Victoria Colvin and Melissa Rudershausen Honored as East Conference Winners of the Show Jumping Hall of Fame Jumper Classic Series
Lexington, KY-November 5, 2013-Frances Land of Alpharetta, GA, won the $50,000 Show Jumping Hall of Fame Series Championship Grand Prix, presented by Elizabeth Miller and The Dinan Family, The Oken Family, The Straus Family, and the Tyree Family at the Alltech National Horse Show.
Following the Grand Prix, the Show Jumping Hall of Fame honored Victoria Colvin of Loxahatchee, FL, and Melissa Rudershausen of Kennett Square PA, who topped the East Conference standings of the Show Jumping Hall of Fame Jumper Classic Series’ Junior and Amateur-Owner divisions respectively. Colvin won the Series on Don Juan and Ruderhausen won on Gunner.
Twenty-nine riders who worked all year in order to qualify for the $50,000 Show Jumping Hall of Fame Series Championship Grand Prix faced off to compete on Conrad Homfeld’s course which yielded only five clear rounds. Riders returned for a speedy jump-off with Land turning in the only clean ride.
When Land, winner of the previous day’s Chansonette Farm $15,000 Amateur-Owner Jumper class, walked into the ring and mounted Vieanne, she knew that all she had to do was leave all the rails intact. In an effort to be careful over each fence, Land kept a conservative pace. Although she crossed the finish line in 48.811 seconds with a single time fault, her perfection over the course captured the victory.
“The course was definitely a bit tougher today; it was bigger, very technical,” said Land. “Conrad did a beautiful job setting the course. It was the perfect step up from yesterday. I knew that coming in my horse was going to be a little bit more tired than she was yesterday. So when I was schooling, I tried to amp her up a little bit so she had enough blood left.
“Going last was a huge advantage for me. I knew that no one had been clean, and my horse is naturally fast. My dad, who trains me, told me to go around everywhere and have a very good base rhythm, be smooth and leave the jumps up. I think I had a time fault because I went a little too wide to the FEI vertical – I was being overly cautious. I was just kind of trusting that she would be fast naturally. Luckily, I didn’t have more time faults!”
Frances Land
Colvin and Rudershausen Honored as East Champions of The Show Jumping Hall of Fame Jumper Classic Series
Colvin was honored as the Show Jumping Hall of Fame Jumper Classic Series’ Junior East Conference winner. She and Don Juan finished the Series with 1000 points. Over the course of the year, she and Don Juan won Series classes at Devon, Kentucky Spring Horse Show, and the Lake Placid and I Love New York Horse Shows in addition to several other top placings. Colvin was named the Show Jumping Hall of Fame Rider of the Month for March and June.
Victoria Colvin receives her award from Harry de Leyer, rider of Hall of Fame horse Snowman, and George Morris, President of the Show Jumping Hall of Fame
Rudershausen topped the East Conference standings of the Series’ Amateur-Owner division with 720 points on Gunner. She and Gunner had top placings throughout the year including wins at Blue Rock, the Ocala Winter Festival, and the Tournament of Champions.
Melissa Rudershausen topped the East Conference standings of the Series’ Amateur-Owner division
The Show Jumping Hall of Fame and Museum was established in 1987 and formally opened in 1989. It was organized to promote the sport of show jumping and to immortalize the legends of the men, women and horses who have made great contributions to the sport.
The Show Jumping Hall of Fame is located at the Kentucky Horse Park. Plaques honoring those who have been honored with induction into the Hall of Fame can be seen at the Horse Park’s Rolex Stadium. Mementos and artifacts from the sport’s history are on display as part of the Show Jumping Hall of Fame collection at the United States Hunter Jumper Association’s Wheeler Museum at the Horse Park.
The Show Jumping Hall of Fame Jumper Classic Series holds classes under Grand Prix rules and specifications for amateur-owner and junior riders at approximately one hundred horse shows across the country. The Series keeps separate standings for juniors and amateur-owners in two conferences, East and West. The Series is designed to give amateur-owner and junior riders an opportunity to compete at higher levels and serves as a proving ground for many riders who aspire to someday represent the United States in international competition.
Regular season standings conclude following the Washington International Horse Show in the East and Los Angeles National Horse Show in the West. Series standings help determine entries for the year-end Championship Finals (which do not count in the season standings) at the Alltech National Horse Show and Las Vegas National Horse Show. Riders from both conferences are eligible for either or both Finals.
The 2013 Show Jumping Hall of Fame Jumper Classic Series is sponsored by LEGISequine.com, The National Horse Show Association of America, SmartkPak and Stadium Jumping, Inc.
Further information about the Show Jumping Hall of Fame and the Show Jumping Hall of Fame Jumper Classic Series is available on line at www.ShowJumpingHallofFame.net.
