Harrisburg, Pennsylvania—Oct. 11

When it comes to describing her junior hunter partner Babylon, Paige Walkenbach doesn’t mince words.

“He jumps amazing and moves amazing. He’s honestly one of the best hunters out there,” she said.

At the Pennsylvania National Babylon, a 9-year-old Oldenburg (Crumbie—Die Cera), topped all three of the small junior hunter, 16-17, classes and took second under saddle to take the championship and grand junior hunter honors to boot. Magnolia Lane Stables’ Coltrane ridden by Lillian Geitner earned the reserve division title.

Babylon had an illustrious career in the junior hunter ring with Ariana Marnell before Walkenbach took over the reins at the end of last season. While riding a horse who has won grand titles at every major show on the circuit might intimidate some, Walkenbach is up for the challenge.

“[Marnell has been] really, really, really supportive and I love her,” said Walkenbach, 17. “She’s honestly the best and she’s helped me through this whole journey. It’s definitely a lot of pressure to follow in her footsteps but she makes it easy.”

Marnell stepped in to ride “Crumbles” in the under saddle when Walkenbach had two mounts (she won the class with Ever So Often).

“Babylon was jumping incredible this whole week, it was really fun,” said Walkenbach. “I liked the handy specifically. It was tricky and there were some hard turns. He performed amazing.

“Definitely a large pony, always looking for treats, he always wants the carrots and the apples,” she added. “He loves to be cuddled with and he likes to know that he’s the best. He likes to hear it because he is—he’s so amazing, and the things that he’s accomplished are incredible.”

As if picking up the grand title wasn’t enough, Walkenbach also won the large junior hunter, 16-17, title with San Pedro 15 over Ceil Wheeler’s Cerano and Maddie Tosh. The judges picked Walkenbach as their Best Junior Rider on a Horse.

Both Babylon and San Pedro 15 have won grand titles at Pennsylvania National before: Babylon last year with Marnell and San Pedro 15 with Isabelle Ehman in 2022.

“He’s had a great year so far as well,” said Walkenbach of San Pedro 15. “We had a good day the first day, then today he really shined. He won the hack the first day then today he got a 91.

“ ‘Parker’s’ like my big dog,” she continued. “I love him very much. He kind of follows me around. He’ll do whatever I ask; he’s honestly the best.”

Walkenbach lives in Paradise Valley, Arizona, and Crumbles lives with John French in Wellington, Florida, while Parker and most of her other horses live with Jim Hagman in Moorpark, California, so she’s constantly racking up the air miles.

“I go to real in-person school in Arizona,” she said. “It’s definitely tricky. I’ve been traveling to the East Coast back and forth doing some horse shows, and the West Coast as well. It’s definitely not the easiest but I really like the balance. I think it’s impotant to have kind of two lives in a way. My school luckily works with me.”

Tatum Sweeps A Division

If you’re going to travel all the way from Pacific Palisades, California, to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, you may as well make the trip worth it.

And Violet Tatum did just that, sweeping the small junior hunter, 15 and under, division aboard Jagerbomb and Cayman.

“This is the fourth year [coming to Pennsylvania National] and I’d say this is my best year,” said Tatum, 15. “The first few years I was so nervous because it’s such a long way and if I didn’t do well it would have been a waste.”

“[Jagerbomb] is a really good boy,” she added. “He’s very experienced and nice to ride. This is my fifth show with him—we just started our partnership in August. He’s such a good boy. He’s lazy but not bad; he’s just nice. He just cruises around. He’s not spooky.”

Though he’s not spooky, he’s not without his quirks. Tatum said he’s horse shy, so she keeps her warm-up to a minimum before heading into the ring, where he’s always a star.

“He’s done a lot of things,” she said. “He’s very experienced, which is always nice going to the ring knowing you can trust him. He knows everything.”

Tatum describe “Jager,” an 11-year-old Oldenburg (Diarado—Chaccalou), as very sweet and very spoiled.

“He runs up to you and goes at you with his mouth looking for treats. And the second you leave him he sways back and forth in his stall wanting more treats,” she said.

While Jager has plenty of experience in the junior hunter ring, Cayman is newer to it.

“This is his first [time at indoors,]” she said. “He’s a very good boy, very ridable and nice. I just started riding him in May and I’m very proud of his progression since then. He’s not necessarily green but I wouldn’t call him ‘been there, done that’ either.”

A Winning Swan Song

Vivian Golden knew coming into the Pennsylvania National that it would be her last show with Chamonix, so she wanted to make it count. And she did just that, celebrating her last show with the 13-year-old Dutch Warmblood (Querly-Elvis—Wella) by winning the large junior hunter, 15 and under, title over Brooke Hagerty and Casino Cash.

“I was coming into the weeked with no expectations; I wanted to have a good show and be consistent,” she said. “In the first class I made a little mistake on my part. Then in the handy he was amazing and he jumped so well, and we won the handy. We’ve really been working on hacks and getting him stronger. So I’m really excited that he won the under saddle. We’ve been doing a lot of flatwork to make him stronger so he’s been able to push more. His movement has really gotten so much better over time.”

Golden, Wyomissing, Pennsylvania, and her family imported the gelding two years ago after Scott Stewart spotted him in Europe.

“He was my first junior hunter,” said Golden, 15. “I’ve been the only one to show him. I’ve done basically all the training on him since he got here. Nobody rides him except my mom [Olivia Golden.] He was a 1.40-meter horse in Europe so when we first got him he went pretty fast. He jumped pretty quick and his stride was kinda short, had to work on being able to be a hunter and jump slow and nice. Always had a good jump, so he’s progressed so nicely.”

Vivian said while she did work on some exercises with him under the guidance of trainers Amanda Lyerly and Stewart, time in the ring was key for getting the gelding to relax into his new job.

Chamonix will be sold shortly so Vivian can turn her attention full time to the jumpers and equitation, and though Vivian will miss him, she’s grateful for their time together.

“He’s a very good boy, and we tried to save him for the big shows,” she said. “This year has been so much fun and he’s been great.”

Get full results here. Follow along with all the news from the Pennsylvania National here. Check out the November issue of The Chronicle of the Horse magazine for full analysis from the horse show.