Peter Pletcher Named Horse Shows by the Bay Ovation Leading Professional Hunter Rider

Week three continued at Horse Shows by the Bay equestrian festival with a very successful day for rider and trainer Peter Pletcher today. Pletcher, of Magnolia, TX, was named the Ovation Leading Professional Hunter Rider after three weeks of competition and had a day full of championship wins today, including: Grand Green Conformation Hunter Champion with As Always, owned by Becky Gochman of New York, NY; Grand Green Working Hunter Champion with Argentum owned by Alta Basaldua, of Kingwood, TX; Division Champion of Green Conformation Hunters with As Always; and Division Champion of Green Working Hunters with Argentum.

Pletcher, who is currently the reigning Professional World Championship Hunter Rider, was thrilled with all of his wins. With about 18 clients, over 40 horses here during the 3 weeks of competition, and around 25 horses that he rode himself, Pletcher has been a very busy man at Horse Shows by the Bay this year.

"I love it here," Pletcher said of the show. "This is the greatest place to show during the summer or probably anytime for that matter. They do such a good job here and they try so hard. The trophies, the ribbons, the presentations, everything is really well done. It is just really nice that they go out of their way to make everything special."

Also among today's award presentations was the award for the Ovation Leading Junior Hunter Rider, which went to young rider Katherine Newman of Wellington, FL. With numerous champion and reserve champion wins, Newman was the junior rider who accumulated the most points out of anyone in all three weeks of junior competition.

Newman, who trains with her parents, Kathy and Gerry, at their hunter/jumper show stable, Allwyn Court, was delighted to be honored with the title. English Riding Supply of Scranton, PA sponsored the leading rider awards and Peggy Murray presented them.

Following the leading rider awards, Tim Goguen and his Green Conformation Hunter horse Classified were honored with the Susan Wallace Memorial Trophy after accumulating the most overall points in the Green Conformation Hunter division. Top Call Farm and Greg Crolick donated the trophy and proudly presented it in loving memory of Susan Wallace.

Prior to presenting the award, Greg Crolick was the Green Conformation Hunter reserve champion today with the horse Quite Simply, owned by Kiki VanAcker of Bloomfield Hills, MI. The pair came in close behind the division champions, Peter Pletcher and As Always, owned by Becky Gochman of New York, NY. Pletcher and As Always took a clean sweep of the division in both today's and yesterday's competition and were named the Grand Green Conformation Hunter Champions.

Other division championships in the Polk Family Hunter ring this morning included the Green Working Hunters and Regular Working Hunters.

It was Peter Pletcher and Argentum who were named champions of the Green Working Hunters division. The pair also accumulated enough points to become the Green Working Hunter Grand Champions. Casey Hodges and Capitol Z, owned by Olivia Hellman of Kenfield, CA were Green Working Hunter reserve champions, just two points behind Pletcher and Argentum.

The Regular Working Hunter championship, sponsored by CHFarms, went to Further to Fly and Hallie Lundell of Wayzata, MN. Reserve champion of that division was Blackie and Laura Pfeiffer of Fox Meadow Farm in Temperance, MI.

English Riding Supply of Scranton, PA sponsored all leading rider awards for Horse Shows by the Bay. Fox Meadow Farm of Temperance, MI sponsored the Week 3 champion coolers, and Mr. and Mrs. Forrest Shook sponsored the grand hunter champions. Today's winners can thank these generous sponsors for their awards.

There are still three more days of equestrian competition left to go here at Flintfields Horse Park in Traverse City, MI. Tomorrow will feature the exciting, first ever Horse Shows by the Bay Hat Contest and Polo Exhibition from 6 - 8 p.m. with polo teams from two of Michigan's top universities, Michigan State University and University of Michigan, in a head to head competition. Saturday evening will feature the $25,000 D-BRAIDERCherry Capital Classic Grand Prix.

For more information on Horse Shows by the Bay, please go to www.horsesportsbythebay.com.