82 The Chronicle of the Horse

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Cup in Ocala, Fla. “I’ve grown up with him,” said

Garza. “So when I’m on him, I ride him as I’ve ridden him.”

In their first trip to Upperville, Garza and Bariano proved they’d had no trouble making the transition to the senior ranks, beating 28 starters in the show’s first FEI-rated grand prix since 2005.

Six jumped clear over Michel Vaillancourt’s course, but the top eight riders were asked to return to the jump-off, which meant the fastest 4-faulters—Marilyn Little on Corona 93 and Amanda Derbyshire on Lady Maria BH—joined the list for the short course.

Aaron Vale and Finou 4 amped up the jump-off by leaving out a stride in

Perez Relies On An Old Friend For Upperville WinFrom children’s jumpers to grand prix classes, Bariano has been there through it all.

BY LAURA LEMON, HALEY WEISS AND KIMBERLY LOUSHIN

Eugenio Garza Perez relied on his longtime partner Bariano to take home the top check in the $216,000 Upperville Jumper Classic CSI****. LAURA LEMON PHOTO

Eugenio Garza Perez and Bariano demonstrated the unbeatable edge of a longtime partnership at the Upperville

Colt & Horse Show when the amateur duo bested a field of riders with more seniority and experience in the $216,000 Upperville Jumper Classic CSI**** on June 12 in Upperville, Va.

Garza, 19, got to know the Belgian Warmblood (Jetset-D—Ulderina van Westleven, Skippy) in the summer

of 2012 when his family bought the gelding to help him learn the ropes at the higher levels. The pair won the individual junior gold medal at the 2013 Adequan/FEI North American Junior and Young Rider Championships (Ky.) and spent the next year bouncing back and forth between the high juniors and some grand prix classes. By 2015, they were ready for the big leagues, representing Mexico in the Furusiyya FEI Nations

July 4, 2016 • chronofhorse.com 83

the first bending line, setting the bar with a clear round at 37.20 seconds.

“Beating [Vale] seemed very difficult when I went in,” said Garza. “Our plan was to do eight strides from [fence 1] to 2, and then I saw him go, and he did seven, so that changed our plan. And then he was just incredibly fast, and we gave it our all. Fortunately enough, it was enough.”

Not only did Garza leave out a stride like Vale, he bested his time by 0.35 seconds.

“He’s definitely a strong horse, and he gives it his all,” said Garza. “He’s 110 percent in the ring, so you just have to be really conscious that he’s going to do whatever you ask him to, whether it’s leaving long or short. You just have to give him the best shot to jump the fence.

“To go into a grand prix like that with a horse that I know, it’s really special,” added Garza. “He’s 15 years old now, but he’s jumping better than ever, so we’ll keep going.”

This sight was all too familiar to Vale, since Garza sped past him in the jump-off earlier in the season at the $130,000 Hollow Creek Farm Grand Prix CSI*** at the Kentucky Spring Horse Show. “Yeah, you can’t complain,” Vale joked. “You’ll look like a bad sport. Never confuse me with a good sport.

“The main thing is [Finou 4] just physically has so much ability,” added Vale. “He can jump good fences easily. He’s got a huge stride. But at the same time he’s very elastic. You can add a stride; you can leave two out. So physi-cally he’s got a lot of tools. And now his brain is starting to figure it all out.”

The Upperville show dates were just days after Vale’s house burned down on June 3, leaving him and his

wife Mallory with only about half a week’s worth of show clothes in their camper. However, the horse commu-nity stepped up to help the Vale family with a GoFundMe page, created by longtime client Sharon van der Walde, and raised more than $50,000.

“Unbelievable,” Aaron said at the time. “The horse community is a small one, but a supportive one. You know, it means the world to me.”

From Mexico To Texas To Miami And BeyondWhen Garza’s older brothers began studying at Southern Methodist University (Texas), his family moved from Mexico to Texas six years ago and bought their ranch, El Milagro, in Hickory Creek, outside of Dallas. In the United States on a P1 Visa as an athlete, Garza is finishing a gap year before he heads off to the University of Miami (Fla.) in the fall.

“I always talked about [doing a gap year],” Garza said. “When we moved to Dallas, I set this four-year goal that was for the Olympics. But I’m not quite ready yet. I’ve learned to enjoy the journey, and it’s just been great. The gap year just seemed like it could help me develop as a person and as a rider. Now that it’s coming to an end, it’s sad, but it’s amazing. I think I’ve grown more this year than the last four years that I was in high school because you’re out on your own, and you have more freedom from your parents.”

Garza plans to study business, with a minor in psychology.

“[Psychology] always sounded interesting,” he said. “I talked to my parents a little bit, and they said it was a good tool to have for life, sports, family, relationships, and business as

well, so I’m really looking forward to psychology.”

While he’s pursuing a degree, Garza will continue showing and working with a few younger horses he’s developing with his trainer, Irish show jumper Eddie Macken. Garza says he’s going to “take it as it goes,” but he hopes to compete for Mexico at the 2018

World Equestrian Games in Bromont, Quebec. In the meantime, Garza intends to continue campaigning Bariano as long as he’s willing.

“This guy has given me every-thing,” said Garza. “He’s going to retire with us. I know the horse so well that I’ll know when he’s nearing his end. To grow up with the horse has been an amazing journey. He’s given me priceless memories that I’ll always cherish.”

Colvin Checks Back Into The Spotlight Since the inception of her extraordi-nary junior career at age 9, Victoria Colvin’s name has seldom left the equestrian headlines for the countless championships and

He’s given me priceless

memories that I’ll always cherish.”

—EUGENIO GARZA PEREZ

$216,000UPPERVILLE JUMPER

CLASSIC CSI****Upperville, Va.—June 12

HORSE/RIDER FAULTS TIME PURSE

1. Bariano/Eugenio Perez/MEX

0-0 36.85 $71,280

2. Finou 4/Aaron Vale/USA

0-0 37.20 43,200

3. Vasco/Adam Prudent/FRA

0-0 37.55 32,400

4. Le Conte/Andrew Kocher/USA

0-0 39.23 21,600

5. Uppie De Lis/Andrew Kocher/USA

0-0 39.91 12,960

6. Lady Maria BH/Amanda Derbyshire/GBR

4-4 38.94 9,720

7. Corona 93/Marilyn Little/USA

4-4 39.24 6,480

8. NLF Favorite/Paul O’Shea/IRL

0-VW — 5,400

Also competed: 9. Primo Calypso/P. O’Shea/IRL, 4; 10. Quidam’s Good Luck/A. Vale/USA, 4; 11. Esprit/S. Coles/USA, 4; 12. Vavoom/T. Cambria/USA, 4; 13. Willow/M. Nusz/USA, 4; 14. Basje/H. Chopping/CAN, 4; 15. Rebeca LS/B. Goutal/USA, 4; 16. Balous Day Date/M. Ashe/USA, 5; 17. Coriandolo Di Ribano/L. Tisbo/USA, 5; 18. Gentley/F. De Wandel/BEL, 8; 19. Cannavaro BH/A. Derbyshire/GBR, 8; 20. Ace/A. Robitaille/USA, 8; 21. Echo Van T Spieveld/V. Colvin/USA, 8; 22. Clearwater/M. Little/USA, 8; 23. Adamo/A. McArdle/USA, 8; 24. Pjotter Van De Zonnehoeve/M. Ashe-Cawley/USA, 8; 25. Fenom Van Klapscheut/E. Lehrman/USA, 12; 26. Barlando/C. O’Regan/IRL, 12; 27. Caramello Z/F. Zamudio/ARG, 21; Air Force One/K. Godek/USA, VW; Rosiere Vesquerie/L. Tisbo/USA, VW.

84 The Chronicle of the Horse

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titles she’s earned in the hunters, equi-tation and jumpers.

But in her first year as a professional, the 18-year-old slipped off the radar, leaving people to wonder if she could make the leap to the senior ranks.

Colvin proved she plans to stay relevant by winning the $20,000 USHJA International Hunter Derby at Upperville with Alexandra McReady’s Checklist. In the twilight heat of June 11, the Loxahatchee, Fla., resident piloted the 11-year-old warmblood gelding of unrecorded breeding through a course that caused many pairs to have rails and refusals.

“He was just amazing,” said Colvin. “He’s my type. He’s there for you, and he’s very scopey and jumps amazing.”

Colvin’s catch-riding expertise came in handy, as she only received the ride on Checklist earlier that week, competing in one schooling jumper class before entering the derby. The horse proved to be a perfectionist, just like Colvin.

Scott Evans and Daniel Geitner originally found the horse in Germany and imported him to campaign in the derbies. According to Evans, Checklist is sensitive, Thoroughbred-like, and takes his job seriously.

This was Colvin’s fourth Upperville derby outing, and she’s been unde-feated each time.

“Every time I’ve come to Upperville, it’s gone well,” said Colvin. “I don’t think there’s been a bad year yet. I love it here, and this week was fantastic weather. Sometimes it hasn’t been the best weather, but other than that it’s a fantastic show. The scenery is amazing, and it’s so quiet and peaceful, but then you come [to the derby], and there’s a crowd. To have a crowd cheer for the hunter derby—it’s spectacular. I love it here. I’m going to come every year.”

“What we would like to do is focus on the derbies,” said Evans, who has known Colvin since the start of her junior career. “It’s something that Tori and I have talked about, and it’s some-thing that we really like. We want to support the derbies. It’s so important for our sport in this country. Tori and I love the jumpers, but we also have a soft spot for the hunters.

$20,000USHJA INTERNATIONAL HUNTER DERBY

Upperville, Va.—June 11

Judges: Panel 1: Scott Hofstetter, Julie Winkel; Panel 2: Sue Ashe, Mike Rosser

1ST ROUND 2ND ROUND TOTAL

HORSE/RIDER PANEL 1SCORE/

HEIGHT OPTION

PANEL 2SCORE/

HEIGHT OPTION

PANEL 1SCORE/BONUS/HEIGHT OPTION

PANEL 2SCORE/BONUS/ HEIGHT OPTION

1. Checklist/Victoria Colvin 86/4 90/4 90/8/4 89/8/4 387

2. In The Know/Samantha Schaefer 80/4 86/4 87/8/4 90/10/4 377

3. Classified/Samantha Schaefer 81/3 85/3 88/10/3 80/9/3 365

4. Extraordinaire/Tommi Clark 85/3 83/3 85/5/3 85/6/3 361

5. Falcor/Jason Berry 83/3 84/3 82/8/2 78/7/2 352

6. Attila/Jason Berry 76/2 82/2 84/8/3 82/8/3 350

7. Caramo/Harold Chopping 82/3 87/3 75/7/3 75/7/3 345

8. La Patron/Chad Keenum 75/2 75/2 76/7/4 84/8/4 337

9. Autumn Rhythm/Sloane Coles 84/3 91/3 64/5/2 71/6/2 331

10. Cobalt Blue R/Jason Berry 79/0 76/0 78/6/2 76/6/2 325

11. Cristal/Brandon Gibson 74/2 70/2 71/8/3 73/4/3 310

12. Candor 15/Peter Wylde 78/3 78/3 — — 162

23 horses competed.

Victoria Colvin and Checklist checked off all of the high options in the $20,000 USHJA International Hunter Derby at Upperville to take home the win. KIMBERLY LOUSHIN PHOTO

July 4, 2016 • chronofhorse.com 85

“I think it’s a wonderful thing to have a horse that’s careful and jumps like a hunter, but also can turn like a jumper and be dared a little bit,” he continued. “Notice that there weren’t a lot of division horses in here. It’s a different ball game. Everyone wants a derby horse. Everyone wants to take a shot—especially at Upperville. This show means a lot to us.”

Colvin plans to “get more eclectic” in her show schedule as a profes-sional. At the moment, she has a 3-year-old and a few 6-year-olds to bring along in the hunters.

“Throughout my junior career I’ve had some young ones, and I like bringing them along, so they kind of know you,” she said. “It’s fun to me. I love the jumpers, but now that I have a lot of young ones, I have to do the hunters, and I want to. Thankfully, I have an older, more experienced one [Checklist] to take in the derby.”

Colvin keeps her string of young horses in Europe and at home in Florida. She’ll bring a few of them to

the Lake Placid Horse Shows (N.Y.), and has three horses in the USHJA Pre-Green Incentive Program.

Colvin is also concentrating on creating an international reputation.

“I’ve been focusing a little more on the jumpers,” she said. “I would love to be able to do both [the hunters and jumpers]. I know if I go to Europe it’s going to be harder, but it’s going to work.”

This past December, Colvin trav-eled to the Netherlands to ride for Stal Wilten. She also has the Spruce Meadows (Alberta) shows on her radar.

Schaefer Conquers Her Upperville FoeThe young rider domination continued with 23-year-old Samantha Schaefer, who followed Colvin in the victory gallop in the derby after taking second on her sister Madeline Schaefer’s In The Know and third on her own Classified.

Like Colvin, Sam’s only other ride on In The Know was in a schooling

Samantha Schaefer finished second with In The Know (pictured) and third with Classified in the $20,000 USHJA International Hunter Derby at Upperville. KIMBERLY LOUSHIN PHOTO

s t. t i m o t h y ’ s s c h o o l

s u m m e r r i d i n g c l i n i c s

j u n e 1 3 – j u ly 2 9 , 2 0 1 6

d e ta i l s a n d r e g i s t r at i o n

41 0 · 4 8 6 · 5 4 8 3

r i d i n g @ s t t. o r g

w w w. s t t. o r g / r i d i n g c l i n i c

jumper class earlier in the week. “Spyder,” a 7-year-old warmblood (VDL Arkansas—Cavelle), is a new member of the Schaefers’ Shadow Ridge Farm.

Chad Keenum sourced the gelding from Ireland and was showing him in the first year greens at the St. Christopher’s Horse Show (Pa.) when he mentioned Spyder might be a good fit for Maddie. A week later the gelding became a permanent resident of their Westminster, Md., farm as an equitation mount.

“His job for us is really to be a super-star equitation horse for her, and I thought it would be a good experience for him to come in different rings,” said Sam. “I did not realize how scopey he is. I would jump a mountain [on him.] He’s 7 years old, he’s a first year horse, this is his third horse show in the States, and I rode him like he’s been doing it his whole life.”

Though he’s been asked him to try a number of different jobs, Spyder takes each one in stride.

86 The Chronicle of the Horse

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RES: Roland Park, Mount Fair Equine LLC.LOW AMATEUR-OWNER HUNTER, 18-35 CH:

Countdown, Sachi Kawabata-Porto.RES: Luigi, Victoria Flagg LLC.

LOW AMATEUR-OWNER HUNTER, 36 & OVER CH: Loyalty, Fashion Farm.RES: Tucker, Diane Monroe.

JR. HUNTER, 15 & UNDER CH: Dominik, David Gochman.RES: MTM Hands Down, Beechwood Stables LLC.

SMALL JR. HUNTER, 16-17 CH: Temptation, Autumn Janesky.RES: Ronaldo, KW Mahon Inc.

LARGE JR. HUNTER, 16-17 CH: Casallo, Erin McGuire.RES: Park Place, Kelsi Okun.

Betsee Parker.RES: Wistful, Stacey McFadden LLC.

3'3" PERFORMANCE HUNTER, SEC. A CH: Callucci, Lynn Rice.RES: City Smarts, Darprin Enterprises LLC.

3'3" PERFORMANCE HUNTER, SEC. B CH: Levitation, EMO Stables.RES: MTM Hands Down, Beechwood Stables LLC.

3'3" PERFORMANCE HUNTER, SEC. C CH: Kingpin, Beechwood Stables LLC.RES: Falcor, Willoughby Stables.

AMATEUR-OWNER HUNTER, 18-35 CH: Classified, Samantha Schaefer.RES: Cosil, Annie Diehl.

AMATEUR-OWNER HUNTER, 36 & OVER CH: Cristiano, Virginia Fout.

Earlier in the day he topped the ASPCA Maclay class and put in competitive rounds in the other equi-tation classes with Maddie.

“I can’t say enough good things about the horse. He’s quiet; he’s brave. He’s like a modern show horse,” said Sam. “We’re really excited about him. The fact that he can do this a little bit too, to kind of help get his experience, it’s even better.”

Last year’s derby at Upperville ended in disaster for Sam’s other mount Classified. The 11-year-old Hanoverian (Lordanos—Rose Of Khan) left half a stride out to the in-and-out and flipped on landing.

“We were really lucky to walk away from it,” she said. “The horse could have very easily broken his neck, and I said I would never do a derby again on him. I said, ‘That’s it. I didn’t buy this horse to do the derbies. This is stupid.’ It was really scary, and I didn’t know if the horse would ever really show again.”

To her relief, “Lordie” walked out of his stall fine the next day. In February she returned to the inter-national derby ring, taking ninth in the $100,000 class at HITS Ocala (Fla). The following month they were runners up in the $50,000 derby at the Winter Equestrian Festival (Fla.).

“He’s such an awesome horse. I don’t know how I got so lucky to have him. He’s such a star. He’s kind of my go-to,” she said. “He tries to please you. You can’t make a horse up that way.”

Richard Taylor (center) handled Jump! to the Best Young Horse title at Upperville for

owners Betty and Ernest Oare. The 3-year-old mare is out of Betty’s former amateur-owner

hunter Fine Kiss. KIMBERLY LOUSHIN PHOTO

It’s been years since Pamela Simoneau had a pony showing at Upperville, but Westley proved he was something special when he took home the Best Young Pony title with Drew Taylor handling (pictured). KIMBERLY LOUSHIN PHOTO

Upperville Colt & Horse ShowUpperville, VA— June 6-12.GREEN CONFORMATION HUNTER CH: Patriot,

The Wheeler Family.RES: Buttoned Up, Jenna Zimmerman.

REGULAR CONFORMATION HUNTER CH: Cold Harbor, Betsee Parker.RES: Centrico, Peyton Kanstoroom.

1ST YR. GREEN HUNTER CH: Largesse, Ceil & Kenny Wheeler.RES: City Smarts, Darprin Enterprises LLC.

2ND YR. GREEN HUNTER CH: Gotham, Betsee Parker.RES: Cristiano, Virginia Fout.

HIGH PERFORMANCE HUNTER CH: Casanova,