BY LANIE WALKENBACH
The stands were full Sunday evening for the $50,000 Devon Arena Eventing class held at The Devon Horse Show in Devon, PA. The class consisted of 28 riders, who each completed a first round consisting of 26 jumps. The solid cross country style jumps were up to 1.15 meters in height, while the stadium jumps were 1.20 meters.
The top twelve riders were guaranteed a spot in the jump off, so all competitors carefully sped through the course to try to be the cleanest and fastest. Two arenas were used, and it was exciting for exhibitors to see riders quickly speed from the Dixon Oval to the Wheeler Ring in the middle of the first round. After jumping several jumps, both cross country and stadium style, riders galloped back under the iconic Devon Horse Show sign to finish over the last third of the course before racing home. In addition, the announcer encouraged exhibitors to cheer as riders raced back into the Dixon Oval.
The 26 obstacles in the first round had a 150 second time allowed, and 10 riders made the cut. Obstacles ranged from standard stadium jumps to cross-country fences, such as a spooky fox jump. The second round consisted of 15 obstacles to be completed in 88 seconds. This time, the whole course took place in the Dixon Oval so riders sped to the finish to try to take home the blue.
Sandro’s Star ridden by Chris Talley and owned by Hannah Salazar took home the Devon blue ribbon and a purse of $12,500 after going clear in both rounds. Sarah Kozumplik Murphy also went clear in both rounds aboard Rubens D’Ysieux Syn. LLC’s Rubens D’Ysieux to earn the second place prize. Phillip Dutton took home the third place ribbon riding Kevin Keane’s Sportsfield Candy.
