More video from the 2014 National Horse Show: Maclay National Championship Final Round >>
While a windy, cold and rainy night kept Halloween celebrations subdued in Lexington, Kentucky, riders and spectators enjoyed their own festivities in the Kentucky Horse Park’s Alltech Arena.
Since its move to Kentucky in 2011, Friday night has featured the puissance. This year, the organizers decided instead to offer a Gambler’s Choice jumper class on the evening of Friday, Oct. 31. In keeping with the Halloween theme, riders rode in costume, bringing some fun to the often traditional and conservative show ring.
In a Gambler’s Choice Class, there is no set course. Jumps are given point values based on their difficulty, and riders accumulate points for each jump they successfully clear within a set time. They can jump the fences in any order they choose and in either direction. At the end of that set time, riders can attempt the joker fence. That final fence adds 200 points to their score if they clear it. But if they knock a rail on the joker, those 200 points are deducted.
Francois Mathy of Belgium was the first rider on course, dressed as a referee aboard Ornellaia. The pair put down an impressive ride that couldn’t be topped; Mathy walked away with first place at the end of the evening. American Schulyer Riley rode Dobra de Porceyo to a second place finish with the popular pair of Olympic veterans, Laura Kraut and Cedric, coming in third.
See more video coverage of the 2014 National Horse Show at USEFNetwork.com.
Leslie Potter is Managing Editor of horseillustrated.com. Follow her on Twitter: @LeslieInLex.
Leslie Potter is a graduate of William Woods University where she earned a Bachelor of Science in Equestrian Science with a concentration in saddle seat riding and a minor in Journalism/Mass Communications. She is currently a writer and photographer in Lexington, Ky. Potter worked as a barn manager and riding instructor and was a freelance reporter and photographer for the Horsemen's Yankee Pedlar and Saddle Horse Report before moving to Lexington to join Horse Illustrated as Web Editor from 2008 to 2019. Her current equestrian pursuits include being a grown-up lesson kid at an eventing barn and trail riding with her senior Morgan gelding, Snoopy.
What a fun competition!
Awesome!! Great pictures, and cute ideas.
cool!
How fun! I love the reindeer/moose one.
cool costumes
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