Featuring a group of Amateur Owner Hunters one last time, the $25,000 3’3″ & 3’6″ Amateur Owner Hunter Classic opened Grand Prix Saturday in the New Holland Arena for the final day of the Pennsylvania National Horse Show (PNHS).
Dorli Burke and Classic (c) Al Cook Photography
Seventeen horse-and-rider combinations who previously placed in the top four of an Amateur Owner Hunter over-fences class reentered the ring Saturday to challenge an Alan Lohman-designed course for the winner’s share of $7,500. Scores from the $25,000 3’3″ & 3’6″ Amateur Owner Hunter Classic were based on two rounds, with the top 12 horses returning for the second round.
Coming off their win in Friday’s Grand Amateur Owner 3’3″ Hunter Championship, Dorli Burke and Classic stepped into the ring for a class they don’t normally enter.
“I don’t normally do (classic divisions) because I don’t want to give (my horses) the extra work,” Burke said. “It’s such a special horse show and my horse (Classic) loves the ring, and the horse show made the effort to do this for the amateur riders. I really felt that if we qualified we should participate. I think the show was really nice to do this for the exhibitors.”
Burke and her 11-year-old Warmblood were in third place after the Classic’s initial round with a score of 87. As the only pair to score 90 in the second round, they proved unbeatable with a total score of 177.
“He’s got a really wonderful rhythm, but I’m small and so I just wanted to keep him going enough that he didn’t think we were finished,” Burke said. “(I spent our round) really just trying to get him ahead of me. He’s really fun to ride.
“I’d had such a fun week here that it was all just more fun,” Burke added. “If we messed up, we messed up. He’s not used to me showing three days in a row. It was fun and good practice for us to go in (for a second round). I really enjoyed it.”
Dorli Burke and Classic (c) Al Cook Photography
1 Dorli Burke (Salisbury, MD) and Classic | 177 | $7,500
3 Jennifer Morris (Portsmouth, VA) and Staros | 172 | $3,750
4 Kathleen Mahoney (New York, NY) and Bilbao | 171 | $2,750
5 Ellen Toon (South Salem, NY) and Gabriel | 168 | $1,250
6 Lynn Seithel (Wadmalaw Island, SC) and Walk the Line | 163 | $1,100
7 Kaitlin Porath (Wellington, FL) and Breaux | 162 | $900
8 Rachel Demuro (Great Falls, VA) and Game Boy | 161 | $750
9 Lindsey Roberts (Kingwood, TX) and Snippet | 159 | $750
10 Jacqueline Attwood-Dupont (Los Angeles, CA) and Spotlight | 157 | $750