Sam Walker 2nd in Vermont's $10,000 High Junior/Amateur-Owner Classic

McKayla Langmeier, 17, of East Grandby, CT, won the $10,000 Show Jumping Hall of Fame Junior/Amateur-Owner Jumper Classic, presented by Miller & Associates, on Sunday, August 13, during the final day of the 2017 Vermont Summer Festival at Harold Beebe Farm in East Dorset, VT.

Course designer Gerry Briggs of Smyrna, TN, saw five horse-rider combinations jump clear over his first-round track to qualify for the jump-off. Langmeier utilized the speed of her mount, Durosa W, a nine-year-old Dutch Warmblood mare sired by B Zirocco Blue VDL and owned by Linda Langmeier, to cross the jump-off timers in 39.81 seconds for the win.

Just over a second behind Langmeier, Canadian competitor Sam Walker of Nobleton, ON, posted a clear jump-off effort in 40.83 seconds riding Twan to finish second for trainers Missy Clark and John Brennan of North Run based in Warren, VT. Sydney Smith of Madison, CT, piloted Kolohe to third place with a clear jump-off ride in 45.30 seconds, while Alexandra Carlton, also of Madison, CT, finished fourth after incurring four faults in 41.34 seconds in the jump-off riding Cardiograaf. Rounding out the top five, Isabella Russekoff of Greenwich, CT, stopped the clock in 42.22 seconds with four faults riding Balou’s Fly High.

“Bringing this horse along has been a long process and I have had a lot of help from Julie Welles and my dad, Kenny, to get her where she is today,” said Langmeier, who got the ride on Durosa W when the mare was seven. “She is really careful and quite hot, so it has taken a little while for us to find a balance between controlling her and letting her be who she is.”

Langmeier moved Durosa W, a mare she fondly calls Rose, into the High Junior/Amateur-Owner division during the 2017 winter season at the Winter Equestrian Festival.

“We won our last classic at WEF and that is the moment it clicked and we realized she could really do it,” said Langmeier, who plans to now point Durosa W at indoor finals this fall. “She has been growing up a lot along the way and now she is at the point where she can do the highs consistently.”

Of her jump-off round, Langmeier noted, “The high point for me was the rollback. I was getting there a little deep and I just thought, ‘come on Rose!’ and she fired right up and over it. She definitely loves the jump-off and she is always going to fight as hard as you fight. I know whenever we go in the ring she wants to go clear.”

Mckayla Langmeier and Durosa W were presented as winners of the $10,000 Show Jumping Hall of Fame
Junior/Amateur-Owner Jumper Classic, presented by Miller & Associates, by Heather Rutana,
representing Miller & Associates on the final day of the 2017 Vermont Summer Festival in East Dorset, VT.
Photo by Andrew Ryback Photography

Earlier in the day, Ava Ellis of Annapolis, MD, won the $2,500 Low Junior/Amateur-Owner Jumper Classic riding Quickley 3, and Elizabeth Rae of Bernville, PA, topped the $2,500 Marshall & Sterling Child/Adult Jumper Classic riding Herault. For her win, Rae received a pair of Tonic paddock boots and half-chaps from Schockemoehle.

For over 20 years, the Vermont Summer Festival has attracted exhibitors and their families to the Manchester region in southern Vermont for great competition in an ideal summer setting. Offering more than $750,000 in prize money over the course of its six-week run, the Vermont Summer Festival is New England’s largest hunter/jumper competition as well as the state’s richest sporting event based on purse. Outside the show ring, exhibitors are immersed in the charm of Vermont’s shopping, dining, and outdoor activities. In 2018, the Vermont Summer Festival returns to Harold Beebe Farm for six weeks of competition running from July 3 through August 13.

For more information on the Vermont Summer Festival, please e-mail or visit www.vt-summerfestival.com.

$10,000 Show Jumping Hall of Fame Junior/Amateur-Owner Jumper Classic
Rider/Hometown/Horse/Faults/Time
1. Mckayla Langmeier/East Grandby, CT/Durosa W/0:0/39.81
2. Sam Walker/Canada/Twan/0:0/40.83
3. Sydney Smith/Madison, CT/Kolohe/0:0/45.30
4. Alexandra Carlton/Madison, CT/Cardiograaf/0:4/41.34
5. Isabella Russekoff/Greenwich, CT/Balou’s Fly High/0:4/42.22
6. Oliver Ritter/New York, NY/Son Quaprice Valette/4
7. Isabella Russekoff/Greenwich, CT/Calvero IV/4
8. Elizabeth Stroh/Gross Pointe Farms, MI/Coralina/16