Hunters shined under the lights during Friday night’s $5,000 WCHR 3’3” Amateur Owner Hunter Classic, part of WCHR week at the Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF). Forty-seven amateur hunters took the opportunity to compete with their own mounts in the International Arena with the class held in a traditional hunter derby format, designed by course designer Andy Christiansen (ECU).
Each rider completed the classic round of competition, giving them a single score determining their position for the handy round. The top-12 scoring riders from round one returned for the test of the handy round. Of those 12 returning riders, it was Caroline Signorino of Basking Ridge, NJ, and Gerardus who took home the win.
The pair came in on top from the start. Going second in the order during the opening round, Signorino set the top score of 87 and couldn’t be beat. Returning in reverse order, Signorino and the 13-year-old gelding were last to challenge the handy round, laying down another 87 for a total of 174 to secure the win.
This might be Signorino’s first season as an amateur, but her partnership with Gerardus has been well-established throughout her junior career. Before pulling double duty in the hunter ring, Gerardus was Signorino’s equitation mount. “Last year we started doing him in the junior hunters as well as the equitation classes,” noted Signorino. “I've had him for a while and he means a lot to me. He's been a trooper and always by my side. I'm so thankful for him.”
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