HARRISBURG, PA.--October 20, 2018 - Leslie Schillat of Malvern, Pa., on SLF Destiny won the $10,000 North American League (NAL) Adult Jumper Final on Saturday, Oct. 20 at the Pennsylvania National Horse Show. The pair turned in two fault-free rides and a jump-off time of 35.991 to claim the win.
Leslie Schillat and SLF Destiny(Photo by Al Cook)Schillat was one of eight from a starting field of 29 to reach the jump-off, and she was clean again in 35.991 to win.
Izabelle Quadracci of Hartland, Wisc., took an early lead in the jump-off with a clean ride in 36.547 seconds on Tipperary Hill, and she finished second.
Anna Lerch of Wilton, Conn., on Carany was third with Hope Batchelor DVM of Chester Springs, Pa., on Ciola placing fourth.
"This is my first time at this show, so we were both nervous," said Schillat. " I expected none of this. I thought if I have a nice round, I'll be happy with it and see what happens after that. This is beyond what was expected.
"MY MARE was wonderful, but a little like, 'What is this, where are we' and then she was a champ all the way around," said Schillat. "She's the best, and when I'm nervous, she just takes care of me. We watched a whole bunch of the children's class and then a few of the adults. It was helpful for me to watch and talk with Missy about our plan; really helpful for us to watch, for sure. The whole experience was really fun, it goes by so fast, I wish I could do it all again in slow motion."
Schillat said that this was her first year competing in the NAL.
"The NAL is a great program," she said. "I think the way they calculate the points is really fair, it allows for the best people to qualify coming from the best horse shows. I think it's great. At the same time, we don't go to Florida, we stay up North in the winter and we were still able to qualify, which I think is great. It's kind of like an equal opportunity league, which I really like."
