Week Two of the Legacy Cup Filled with MVP Non Pro and Pony Winners

Amelia McArdle was giddy after winning the Non Pro 3'6" Finals on MVP, which was a combined class of juniors and amateurs. She won the Junior Finals as well as the Leading Non Pro 3'6" Rider honors. Lavari ridden by Tracy Scheriff won the Non Pro 3'6" Amateur Finals and Leading Amateur Rider award. Emily Wygod and North Shore were the big winners in the Non Pro 3' Finals (Go Round, Finals and Amateurs). Jennifer Waxman and Ulone won the Non Pro 3' Junior Finals. Brittni Raflowitz and Mind Your Step dominated in the Pony Hunters. Havens Schatt won the Leading Trainer Award after she and her students totaled $10,424.

McArdle went early in the Non Pro 3'6" Finals and while her combined score of 253 from the three groups of paired judges was certainly good she waited cautiously to see if someone else would take away her lead. In the end she and her 10-year-old 15.3-hand chestnut Belgian Warmblood gelding MVP proved to be the most valuable players.

As the Leading Non Pro Junior Rider, based on money won from the Non Pro 3'6" division, McArdle and MVP were presented with the Signature Trophy in honor of Weatherly Stroh's Large Junior Working Hunter who dominated that division in the Midwest from 1987-1991.

Scheriff and her 12-year-old 16.2-hand bay Holsteiner gelding Lavari bested the field of Non Pro 3'6" Amateurs to take the championship ribbon. Scheriff, 24, who lives in Ramsey, NJ couldn't say enough good things about Lavari. "He is amazing. He goes out there and is consistently the same. He wants to be a good boy and he wants to win." Scheriff received the Jeannie Geiger Memorial Trophy for her Leading Amateur Rider honors. She recently graduated from Quinnipiac in Connecticut with a degree in Criminal Justice.

The top 25 riders qualified from a field of 40 to compete in the Finals by first riding in the Non Pro 3'6" Go Round. That Go Round and Junior class was won by On The Rox ridden by Ande Farish and owned by Lanes End. Winner of the Non Pro 3'6" Amateur Go Round was Cruise, ridden by Lindsay Fishell, owned by Royce Fishell and Lindsey Sey.

The purse for the Non Pro 3'6" division totaled $12,000, with $10,500 earmarked for the Finals. The winning horse received $3,520.

Non Pro 3' Winners
Amateur rider Emily Wygod was competing on North Shore, an eight-year-old 16.2-hand bay gelding, in the Non Pro 3' Finals to have some fun. "I wasn't expecting much," said the Californian. That fun ride led to North Shore winning the Go Round, the Finals and the Amateurs.

For Jennifer Waxman, 16, of Chagrin Falls, OH, the winner's circle is her second home and this time she did it again in the Non Pro 3' Junior Finals. She rode Ulone, a horse she's ridden only a couple of times. Waxman has been a consistent winner at the Legacy Cup and admits, "It is a good opportunity for the hunters to win some money for once. And it's fun and different."

The top 25 riders had to qualify from a field of 37 to compete in the Non Pro 3' Finals by first riding in the Non Pro 3' Go Round. Twelve-year-old Lauren Tyree of Chicago, IL, was soft spoken yet excited after winning the Non Pro 3' Junior Go Round on her six-year-old 15.3-hand bay Selle Francais gelding, Mozart, owned by First Partners, who she's only been riding for a year. Their ride was as musical as his name.

The purse for the Non Pro 3' division totaled $11,400, with $9,900 earmarked for the Finals. The winning horse received $3,406.

Pony Hunter Winners
Brittni Raflowitz, 13, was glowing after winning the Pony Hunter Go Round, Finals and the Leading Pony Rider title on Mind Your Step, a six-year-old 13.2-hand chestnut Dutchbred gelding, trained by Richard McGrath nicknamed "cookie, because he looks like a cookie monster and gives me kisses," she explained. Her medium pony, who is owned by Central Pennsylvania Equestrian Center, really did mind his steps as he boldly negotiated both courses to catch the eye of the judges and the highest marks.

The teenager was impressed with the course. "I thought it was tough, especially the way the jumps were set up. They were on the rail and angled. It wasn't your normal pony hunter course which is usually a single fence, outside line and down the diagonal. We never get anything interesting. I like the courses to be a little tougher. It makes you think!"

The Leading Pony Rider title was the result of Raflowitz accumulating $2,055, the most money won by a rider in the pony division. A total of 20 ponies competed. With the add-back of $200 from their entry fees, the entire purse for the division was $6,500. The portion allocated to the Finals was $5,000 with the first place pony receiving a check for $1,560.

About the Legacy Cup
The two-week Legacy Cup is the brainchild of the American Hunter-Jumper Foundation, Inc. (AHJF). It includes two professional and two non-pro divisions at 3' and 3'6". In addition, multiple awards are presented within each class and division. In the Non Pros in addition to an overall winner, presentations are also made to the top Juniors and Amateurs.

Each division has a Go Round and Finals. Each Go Round offers a guaranteed purse of $1,500. Go Rounds rank the top 25 horses for a clean slate Final. The Legacy Cup entry fee is $400 of which 50% goes directly to the division purse and 50% to the AHJF for the expenses associated with the event. In addition the Legacy Cup Committee committed an added purse of $13,000.

The Legacy Cup is unique in that it focuses on being different than the other typical Hunter classes. Riders receive more money and prizes thanks to an add-back format and the support of sponsors. Jan Agardy /Golden Point Farm, LLC, sponsored the Non Pro 3'6" Finals. Other sponsors include the Lindner Family for the Perpetual Trophy in their name and Susanne and Weatherly Stroh for the Signature Trophy and cooler. The Non Pro 3' was sponsored by Jan Agardy/Golden Point Farm, LLC. Other sponsors include Lisa Cudahy for the Lisa AH Cudahy Perpetual Trophy.

The Pony Go Round/The Farnley Eiffel Tower trophy donor was Kimberly Kreider. The winner of the Pony Finals was presented with The Delta Dawn Perpetual Trophy and cooler sponsored by Stacey Lefton Glick and Kings Crossing, LLC. Gifts to the horses and riders were thanks to Personalized Products, Essex Classics and Malvern Saddlery, EMO Insurance for the ribbons and Goshen Hill Foundation for a $100 cash prize to each of the grooms of the top three horses in every class.

For more information about the Legacy Cup and complete results and photos, visit http://www.legacycup.com/ or contact the AHJF at 335 Lancaster Street, West Boylston, MA 01583-0369, (508) 835-8813, ahjf@earthlink.net.