She’s beautiful, elegant and the perfect showgirl. So when Moulin Rouge strutted her stuff at the Washington International Horse Show, held at the MCI Center in down- town Washington, D.C., the glitzy city atmos- phere was the perfect place for her to shine.

And with Natalie Johnson as her partner, the sleek dark mare stole the show, Oct. 25-30 and earned the grand junior title after taking the small junior, 16-17, championship.

“We needed our big moment, and I feel we really had that here,” said Johnson with a smile.

Moulin Rouge’s tricolors didn’t come without some gritty determination on Johnson’s part, however. The first day of the division, Hardin Towell rode Christy Russo’s High Cotton to two blue ribbons as Moulin Rouge settled for the two reds.

Even though red may be her color (Rouge is red in French), Johnson was determined that her 10-year-old warmblood should model the color blue the second day. And after taking the victory in the stake class, Moulin Rouge strutted her way to yet another top call in the under saddle, to garner 32 points.

“This is my biggest win so far with her,” said Johnson. “It’s hard now because I’m in college at New York University. And it’s my last show with her, so it’s a nice way to end.”

Johnson, 17, Greenwich, Conn., has been training with the team from Heritage Farm for the past three years, and she’s had “Meiroos” for four years after purchasing her through grand prix rider Leslie Howard as a first year green horse.

“This has been so exciting for us because Natalie and this horse have come so close on so many big occasions, and we always knew she could be champion at a place like this,” said trainer Andre Dignelli. “We’ve always believed in this horse.”

Dignelli was also proud that Johnson kept her cool with the intense pressure of a very competitive division, where on any given day a number of riders and horses could rise to the top. “It wasn’t a gift, so it was a great way for it to happen. Hardin Towell is a great competitor, and he didn’t give an inch,” he said.

Towell, Camden, S.C., settled for the reserve tricolor with 26 points aboard High Cotton, but he did earn his own championship in the large section aboard Laura Beth King-Kaplan’s Bellingham Bay. Towell won five classes on three different horses.

Dignelli also noted that Johnson’s proven to be a competitive hunter rider the past two years and really gelled with the mare. “It’s been a good fit. This horse is very expressive over the jumps, and it’s taken a little time for it to be really smooth. And it’s thrilling for us to have it happen here,” he said.

Dignelli and Johnson each acknowledged the many others who played a part in the mare’s development. “Everyone’s believed in this horse,” said Dignelli. “Leslie Howard for finding her, T. Whitehead for riding her and developing her, and Patricia Griffith and Peggy Gehman have been instrumental in training this horse, so it’s really a team effort.

“We’re really fortunate. A horse like Moulin Rouge has to be produced. And I think she fell into the right hands, and everyone’s contributed. When you think of a fancy horse, you think of the type of horse she is,” he added.

Dignelli and the Heritage group had many reasons to be proud of their performances at Washington. In addition to Johnson’s accomplishments, Addison Phillips dominated the younger junior hunter sections and was named best child rider on a horse. She swept the large juniors with Double H Farm’s Socrates and her own Who’s On First. She also earned the small junior championship with a catchride on Missy Clark’s Sienna, while Heritage rider Maggie McAlary earned the reserve tricolor with a catch ride on Don Stewart Jr.’s Fernwalk.

“It’s flattering to come to a show like this and to win that many classes and get that much cake!” joked Dignelli about the cake each champion received from show sponsor Marvelous Market. “It’s the best of the best. We’ve worked hard with three different kids and all of the horses. We’ve decided to do all three divisions-he hunters, jumpers and equitation, and it’s hard to do it all well. So I’m pleased these kids came here are rode so well.”

Welles Dons Blue Again
After the hunter and jumper phases were completed, the top 10 riders in the Tad Coffin WIHS Equitation Classic Finals returned for a final work-off. Following a switch of horses, they competed over the jumper course again for their third and final score.

And just as she already has this season in the USEF Talent Search Finals East, Julie Welles, West Simsbury, Conn., performed flawlessly to clinch the victory. She topped this class by more than 7 points, fresh from her third-placed finish in the USEF Medal Finals (Pa.).

In the WIEC, Welles placed second in the hunter and jumper phases aboard Lando before winning the work-off. Sloane Coles, of The Plains, Va., who won the jumper phase, placed second overall, while Michael Delfiandra, of Delray Beach, Fla., won the hunter phase with a stunning trip and was third overall.

“I wasn’t really nervous coming into the last round because last year was my first year here,” Welles said. “I was nervous last year, but this year I just went in with confidence. It was just fun and whatever happened, happened.”

Welles returned for the work-off on top and switched horses with Maggie McAlary, who eventually placed seventh overall. Welles found McAlary’s Peter Pan an easy horse to understand, in part, because of her extensive experience in catch riding.

“Maggie’s horse has a shorter stride than my horse Lando, who has a huge stride,” she said. “Besides that, I felt really comfortable. His stride flowed nicely throughout the course.”

With scores of 90.5, 86.5 and 92, she was by far the best in the final round, which tested shortening and lengthening the horse’s stride and precise riding. “To be a truly good rider and to accomplish switching on a horse, you need to be able to adapt,” said trainer Missy Clark. “She’s got a lot of mileage on a lot of different horses.

 “When you do this for as long as I’ve been doing it, you have certain riders that come along that are gifted,” added Clark. “Julie is certainly one of the most talented riders that I’ve dealt with in my career. She has great determination, focus, and works incredibly hard at it. It’s all of the ingredients that you need to be a champion.”

Taylor Brown, 14, Palmyra, Va., also exhibited all of the attributes of a champion. Inher first appearance at Washington, Brown couldn’t have been more polished as she outlasted her peers to earn the blue ribbon in the WIHS Pony Equitation Classic.

After the over fences test, the judges called back the top 10 riders for a flat phase. And as the riders performed, one by one each was called into the center of the ring until just Brown remained on the rail, trotting down the arena with a huge grin on her face.

“I was getting more and more nervous as people were getting called in,” admitted Brown. “I just kept it cool and taking deep breaths to relax my shoulders, and it worked. I like the flat phase—it gives you a second chance to show them what you can do.”

Kirstie Dobbs of Carmel, Ind., placed second, while Devon Walther, Warrenton, Va., in her first competition over fences after breaking her femur in August, was third.

Brown stood third entering the flat portion with an 84. Because her own pony was leased out, she borrowed the large pony Texas from Walther to compete at Washington. She admitted the large pony division didn’t go as well as she’d hoped, so she cleansed her mind and considered the hunters as a warm-up for the medal final.

“It took a lot of confidence,” she said. “I gave it all my heart and just went for it. I was really happy with my ride. There was nothing I didn’t like. I had a little rub, which I probably could have saved, but I was so happy with him and how I rode.”

Brown began riding 10 years ago with Pam Freeley. But at Washington, Devon’s father, Russ Walther, trained her in partnership with Christina Schlusemeyer.

Brown is now looking ahead to horses and working mostly with green ponies. “This is a great step for me,” she said of her finals win. “I’m moving on to horses now and saying goodbye to the ponies. I’m so happy, but I’m also sad.”

Another Good-Bye
Alex Arute also celebrated her final appearance with Olympic Dreams LLC’s Keep Dreamin’ by earning the large pony championship and the grand pony hunter title.

Arute, 13, Avon, Conn., was especially proud of the palomino for his stellar performances because he’s in his first year of showing. “He was green, and he went in there and was just great,” she said.

Arute found the 9-year-old warmblood through trainer Eddie Horowitz. Keep Dreamin’ had been a dressage pony in Europe prior to coming to America and changing careers.

When she purchased him, he was just starting to jump small courses. “When I got him, he didn’t know much, so it was gratifying to bring him along. And since he was a green pony, the improvement is such a big step. I feel we really conquered something here,” said Arute, who trains with Scott Stewart.

The pair began on the Winter Equestrian Festival (Fla.) circuit last winter in the green and regular large pony divisions, where they finished third. After a prosperous summer—including tricolors both weeks of Lake Placid (N.Y.)—Keep Dreamin’ placed third overall in the large green pony section of the USEF Pony Finals (Ky.). They then placed second in the WCHR Pony Challenge at the Capital Challenge (Md.) and were reserve champions at the Pennsylvania National.

“This was my first time winning an over fences class at Washington. It’s been a bad luck-horse show,” said Arute with a laugh. “I didn’t know how he’d be indoors, and he was better than he’s ever been. The jumps were a little bigger and scarier than they usually are, so he used that in a positive way. Everything was just a little brighter.”

Keep Dreamin’ will now have a new partner in Katie Dinan, while Arute will concentrate on competing horses, including her star junior hunter Folklore, who won the WCHR Junior Challenge at the Capital Challenge. “That was what I was hoping, to end my pony career this way,” said Arute.

Let Them (All) Eat Cake
After sharing the accolades in the junior jumpers, where there was a four-way tie for the Washington International championship between Brianne Goutal, Aimee Aron, Evan Coluccio and Henry Pfeiffer, it didn’t take long for the championship cake—donated by Marvelous Market–to disappear back in the barns.

Sharing, it turns out, goes way back for Goutal and Aron, both 16. The two girls may have even learned the concept together as they attended the same pre-school as toddlers living in New York City.

But despite their close friendship of more than a decade, when the buzzer sounds in the ring, they’re true competitors. And for the Senator’s Cup, the finale of the junior jumper division, it became a duel between these two top jumper riders as they raced around the fastest in the jump-off, each looking for victory.

After seven of 22 riders qualified for the tiebreaker, Aron, now of Keswick, Va., took the win with an amazing ride aboard her bay mare, Jamaica. Aron picked up a gallop from the start and never let up on her pace, with each jump coming up out of stride. She took the blue ribbon by more than 1.6 seconds over Goutal, who’d just taken over the lead before Aron stepped into the ring.

“Going after Brianne, especially when she’s on Onira, I knew I had nothing to lose, and to win, I had to go all out,” said Aron. “I think luck was on my side because we both had great rounds today.”

Goutal she said she’d left the door open for Aron because her ride from fences 1 to 2 wasn’t as fast. “I was too casual.” Goutal admitted. “I was too easy going to the first fence, and I could have been quicker to fence 2. Where I left out some strides in the line, she made up for that with the ones she left out in that great turn she made [late in the course]. We were both on great horses, and it came down to who was going to do fewer strides everywhere.”

Aron also earned the Shalanno Style of Riding Award for her performances.

“They’re really old partners and know each other well and perform so well under pressure,” said trainer Laura Kraut of Aron and Jamaica, who’ve been together for five years. “Aimee’s just such a natural talent. She’s got a great eye and a great feel for the horse. Jamaica is one of the fastest horses in the world, so when they’re both on, they’re pretty hard to beat.”   Tricia Booker