Devon, Pa – May 30, 2022 – The week’s Adult Amateur Jumper competition at the Devon Horse Show came to a head on Monday evening, featuring the $7,500 NAL Adult Jumper Classic, sponsored by Moraga Farms. A total of 25 horse-and-rider combinations stepped foot in the Dixon Oval hoping to take home the Devon blue ribbon up for grabs as well as final points towards the Adult Amateur Jumper Championship and the Lawrence W Schwartz Memorial Perpetual Trophy. When the night wrapped up, it was Wendy Chapot Nunn on Cashe’ who emerged victorious with the division’s tricolor ribbon and their name added to the perpetual trophy.
In the first phase of the division, the $2,500 Adult Amatuer Jumper with an immediate jump-off Sunday afternoon, Chapot Nunn and Cashe’, a 12-year-old Holsteiner mare owned by Laura Chapot, snatched the blue ribbon, riding double-clear with a second round time of 36.399 seconds to kick start the competition. Tori Bilas and Brisbane, her own 16-year-old Warmblood gelding, took the red ribbon, while Alyson Gurney and her own 15-year-old mare Black Friday finished third.
Monday afternoon, adult amateur competitors took to the ring once again for the $2,500 Adult Amatuer Jumper Speed, sponsored by A.J. Blosenski Inc. Although the temperatures had ramped up, Chapot and Cashe’ didn’t let it stop them as they raced around the Dixon Oval, taking the win in a lightning fast 52.989 seconds, leaving all the rails intact.
With the stage set and riders ready to face-off, the $7,500 NAL Adult Jumper Classic, sponsored by Moraga Farms, was next on the schedule. A course laid out by Olaf Petersen Jr. (GER) complete with 15 obstacles challenged the exhibitors one last time to produce clear, speedy rounds. Chapot Nunn and Cashe’ had an unfortunate rail during their first round effort, but their points earned from winning the division’s other two classes were enough to keep them on top of the leaderboard. Ten competitors returned for the 8-obstacle jump-off, with just four going clear. Brooke Treichler and her own Cheeky Monkey 2, a 10 year-old Oldenburg gelding, took on the track first, claiming the fastest time of the class with 38.998 seconds. Chapot Nunn and Mary Chapot’s General Thompson, a 10-year-old American Warmblood gelding, tried to match her pace, but finished instead in 40.146 seconds for the red ribbon. Hope Batchelor and her own Byolga, a 16-year-old Dutch Warmblood mare, rounded out the top three at the conclusion of the class.
Returning to the winners circle, Chapot Nunn and Cache claimed their Adult Amateur Jumper Championship title, and were presented The Judy Hill Groves Memorial Challenge Trophy. After accumulating a total of 20 points, they were also awarded the Lawrence W Schwartz Memorial Perpetual Trophy for the win. Treichler and Cheeky Monkey 2 were awarded the reserve championship of the division following their performance in the classic with a total of 15 points.
Jumper competition continues at the Devon Horse Show Tuesday, May 31, with the Five, Six, and Seven Year-Old Young Jumpers in the Wheeler Ring at 9:00 a.m. The $50,000 Jet Run Devon Welcome Stake will kick off FEI competition in the Dixon Oval at 7:00 p.m.
FROM THE WINNERS CIRCLE
Wendy Chapot Nunn – 2022 Adult Amateur Jumper Champion
On Cashe’:
“She’s funny – she can be the sweetest little mare. My kids hold her at the ingate. Then you get on and she’s chomping on the bit going, ‘I got it, lets go!’ She’s fun because she wants to go and it’s easy to get her to go. She just loves it. My sister [Laura Chapot] used to show her mother Samantha, and Samantha has shown here [at Devon] before. So we bred her and raised her by ‘Quite Easy’ and Laura showed her for a little bit, and then when it came time to retire one of my horses Laura said ‘Why don’t you give her a shot, she may be too small for you,’ and we kept trying other ones, but then we gave her a shot and it’s just been a great partnership!”
On the courses and her plan:
“My plan was to get going and get her in the game, and when she’s in the game she’s good. The courses were great. Olaf [Peterson Jr.] always does a wonderful job, but it’s more just get to that first fence, and we did the leave stride out down that first line, even this morning, and when [Cashe’] is in it, she has a huge stride and she can do whatever you want to do.”
On earning champion:
“It means everything. I never got to do the ponies here. My sister [Laura Chapot] got to do the ponies here. I did the parent/child class with my mom [Mary Chapot], I did the junior jumpers, I did the amateur jumpers, then I had kids. Devon has always been very special to me and our family, so it means a lot to be able to win this.”
On juggling being a mom, having a full-time and riding:
“I am a managing director at KPMG in the department of professional practice so I have a full-time job, three kids. My son Frank, named after my father, is 13 years old tomorrow, then I have twin girls, Mary and Kathleen, who will be 11 years old in June. So between them and work, if I’m lucky I get to ride once a week, and that’s about it. I’m hugely privileged to have over-qualified horses and my sister [Laura Chapot] is able to keep them fit. I know what I’m doing and they know what they’re doing so we don’t have to practice a ton.”
On deciding not to go professional:
“About the time after college when I was deciding what I wanted to do, Greg Best was still around at the barn and I knew Laura [Chapot] wanted to do it professionally, so I thought there was no way the barn would support three professional riders. I knew I could always come back and stay in the amateurs, so I thought, ‘Let me just go do the job and pay the mortgage,’ and it has worked out for me. I think it’s worked out for the farm as well.”
RESULTS
$7,500 NAL/WIHS Adult Amateur Jumper Classic, sponsored by Moraga Farms:
Place / Horse / Rider / Owner / R1 Faults | R1 Time / R2 Faults | R2 Time
1. Cheeky Monkey 2 / Brooke Treichler / Brooke Treichler / 0 | 73.104 / 0 | 38.998
2. General Thompson / Wendy Chapot Nunn / Laura Chapot / 0 | 77.843 / 0 | 40.146
3. Byolga / Hope Batchelor / Hope Batchelor / 0 | 78.818 / 0 | 41.226
4. Bolero D’Armanville / Grace Anne Nolan / Grace Anne Nolan / 0 | 74.313 / 0 | 41.38
5. Everest De Muze / Britta Stoeckel / Evergate Stables LLC / 0 | 73.844 / 4 | 36.037
6. Zealous / Catherine Scher / Mary Chapot / 0 | 68.951 / 4 | 36.508
7. Black Friday / Alyson Gurney / Alyson Gurney / 0 | 76.046 / 4 | 39.493
8. Dedwig / Perri Freeman / Perri Freeman / 0 | 77.707 / 8 | 37.324
9. Brisbane / Tori Bilas / Tori Bilas / 0 | 80.051 | ELIM
9. Fumonia B / Stacey Anne Mahoney / Stacey Ann Mahoney / 0 | 76.704 | ELIM
11. RS Lilly / Hope Batchelor / Hope Batchelor / 1 | 82.267
12. Bandit D’Onyx / Michelle V Stacy / Michelle V Stacy / 1 | 82. 981
