The longest running USEA horse trials in Area VII, Whidbey Island Horse Trials, celebrated its 38th year of competition this past weekend. Perfect blue skies, picturesque views of the ocean and mountains, an army of dedicated volunteers and a completely full entry list made it obvious why competitors love eventing in the Pacific Northwest.
Though the upper levels hosted relatively small class sizes, they weren’t short of good performances. Jordan Linstedt and Revitavet Capato handily won the Open Advanced/Intermediate division, followed by Jeanine Allred and Snap Decision II in second. Top honors in Open Intermediate went to Marc Grandia and Fernhill Eagle, owned by Team Rebecca LLC; they finished on a 50.7.
Only two pairs jumped clear and inside the time in Open Prelim on cross-country day: Mary Burke and Prince William and Maggie Rikard and Took a Chance. Mary and Maggie finished first and second, respectively.
Anna Stein and Zaboomafoo, her 7-year-old Connemara-Thoroughbred cross gelding, held the lead after dressage in the Jr./YR Prelim division. “Boomer was solid from start to finish,” Anna said. “He laid out our most consistent and correct dressage test to date. My favorite part of the weekend was coming through the finish flags after my last jump and knowing that I had finally won an event with my wonderful boy. Not only that, but knowing without a doubt that we’re ready for the one-star at Rebecca!”
Some of the best action over the weekend took place in the Beginner Novice, Novice and Training divisions. The lowest final score of the weekend went to Kristi Nunnink and Be A Star, owned by Randy Nunnink. Kristi scored an even 20 penalty points in dressage and jumped double clear to win the Open Novice division by more than six points.
[WIHT Website] [Final Results] [WIHT Facebook Page]