Harrisburg, Pa. – October 17, 2024 – Martha Ingram has won major hunter championships across the country, but until Thursday, October 17, 2024, the 3’6” Amateur-Owner Hunter Championship title at the Pennsylvania National Horse Show had eluded her. Not anymore, however. Aboard Jenkins, Ingram not only earned the 3’6” Amateur-Owner Hunter 18-35 division championship, she also claimed the Grand 3’6″ Amateur-Owner Hunter Championship, sponsored by Mila Lieberman.

“It means the world to win here at Harrisburg, especially because this is my first time being champion in the 3’6” amateurs,” said Ingram, who hails from Nashville, TN. “Then, to add grand on top of it is just very special. What makes it even more special is the horse. He was reserve champion here with Nick [Haness] this week [in the High Performance Conformation]. To finally get that cooler for him meant a lot. They do such a beautiful job here, it’s so special and historic, and it runs amazingly.”
On their way to the division championship, Ingram and Jenkins earned two wins over fences and a second in the under saddle. For the division’s top honor, Ingram was presented with the Wintarra Ring Perpetual Trophy, donated by Mary Lisa Leffler and Rolling Acres Farm.
Of Jenkins, a 10-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding, Ingram said, “He’s the most incredible animal ever; he’s just the sweetest horse, and I trust him so much. He doesn’t ever do anything wrong, and I’m just so happy for him to get this award because I think he deserves it.”

Taking the reserve championship in the 3’6” Amateur-Owner Hunters 18-35 were Callie Seaman and Silver Lining.
In the 3’6” Amateur-Owner Hunters 36 & Over division, the championship and the Carlos F. Bodwell Memorial Perpetual Trophy went to Margot Peroni and Just Apple for the second year in a row.
“I grew up in Pennsylvania and [the Pennsylvania National Horse Show] and Devon were sort of it as a little kid,” said Peroni. “Last year I was champion on Just Apple here, and it was my first time being champion here. It’s just really special. There’s just so much history here, especially as a kid from Pennsylvania. There was way more crying last year. There’s just a little bit of crying this year! It definitely is one of the shows that we work for all year long.”

Peroni has been partnered with Just Apple for roughly two years after purchasing the now 10-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding from Holland.
“He didn’t really know the hunter job, but he was definitely way too slow to be a jumper,” said Peroni of the gelding that she rode to both a first and a second place over fences this week at the PA Farm Show Complex. “We tried him and just fell in love immediately. He came over and went right into the 3’6”. He’s just so trustworthy and reliable, and his step is so big; there’s so much scope. You just feel so comfortable on him every time you’re out there, and he’s just the same every day. We just couldn’t love him more.”
Finishing as the reserves behind Peroni and Just Apple were both Stephanie Bulger on Chief and Widgette Kelly on Irebellini S in a tie for points.

In the 3’3” Amateur-Owner Hunters, it was Meghan Rohrbaugh Bear’s turn for a PNHS championship debut.
It was at the PNHS that Rohrbaugh Bear’s desire to ride and show was first ignited, and now, decades later, she and her winning mount, Waverly, are leaving the horse show as both the 3’3″ Amateur-Owner Hunter 36 & Over Champions, sponsored by Sandra and Robert Bierman, and the Grand 3’3″ Amateur-Owner Hunter Champions, sponsored by Shadow Ridge.
“My first memory of coming here [to the Pennsylvania National Horse Show] was we had a friend, she was doing the hunters,” said Rohrbaugh Bear, who was 5 or 6 years old at the time. “They let me sit on that horse’s back, and that was it! I was like, ‘I’m going to ride forever, and I want to show here someday!’”

Rohrbaugh Bear continued, “I’ve ridden here for many, many years as an adult, and I’ve never been champion here. I was reserve champion once a long time ago. I just love coming here. It’s so nice that the venue has always been here at the same place; it makes it really special.”
The venue is extra special for Rohrbaugh Bear as she resides in nearby Mechanicsburg, PA, allowing her to be home with her three kids each morning and evening, even while showing during the day.
“I actually live so close that I’m getting up in the morning, and I’m getting my kids to school,” explained Rohrbaugh Bear. “Then, I’m coming here and showing, and then I’m going to go home and get them back out of school and take them home. Then, I also work with my husband and my father. So, I’m working and riding and raising three young children. It’s busy!”
Rohrbaugh Bear has been partnered with her championship-winning horse, Waverly, for the past three years, and the pair meshed straight from the start.
“I knew from the second that I sat on her that she was just the perfect match for me,” said Rohrbaugh Bear of the 11-year-old Hanoverian mare. “We’re very careful with her. We take her to only the special horse shows, and we try to give her enough time off in her field. It’s an amazing connection, and it has been since the beginning. At this point, after three years with her, we just want her to go to the best shows and take good care of her and make sure that she has a good life so that she can keep going.”
Finishing as the reserve behind Waverly in the 3’3″ Amateur-Owner Hunter 36 & Over was Cellestino, ridden by Mary Beth McGee.

Taking home the 3’3” Amateur-Owner Hunter 18-35 division championship were Lexi Maounis and Forsini, while Heritage Farm barn mates Callie Seaman and Divine Romance finished as the reserve champions.
“[Forsini has just been absolutely amazing since the day we got him,” said Maounis of the 8-year-old Warmblood gelding that she just began riding at the end of the Florida winter circuit earlier this year. “I am so constantly impressed by him. He’s just really stepped up to the plate every single round. He really goes in and wants to win just as much as I do. It’s really exciting to see a horse that has such drive like that.”

Maounis continued, “This was his first time at this show, so I’m just really excited. He was also grand champion in the 3’3” Greens with my Heritage trainer, Laena Romond. She has a really great bond with him, and she’s been developing him in the 3’3” Greens all summer as well getting him prepared for me to ride. She’s just been doing an awesome job. I’m so thankful for her and all the rides she’s given him because he really has turned into a really great horse.”
When Maounis is not in the saddle, she can often be found working in finance in New York City, a job that she manages to juggle well even while jumping to championship tricolors.

“I’m so grateful for my team, that they allow me the ability to work from home and work from the horse show,” said Maounis. “I have my computer here, and basically every second that I’m not on a horse, I’m signed on to my work. We try and keep it moving even when I’m not there so it’s nice. I’m so happy that I get to have that work/riding balance but it’s a little hard at times because I don’t practice quite as much as I would like to. Of course, I would love to be at the barn everyday if I could, but that’s just not feasible with a full time. I’m just so thankful that we have an understanding of the fact that my work will get done, and they know that when I’m at a horse show it’s all going to be fine.”
Amateur-owner hunter competition at the 2024 PNHS concluded on Thursday with two $10,000 Winners Stake classes. Taking home the win in the $10,000 Amateur-Owner Hunter 3’6” Winners Stake were Irene Neuwirth and Coconut Grove, and in the $10,000 Amateur-Owner Hunter 3’3” Winners Stake, Peroni and Loewie earned the win.
For full results of all amateur-owner hunter competition at the PNHS, visit pnhs.showmanagementsystem.com.