Monday marked the start of Senior Week at the 2019 Devon Horse Show and Country Fair, where professional hunter athletes kicked off competition in the Dixon Oval with the Green Hunter divisions. Leading the way in the Green 3’9” Hunters, with a total of 18 entries, was Amanda Steege and Lafitte De Muze who dominated both over fences classes to take home two Devon blues.
Amanda Steege and Lafitte De Muze. Photo by Phelps Sports
In the first over fences class, sponsored by Patriot Dealerships, Steege and Cheryl Olsten’s Lafitte De Muze scored the class high score of 89. The pair expertly tackled the first 3’9” course of the day, which won them the Lisa Heyman Warren Challenge Trophy. Rounding out the top three was Holly Orlando and Ann Rice Ervin’s Alright and Will Roberts and Maura Harrower’s Who Dat with scores of 87 and 82, respectively.
Staying consistent and demonstrating a textbook, classic hunter form, Steege and the 8-year-old Belgian Warmblood earned another high score of 90 to win the second over fences class and the Louisa M. Latch Memorial Challenge Trophy. Coming in second place was Roberts with a score of 87, while Phoebe Demott and Marla Parente’s Last Light finished in third place with a score of 86.
The Devon Horse Show remains a special place for Steege, who is continuing on with her family’s tradition of showing in the famous Dixon Oval. “Devon is always the highlight of my show year,” she shared. “My great-grandfather showed at Devon in 1912 and we have a photo of it. I’ve championed here at Devon three times now and it’s so special with all of the history. The amount of spectators that come out to watch is amazing. There’s nothing like it anywhere else. It’s always high on my list of priorities to get here.”
Amanda Steege and Lafitte de Muze with their Devon blue. Photo by Phelps Sports
While it may have been his first Devon blue, Lafitte De Muze is no stranger to the winner’s circle. The impressive bay gelding placed second in the $100,000 WCHR Peter Wetherill Palm Beach Hunter Spectacular during the 2019 Winter Equestrian Festival in Wellington, Florida. Previously, as a 7-year-old, Steege and her mount of over a year captured the victory in the $50,000 WCHR Professional Challenge at the 2018 Capital Challenge Horse Show.