NORTH SALEM, N.Y.--Scarlett Samuels of New York, N.Y., on Torres won the $100,000 Governor’s Perpetual Hunt Seat Cup with a two round score of 177 points on Saturday, May 16 at the Old Salem Spring Horse Shows.
Scarlett Samuels on Torres (Photo by SEL Photography)The competition awarded $50,000 in scholarship to the winning rider and $50,000 in prize money split among the trainers of the top three riders.
Samuels trains with Laura Bowery.
As amateurs, these juniors cannot receive prize money, so the money was awarded to the horse.
Over the course set by Alan Wade, 22 competed in a two round class in which Samuels scored 90 points in the first round, the judges’ highest score in the class, before returning to score 87 in the second round and win with a total of 177 points.
“To have this class is such an amazing opportunity, especially the week before a big show like Devon,” said Samuels, 15. “It’s great to be able to practice in such a big, flowing ring, which really worked for me and my horse. I was definitely a little nervous coming into the second round; I’ve never been on top of such a prestigious class like this. It was a first for both me and my horse, who’s only 9, so to come in and do this together really comforted me.”
“I THINK this course and this arena were very well suited for Scarlett,” said Bowery. “She rides a lot of jumpers, so she loves to ride with pace. For her, this open arena was really to her advantage. We talked about just staying calm and having ice through her veins. I want her to learn how to ride under pressure like this, and I thought she handled it so well.”
“The concept of this class came up many years ago,” said Scott Hakim, owner and president of Old Salem Farm. “We thought about it, and we had brief conversations with the (U.S. Equestrian) Federation regarding it. We ultimately came up with the concept of a college scholarship that could be awarded to the winning horse and rider, and that’s what we did. We thought the junior riders put so much effort, time and emotion into riding and spending the year on the road, practicing and showing. It was time to show our appreciation to them and their trainers for that. We’re really happy to have held this event, and we look forward to holding it again and again.
“Today went great, and Scarlett rode tremendously,” he said. “She did have ice running through her veins. She came back with confidence and poise and gracefully won the class.”
Rylynn Conway of Fair Haven, N.J. on Justify scored 172.5 to finish second, trained by Stacia Madden, and Ruby Calger of Westport, Conn., on Ike, who trains with Valerie Renihan, was third on a score of 170.25 points.
The $32,000 FEI 1.45m Time First Round followed in the afternoon, with 23 entries.
Samuel Hutton of Great Britain on WKD Toronto won , clean in the fastest time of 58.98 seconds.
Mary Rose Canterbury on Zuperman MT, going towards the end of the order; was second in 60.25 seconds.
Brianne Goutal-Marteau was clean in 60.50 seconds to finish third on S & L Marlon VD Heffinck.
“Brianne’s horse had a really big stride,” Hutton said. “I saw her go, and she did one less than me down one of the lines. I don’t actually know my horse that well yet; this is only my second show with him, but he was really good. He’s quite quick away from the jumps, and he’s great at turning."
“I was hoping our time was enough to win, but I knew there were still a couple of fast ones to go,” he said. “I didn’t see Mary Rose go – I was in the other ring walking my horse off – but I heard she went fast. I was keeping everything crossed. It’s really, really nice to be back riding and competing again, and I’m really happy to be in the ring here. It feels great.”
