RINGSIDE WITH THE PLAID HORSE

BY EMILY RANDOLPH/RANDOLPHPR

Katy, Texas – March 26, 2021 – Friday was double derby day at the 75^th annual Pin Oak Charity Horse Show, where Jordan Gilchrist won the $30,000 United States Hunter Jumper Association (USHJA) International Hunter Derby and Jennifer Alfano topped the $10,000 USHJA National Hunter Derby. 

For Gilchrist, the derby victory came aboard Carige, her own 17-year-old grey Holsteiner.

The pair sat in third place following the first round of the USHJA International Derby, but high scores from the two judging panels of 82 and 83 in the handy round would shoot them straight to the top of the leaderboard. Coupled with high option and handy bonus points, Gilchrist and Carige earned a total handy round score of 183 and an overall winning score of 361.

Second place went to Ilana Halpern and Prosecco, owned by Devin Lanzone. After leading the first round with a round total score of 176, Halpern and Prosecco earned handy round scores of 76 and 79. With handy and high option bonus points included, the duo ultimately finished on an overall total score of 343.

Finishing in third behind Halpern with an overall score of 335 was again Gilchrist, this time aboard Charismatic, owned by Galen Hoaglund. Gilchrist rounded out her successful evening by also finishing ninth with Shy Boy, owned by Laura Hightower.

“I’m really excited; it was a fun night, and the horses were fabulous!” said Gilchrist, of Flower Mound, TX. “Carige actually belongs to my husband, [David Gilchrist]. He’s just been a hunter for not even quite a year. I adore him.”

While Carige was previously competing in the jumper ring, the Gilchrists felt that the horse may be better suited for the hunter ring, and thus far, they continue to be proved correct.

“He was super in the jumpers, but we were going as fast as we could double clear, and we kept being fourth!” said Jordan Gilchrist of the decision to transition Carige to the hunters. “He’s awesome, and he seems to really love his job now. He still gets a little jump-off minded in the handy. So, I was a little bit more conservative, but it paid off and he jumped in really good form.”

Jordan Gilchrist is a frequent top contender at Pin Oak and the show’s venue at the Great Southwest Equestrian Center in Katy, TX, and she and her Summer Hill Farms team will contest all three weeks of this year’s Pin Oak Charity Horse Show.

“I love the tradition of Pin Oak,” concluded Jordan Gilchrist. “They put a lot of thought into how everything’s done, and I really appreciate that as an exhibitor, trainer and rider.”

In the $10,000 USHJA National Hunter Derby, Alfano took the top call with Enzo W, a 9-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding owned by Vandervail, Ltd.

While a field of 32 entries contested the class, none would come closer to catching Alfano and Enzo W than Alfano herself. She also finished second aboard Early Times, owned by Marigot Bay Farm, LLC. Third place went to Natalee Haggan and Rhett, owned by Steve Weder.

Running March 24 – April 11, the 75^th annual Pin Oak Charity Horse Show features three weeks of top hunter, jumper and American Saddlebred competition while benefitting the Texas Children’s Hospital.

Remaining highlight events of Week 1 include Saturday evening’s $30,000 Pin Oak Charity Grand Prix, beginning at 7 p.m.  

Learn more about the Pin Oak Charity Horse Show by visiting www.PinOak.org, and find the horse show on Facebook here. To purchase competition photos, visit www.AndrewRyback.com.

For additional coverage throughout the Pin Oak Charity Horse Show, follow The Plaid Horse on Facebook and Instagram.

RINGSIDE WITH THE PLAID HORSE

BY EMILY RANDOLPH

Katy, Texas – March 25, 2021 – Texas may be the Lone Star State, but there were two stars in the $10,000 Pin Oak Welcome Stake and Under 25 Welcome on Thursday, March 25 at the 75^th annual Pin Oak Charity Horse Show in Katy, TX. Jacqueline Ward clinched the Welcome Stake win while Avery Erickson earned victory in the U25 Welcome class held concurrently with the Welcome Stake.

Ward and her own San Chano were one of 10 entries to navigate the first-round Manuel Esparza-designed course to advance to the jump-off, where they tripped timers in a winning 33.385 seconds.

“This is my first really big win ever outside of amateur classes, so it’s really exciting,” said Ward, a 27-year-old Houston, TX, native who has been showing at Pin Oak since her early teen years. “The fact that the win is at Pin Oak is pretty big because I remember, as a kid, always watching the Pin Oak grand prix and welcome classes and thinking that they were impossible. The best of the best riders rode in them. To win that finally is huge for me.”

Ward continued, “We just got back from Wellington [Florida] where I did some 1.40 m and 1.45 m classes, and he was awesome. I think that prepared us for this. He’s really special. He has so many quirks; he’s so sensitive, but he’s also really awesome. We’ve developed such a good partnership where he’s built a lot of trust in me, and I think that helps us a lot.”

As the second-fastest jump-off pair with a time of 34.134 seconds, Erickson and her longtime partner, Chacco Lait, would finish in second in the Welcome Stake in addition earning the win in the U25 Welcome.

“It feels good to get it done! It’s a great start to the show here,” said 19-year-old Erickson. “Chacco Blue’s taken me from the low juniors to the grand prix ring, so it’s really fun. He’s a good boy, and I love him so much. He’s super special, and he tries really hard.”

Erickson has been coming to Pin Oak from her hometown of Dallas, TX, since she was competing in the Children’s Pony Hunters roughly six years ago.

“Katy [Texas] is always awesome as it is, but this is just such a special show,” said Erickson, who is currently on her gap year before joining the Southern Methodist University equestrian team in the fall. “The atmosphere and everything are amazing; they make it so pretty. It’s really good competition, and it’s fun.”

Finishing in third place in the $10,000 Welcome Stake were Trapp O’Neal and Baltazar D Z, while fourth place went to junior rider Brooke Peterson and Ennebel van het Posthuijs. For full results from Thursday’s competition, visit www.horseshowsonline.com.

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The 75th Anniversary Show has been postponed until March 24 – April 11, 2021.

Updated show info can be found under “competitors.”

KATY, Texas (FOX 26) — Not only is March 20 the first day of the spring season but it is also the first day of the 2019 Pin Oak Charity Horse Show, which ends on April 7.

FOX 26 serves as the media partner for the three-week-long multi-breed Pin Oak Charity Horse Show at the Great Southwest Equestrian Center in Katy.

The competition runs from Wednesdays until Sundays over the three-week period and generally starts at 8 a.m. and ends at dusk with admission free to the public.

Funds are raised through sponsorships, entry fees and social events.

The show offers financial donations, outreach and volunteer support for Texas Children’s Hospital.

JS Abercrombie’s vision for the show became a reality on May 26, 1945 and it benefited the pediatric hospital starting in 1947 by donating the money to begin the planning and construction of the medical facility.

The show has donated more than $6 million and has also supported the Ronald McDonald Family Rooms at Texas Children’s Hospital and Candlelighters Houston for its work in the Texas Children’s Cancer Center.

Pin Oak Charity Horse Show was honored to be the first show in the nation designated as a Heritage Competition by the United States Equestrian Federation. The North American Riders Group selected Pin Oak Charity Horse Show as a Top 25 horse show in North America for three consecutive years.

http://www.fox26houston.com/sports/pin-oak-charity-horse-show-begins-on-march-20