It's wonderful when a plan comes together. Cathy Morris-Schmitt was in the market for a new hunter, but she didn't want to spend hundreds of thousands on a made horse. Instead, she decided to go with a youngster. Patience paid off; four years later, Caymus has developed into exactly what Morris-Schmitt was hoping for. "I bought him as a pre-green [horse], to be my amateur-owner horse, and he's risen to the occasion," said Morris-Schmitt. "He's big, he's elegant, he's soft across the ground, he tolerates my mistakes. He's really become an amateur horse." Morris-Schmitt and Caymus earned the amateur-owner, 36 and over, championship during HITS Desert Circuit IV, held Feb. 22-26 in Indio, Calif. Morris-Schmitt, Greenwood Village, Colo., is the operating officer for a Fortune 100 company. Sometimes the horse show schedule and demands of the job don't match up well. Normally, she would show in the amateur-owner hunter classic, held each Sunday in Indio. This week, however, she traveled to Hong Kong to visit her company's office there instead. The constant business travel means she has little riding time between horse shows. She credited her southern California trainers with keeping the horses fit and ready to go. "I'm blessed that Joie Gatlin and her whole team make it so I can do this," she said. "Without their preparation and their ability to get me to the ring with very little practice, I wouldn't have this success." Morris-Schmitt has two amateur horses showing and wasn't shopping for a new horse. But when Jason McCardle, who rides for Gatlin, ran across a young green hunter at Emil Spadone's barn in New Jersey, he was convinced Morris-Schmitt should have him. She agreed, and the youngster made the trip to California. Capone showed in the pre-green division the first week of Indio and moved up to the green conformation division a week later. The bay gelding, twice the model winner in three weeks, earned the conformation championship during Indio IV. "I'm just pleased as punch," she said. "Hopefully, he'll fill Caymus' shoes at some point in time." They're Back Polk didn't show in Indio last year, opting to try Florida instead. Eminem, meanwhile, was leased for the year to a junior from San Francisco, and Silver Raven was resting. Polk, herself, was busy at school, working on her degree at the Design Institute in Los Angeles. She enjoyed her trip to Florida last winter but was glad to be showing closer to home again. "It was such an uprooting, to move everything over there," she said. "It's so convenient to be in Indio and drive two hours to get home." Polk, who trains with Leslie Steele, will have to work hard again this year to balance education and horse sports. Her goal is to qualify both horses for Devon (Pa.) and the East Coast fall indoor shows. "I have to go back to school, so my plan was to do Indio, and try to get enough points for Devon," she said. "I'll maybe do a couple of horse shows in between and then do indoors." In the meantime, she's just glad to be back home and showing her two favorite horses. "It's nice to have 'Em' back, to have all of them back," she added. Eva Gonda was a fixture for years in Indio with her wonderful Doubletake, who earned countless circuit titles in the junior and amateur-owner divisions. But after Doubletake retired, Gonda spent most of her riding time in the jumper ring. She also concentrated on school, and she's a senior at Occidental College (Calif.). Now she's back on the hunter side. Aboard Swoon, Gonda regularly battles for the tricolors in the younger amateur-owner division with Polk. Gonda always wanted to get back to the hunters, but with a proviso: she didn't want a made horse, but rather wanted to help make one. "I could feel as if I were contributing to the process of bringing one along," she said. Her trainers, Nicole Shahinian-Simpson and Will Simpson, found Swoon through trainer Tom Wright. They decided this was just the horse for Gonda. Swoon was stepping up from the pre-green division, and Gonda had some problems in the beginning. "It wasn't frustrating, because I knew that would be part of it," Gonda said. "I appreciate it as part of the overall learning experience, mine and his." Trainer Jenny Karazissis helped out when Shahinian-Simpson left for Florida this winter. And soon Gonda and the gelding began to understand one another. Their mutual hard work paid off in week IV when they won the amateur-owner hunter classic. Gonda was pleased with their progression. "It's an opportunity to ride more, to be more active in the process of bringing one along, to be more confident, to feel more like a horseman as opposed to a passenger," she said. Classic Victories Siebel, Woodside, Calif., won with Simply Henry, a large pony she's leasing from the Applegate family. Siebel, 13, enjoyed riding under the lights. "It's really fun and exciting," she said. "Everyone's watching, and it's dark and special." Siebel, who trains with John Bragg, has been riding most of her years. "I rode western when I was little, because we have a ranch in Montana," she said. She got the hunter/jumper bug when she turned 8. Cindy Cruciotti also enjoyed her classic and, like Siebel, was rewarded with the blue ribbon. She guided Q to victory in the Marshall & Sterling adult amateur hunter classic on Sunday. Cruciotti, Elizabeth, Colo., had always dreamt of starting a boarding stable. That dream became reality when she and her family built a 30-stall facility in the high prairie landscape of Colorado. "We have seven five-acre grass turnouts. The horses all go out three or four hours a day," she said. "We have a badger that lives on the property, and a couple of red foxes. I just love it." Cruciotti, who trains with Peter Pletcher, was pleased with Q, who was intended to be a hunter but proved more suited to the equitation arena. He's settled down now, and Cruciotti believes he might make a great hunter after all. "He's being more relaxed," said Cruciotti. "Maybe at the end of this year we'll move him up to 3'6"." Shelby Wakeman has had a good time in Indio so far. She and the Maplewood entry Cincenatty were champions one week in the large junior, 15 and under, division, and in the four weekly classics they've notched two seconds and two wins. "I've been riding him for a year now, and we know each other well," said Wakeman, who trains with Karen Healey. "He jumps really well, and he's really rhythmical." Wakeman has been riding Cincenatty at the request of owner Julie Winkel, a trainer in Reno, Nev. "Last year at Del Mar, Julie had me riding him, and I've been riding him ever since," Wakeman said. "He's an awesome horse--I love him." Archie Cox also considers himself fortunate for the ride on a special horse. He's been partnered with Red Panda and has collected tricolors in the regular working division. "He has athletic ability unlike any horse I've ever ridden. His desire, scope, movement--he's a beautiful horse," Cox said. Cox rode Red Panda to the reserve championship in the regular working hunter division during week IV. The lovely, chestnut gelding measures under 16 hands, but you'd never know it to watch him soar over the four-foot jumps. "You never feel like you're on a small horse when you ride him," Cox said. "It's an absolutely fantastic feeling." Cox, who operates Brookway Stables in Lakeview Terrace, Calif., asked Lucy Davis, one of his students, to show the horse in the small junior, 15 and under, division where they were reserve champions. Cox hopes Red Panda will stay in training with him. "Anyone would love to have that horse in their barn," Cox said. Return to Press |
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