the second day at the 141st National Horse Show featured the second day of Adult Equitation with the highlight event, the Taylor Harris Insurance Services National Horse Show Adult Equitation Championships:
Taylor Harris Insurance Services National Horse Show Adult Equitation Championship 18-21
Taylor Harris Insurance Services National Horse Show Adult Equitation Championship 22-35
Taylor Harris Insurance Services National Horse Show Adult Equitation Championship 36 & Over
Taylor Harris Insurance Services Adult Amateur Equitation 18-21 Champion
Blythe Goguen aboard Ingenium Farm Sales gelding, Jupiter
Blythe Goguen is no stranger to the winner’s circle. She has been living this lifestyle since she was born, she first started in Western riding. Born to professional parents, Tim and Kelly Goguen and training with Tasha Visokay, she acknowledges that this helped her success today. Her preparation for the day was waking early, walking the course, and riding her first round early. When asked what was the most difficult part of the courses today Blythe responded:
“Probably all of the related lines, cause that can be a bit tricky for me to keep track of sometimes. I just wanted to stay focused and keeping track of all the different numbers and everything.”
Blythe would eventually like to ride professionally but isn’t sure when and is focusing on learning more before taking this step. When asked what the winning formula for today was, Blythe responded, “I think my horse was just perfect all day, in all the rounds, he was amazing!”
Taylor Harris Insurance Services Adult Amateur Equitation 22-35 Champion
Mariel Saccucc aboard Tibr, LLC gelding, Tibri Goodfella, a.k.a. Bob
Taylor Harris Insurance Services Adult Equitation Championship 22-35 age group allowed Mariel Saccucc to experience a championship win at the National Horse Show. When she was a junior she did not have an opportunity to compete stating, “…to have Taylor Harris sponsor this and give adults an opportunity to come here and experience it is really special. The organizers do a phenomenal job, it’s beautifully run and we are so thankful to be here, and I do like that there is a third section that I could potentially do at some point.”
When asked about her horse, a fan favorite at the show, she was all smiles. She told us Tibir Goodfella was just imported this February. “His name is Robert DeNiro from Goodfellas, but he has become affectionately known as Bob. It suits him and Bob has had a bit of a fan club this week, which is so nice for him. He’s a great horse, he’s green, and he’s new at this, he’s never been here before but every place we take him he does an unbelievable job. He has such a beautiful brain, and I think that makes him really wonderful to ride. He’s consistent, and you can rely on him, which is so great for such a young horse.”
When asked by the media if when she arrived this morning she thought that winning the championship was a possibility, she replied:
“You know I try not to get too high or low, the sport has a lot of ups and downs, so I try to be as measured as I can but, no this was incredibly exciting, it’s so fun to be a part of our team at Tibir with Annie and Astor and Abby and their daughter Nora was in the ring so it’s a really fun atmosphere for us. We are really excited not only for me, of course, but for Bob. So we can not forget Bob. No, it was really special, I was pretty confident I thought my second round was better than my first, so you know, I just did what I thought I could, and it was really nice to see, but it was a fun moment for us, and we will remember that for a long time.”
Taylor Harris Insurance Services Adult Amateur Equitation 36 & Over Champion
Wynatte Chu aboard Contador “Teddy”
Tonight’s final Taylor Harris Insurance Services National Horse Show Adult Equitation Championship was the 36 and over Division. With 47 entries, the oldest of the three Taylor Harris Insurance Services sponsored Championships was the largest and according to the competitors, “the most competitive.”
Champion, Wynatte Chu of New York, New York, is a dentist by profession, and her vacation was spent here with her horse at the National Horse Show.
“I just love being down here in Kentucky and being at the horse show. It’s so well run. The staff is amazing. Pat Duncan and his crew do a great job…but they all, everybody, does a great job producing this horse show, so I really love it.”
When asked about her plan for riding the rounds and what was the trickiest, Wynatte answered, “So I think the round one course was pretty straightforward. For the round two course, I thought people were doing seven from [fence] two to three, and then the eight got away from a lot of kids and the adults in the middle [age group]. So it was really important to know that we had to hold our track, and then I saw some people get a little bit “in” on the eight, so it was really technical. A little bit more technical than it walked. I ended up committing to the six from two to three because I thought it would fit better if I was on the curve on the eight for that part. So that’s where my plan changed, compared to some of the other people.”
At the conclusion of the interview, she was asked by the media what her words of wisdom would be for those who say, “It just isn’t possible!”
Her words of wisdom were, “Just enjoy the horses; that’s the most important thing.”
Thank you to Taylor Harris Insurance Services for continuing to provide adult amateurs the opportunity to show in a championship equitation final at The National Horse Show.
Thank you to Taylor Harris Insurance Services for continuing to provide adult amateurs the opportunity to show in a championship equitation final at The National Horse Show.
The National Horse Show also presented a new trophy, donated by Greg Noble in honor Mrs. F. P. Garvan. The trophy, which is originally from 1919, was awarded to the Taylor Harris Insurance Services Adult Amateur Equitation 36 & Over Champion, Wynatte Chu, in it’s inaugural presentation at the 141st National Horse Show.
See the full results HERE.
View the daily candids HERE.
The 141st National Horse Show | Lexington, Kentucky | October 23rd – November 3rd, 2024 | Official Livestream | Results / Orders
