Upper Marlboro, Md.—Oct. 5  

Every once in a while everything falls into place at the right time. For Lee Kellogg Sadrian, that time happened to be on Sochi at the Capital Challenge Horse Show.

“He was amazing,” she said. “It was like the trip of a lifetime. It was one of those things. I was going in, and I was like, ‘OK, I’ve got to settle myself. I can do this.’ And then every single jump just came perfect, so it was really fun. He just soars through the air.”

Lee Kellogg Sadrian considered her winning trip in the WCHR Amateur-Owner Challenge aboard Sochi to be a trip of a lifetime. Photo by Kimberly Loushin.

Competing in and winning the WCHR Amateur-Owner Challenge class has been a big goal for Sadrian. She lived in California from 2012 to 2016, so the WCHR program gave her something to strive for since she couldn’t come back east for the entire fall indoor season.

“It was definitely a challenge,” she said. “I love to do this because I don’t do that many shows. It becomes easier to focus on that and make that your challenge.”

Sadrian and Sochi posted a dominating score of 90.33 to take the blue ribbon over Jean Sheptoff and Heartcore’s score of 85.

Heartcore gave Jean Sheptoff spectacular efforts in the WCHR Amateur-Owner Challenge to finish second. Photo by Kimberly Loushin.

“I’m so excited about this,” Sadrian said. “You rarely have the trip of a lifetime at the right time, and I did it! It’s usually when nobody is watching and it doesn’t matter.”

Sadrian purchased the 8-year-old Holsteiner (Quirado—Utah III) two years ago when he was competing in the first year green hunters with John French. That pairing won the championship at the Washington International (D.C.), and Sadrian planned to take over the reins for the following season. But before she was able to start riding him, he injured himself in the paddock and had to sit the year out to recover. Sadrian, now living in Summit, N.J., just started showing him this winter in Florida.

“He’s a horse of a lifetime,” said Sadrian. “I’ve had some amazing horses. I’m very lucky. He’s pretty cool.”

Ingram Achieves Elusive Challenge Win

Martha Ingram is no newcomer to Capital Challenge. She’s been competing at the horse show since her pony days, but this year marked the 20-year-old’s first trip to the Prince George’s Equestrian Center as an amateur.

“I get to show with my dad and all of the amateurs are so nice and such good sports,” she said. “The horses are of top quality; you really have to be on top of your game if you want to do well here.”

In her first time competing in the WCHR Low Amateur-Owner Challenge with Lyons Creek Bellini, Martha Ingram jumped to the top of the class. Photo by Kimberly Loushin.

The Ingrams purchased Lyons Creek Bellini, an 11-year-old Polish Warmblood, in 2015, but this was his first time at Capital Challenge. He and Ingram have won consistent ribbons since beginning their partnership and the highlight of their year was a champion and grand champion win in the low amateur-owner, 18-35, division at Devon (Pa.)

“I hadn’t been champion or reserve or anything so that was really rewarding,” Ingram said. “[Devon is] one of my favorite horse shows. It was really awesome to be able to do that.”

Ingram has always sought a challenge win but it evaded her through the medium pony and junior hunter divisions. The long-awaited win was made especially meaningful because of Ingram’s partnership with Bellini.

“[Bellini] is one of the smartest horses I’ve ever had,” Ingram said. “He knows when it’s game time. He loves his treats. You probably heard him whinnying in the victory gallop. He likes to announce himself in the ring. I couldn’t have asked more of him today.”

Ingram balances her show schedule with full-time academics. She attends Furman University (S.C.) and is considering pursuing a degree in political science. She does not ride at school in favor of focusing on her studies, but she occasionally makes weekend trips home to Nashville, Tenn., that include saddle time.

Lisa Arena Davis and Balou finished second in the WCHR Low Amateur-Owner Challenge with a score of 86.33. Photo by Kieran Paulsen.

For more in-depth coverage from the Capital Challenge Horse Show check out the October 23 & 30 issue of The Chronicle of the Horse magazine.

You can see full results from the Capital Challenge Horse Show here. 

Follow along with the Chronicle’s coverage of the Capital Challenge Horse Show and make sure you’re following us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at @chronofhorse.