—basically at Ocala and Vermont, which is where the Barbers go. But I’m lucky enough to be his rider of choice,” said Steege.

Even though she’s got lots of different owners, Steege appreciates their support of each other. “It’s like it’s a big family,” she said. “Each time one of them shows, they’re all there watching and cheering. That’s really nice. It’s a big team, and it feels really good.”

Steege bases herself out of the HITS Ocala facility, Post Time Farm, from November 15 until mid-April. She rents a 22-stall permanent barn on the showgrounds. “We have a washer and dryer and tack room and wash stall.

When we first get here there are really hardly any other people, so we kind of have the place to ourselves. I own a house in Ocala, so I like it doing it that way,” Steege said.

In the summers, she’s at Ashmeadow Farm in Far Hills, N.J. Steege’s father, Mitch, is also a professional trainer, based out of Massachusetts. Steege loves the Florida season because she and Mitch are in the same place and help each other out.

Steege’s boyfriend, Tim Delovich, is her barn manager and ground man. “He used to show in the jumpers, but he helps me longe horses and set jumps.

He does all the organizing in the barn, with vet appointments and all that,” she said. “It makes life lots easier.”

An Instant Partnership

Charlene Graham is one of the biggest cheerleaders of Steege’s team, but she’s also got some wins of her own to celebrate. Graham rode Soft Spoken to the adult amateur hunter, 36-45, championship for the second consecutive week at the HITS III Ocala Masters after only knowing the mare for three weeks.

Graham, of Fairport, N.Y., was all set to spend the Ocala circuit showing her mare Only You in the amateur-owner divisions. But Only You suffered an injury right before HITS Ocala started, so Steege quickly negotiated with trainer Bill Ellis for Graham to ride Carol Stillwell’s gray mare Soft Spoken.

“The first week of the horse show, Bill let me do the 2’6″ division and we were champion, then the second week
I did her in the adults and was cham-pion and won the classic. This week, we won all five classes, were champion, and won the classic again! It’s been the most amazing circuit so far,” Graham said.

“I’m so grateful and lucky it all worked out. I’m pinching myself—did this really happen?” she continued. “She’s just the sweetest horse. She floats around the ring, and she’s totally uncomplicated. She loves to just stick her nose out and prick her ears and get right to business. I’m so grateful to Carol and Bill that they’re allowing me to ride her.”

Graham grew up riding, since her late father, Chuck Graham, was a hunter/jumper trainer in the Buffalo, N.Y., area. “I’ve always shown locally in Buffalo, and at the Vermont summer shows and HITS Saugerties [N.Y.], Saratoga [N.Y.] and the Syracuse PHA circuit,” she said.

Graham is Tony Arena’s girlfriend, and once the Arenas started riding with Steege, there was a bit of expansion to her horse show calendar.

“With Amanda, I’ve been able to go to a whole bunch of new shows, like Middleburg [Va.] and Ox Ridge [Conn.] and here in Florida. It’s been a great time,” Graham said. “Amanda’s awesome. She’s always positive and happy. She loves the horses and is a really good horsewoman.”

Graham, Tony and Lisa enjoy showing as a family affair. “We all cheer each other on all day, and we all talk about it all night long, rehashing our rounds,” she said.