2006 Press Releases

LEBLOND AND BAIRD WIN NON PRO 3' HUNTER GO ROUND WHILE WAXMAN AND MARTIN SWITCH PLACES IN 3'6" FINALS

May 20, 2006 - Lexington, KY - Eye Remember Rio with Victoria Watters LeBlond riding was the winner of both the Non Pro & Amateur 3' Go Round on Saturday, May 20, 2006 at the Legacy Cup, which is part of the Kentucky Spring Horse Shows taking place in Lexington. Junior honors went to Call It Art, ridden by Jordan Baird.

Later that same day it was a face off for the 3'6" Non Pro Riders in their Finals and when the scores were tallied the top two riders (Jennifer Waxman on Saloon and Jamie Martin on Cayman) had switched places from their 3'6" Go Round Non Pro Results. This time Cayman was first and Saloon took second, but they each continued to lead in Juniors (Waxman) and Amateurs (Martin). The 3'6" Non Pro division was sponsored by Providence Hill LLC/Jamie Plank Martin & Tinsley Martin. The Lindner Family Perpetual Trophy given to the winner was sponsored by the Lindners. Other sponsors included Essex Classics and Malvern Saddlery. Martin and Waxman also won the Leading Junior and Amateur-Owner Rider Awards for their respective divisions.

In addition, Saloon was presented with the Signature Trophy (named after the top Junior Hunter who died last summer at age 24) for the Non Pro 3'6" Junior Hunter earning the most money, while Cayman was presented with the Jeanne Geiger Memorial Trophy by Rachel Geiger in honor of her mother who passed away unexpectedly last year. That award went to the Amateur-Owner 3'6" Leading Rider. The grooms of the top three placed horses in each class were awarded $100 cash.

EYE REMEMBER RIO TAKES VICTORIA WATTERS LEBLOND TO THE WINNING NON PRO 3' GO ROUND
"He is just one of the best horses you could ever know," said LeBlond after her victory ride. "I am busy being a mother of two small boys (Max-7/Matthew-6) and I have a new husband (Peter) (she was married less than a year ago) and this week I am moving into a new house in Cincinnati. I was at a t-ball (pee wee baseball) game and a track meet this morning and then we drove to the horse park."

"I haven't seen my horse since Tampa in March," continued LeBlond. "He is the most wonderful horse. He is just phenomenal. He doesn't change. You just point and squeeze."

There is even more reason for LeBlond to be happy with her first place finish. It's not as easy for her to negotiate the course as it is for the other riders because LeBlond is legally blind. "The world is out of focus. Everything is like a Monet painting," explained the Amateur rider, who jokingly adds, "I tried to feed my kids moldy bagels thinking they were blueberry bagels."

LeBlond lost her eyesight as a teenager. "I was ill when I was 14 and it left my optic nerves damaged. Before that I had normal vision but I still had a passion for riding. I started showing on the circuit when I was ten and after that I just had to learn to adjust. I am blessed to have a horse like Rio that I can just show up, do my thing, be successful and still go home and be a mother and a wife."

In order to insure she gets to the right fences LeBlond walks her course and works off the corner to approach each fence. "I walk around the ring. I find out where on the corner I am going to turn; I pick spots. I look down and up and down and up to make sure I am on the path. Riding is a science. Stay on track and maintain your rhythm. You get nervous you pick or you gun and you are a goner," she adds.

LeBlond went on to talk about the need for patience when you ride, "for me it is a whole lot of patience." She quotes her husband who says that "Patience can be painful but the satisfaction afterwards is so rewarding."

In 2005 LeBlond "won the Peggy Cone Classic in Florida. I can compare that to the Legacy Cup. It is a fun Hunter Classic during hunter week and it is a big thrill to win as would be the Legacy Cup instead of just another championship at another horse show. The Legacy Cup brings the fun back into horse showing."

LeBlond had been away in Hawaii and came home three days earlier and only arrived at the horse show grounds two hours before her class, but she was determined to get to the show. "I was thrilled that I didn't miss the Legacy Cup weekend. It's great that the hunters have a chance to have some fun instead of doing the typical hunter division. My training routine was the treadmill staring at the ocean and walking on the beaches," said LeBlond with a laugh.

The amateur rider concluded the conversation back on the subject of her winning round saying, "I was very pleased when I heard my score. I went in just to have a good time and see if I could put together some kind of a decent trip." Thanks to her horse and her scientific approach to the course she ended up a winner.

CALL IT ART AND JORDAN BAIRD TOP OFF THE JUNIOR NON PRO 3' GO ROUND
Sixteen-year-old Jordan Baird didn't even know she placed second in the Non Pro 3' Go Round and led the juniors until her mom called her. She quickly focused on her horse Call It Art exclaiming, "He was awesome. He jumped beautifully. I was really happy with the round and how well he went. I am happy that he was stellar and so brave. This is a really good way to end my 3' year (she'll be moving up to 3'6" on Call It Art which he can easily do)."

The bay gelding used to be ridden by her sister Taylor and she recalls thinking in her younger days that she hoped she could one day ride this horse. "My sister rode him first. I never thought I'd be on him so I am excited to ride him now."

"He has the best canter you just sit into him and you come out of the corner with leg and the jump is right there. He is awesome. He is the easiest horse," she was exploding with praise for her new mount.

Baird explained that it is not only in the ring that he is good but also in the barn. "He is just like a little dog. He has the best personality. He is always very quiet and never mean."

Baird's trainer, Chris Payne, had won on Tucker the week before so her win was even more special. "I really like the Legacy Cup. It's fun to show indoors and everyone can compete in it (you don't have to qualify). Plus they take back 25 in the Finals and so you can come back and redeem yourself."

With one more round to go on Sunday Baird has a plan. "I am just going to stay focused and make sure that I try my hardest, not get caught up in winning and make sure my horse goes around the best that he is able to."

CAYMAN AND SALOON SWITCH PLACES
A total of 24 horses came back from the original field of 43 horses in the Non Pro 3'6" Finals with an overall purse of $12,600 allocated to the division of which $11,100 went to the Finals winners. When the last two riders completed the course it was a case of musical horses. Saloon with Jennifer Waxman in the irons who had won the Go Round the day before placed second in the Finals while 2nd place Go Round winner Cayman with Jamie Martin riding won the class, with only a mere fraction between (Cayman scored 257.5 to Saloon's 257). Martin took away a check for $3,634 while Waxman earned $1,704.

When Martin saw Jennifer she commented, "I have to be one of the oldest (47) and Jennifer one of the youngest (14)," and gave her a big hug. The day before Martin told this reporter that she was going to try to win and the first words out of her mouth were "did I tell you I was going to try to win."

She was very thankful saying, "I won it only because God wanted me to. I didn't have a very good day in the Amateur ring." She continued explaining, "My horse was really tired today. I made a bad mistake in the schooling area and made him land in the middle of the jump. I am very proud of him today for walking in the ring and being the winner. When I was going around I was thinking thank you for this very nice horse."

Near the end of the course Martin recalls thinking, "I was saying only a couple more jumps. Don't screw up now." As she finished those words Waxman walked over and nodded in agreement, clearly having gone through those same feelings many times.

Martin explained that her barn's name is Providence and she proceeded to define that word as "the manifestation of divine intervention… All I can say is thanks be to God!"

Both Martin and Waxman liked the course. "The course rode easy," they chimed. "It was a nice course," added Martin. "I am always worried at night in the indoor arena, but he walked in that ring and he put up his ears and he was going to give it his best shot."

Martin was looking forward to going home and getting back into her normal routine. "I am going to go home and watch my boys play soccer and baseball tomorrow. And tonight Tinsley (her daughter) and I are going to go back to the hotel room and watch a movie, probably 'Dreamer.'"

And as far as Cayman goes. "He is going to get lots of treats, a massage and the day off tomorrow."

Waxman was anxious to get back to her trailer so she could celebrate. Her friends chided her as she talked about her night trying to distract her as best they could. "I was really nervous and I wanted to do good," she commented. "He was awesome. He is always perfect."

While Saloon was taking everything in stride Waxman recalls, "just trying to breathe and don't miss." When it was over and she could take a deep breath she was pleased. "I was so happy because he was perfect and I was just happy it was over. I felt I did all I could do."

Waxman's mom was there as well and was pleased. "She said good job. She was really proud of me and I'll call my dad tonight."

As she was about to head out Waxman thought about Saloon because if she was going to celebrate he should too. "I'm gonna give him a million treats even though he already had a million," she concluded as she headed off with her own plans. "I am going to roast marshmallows at the campground and make s'mores with my whole barn."

For more information about the Legacy Cup contact the AHJF (335 Lancaster Street, West Boylston, MA 01583-0369), Phone: 508-835-8813, www.legacycup.com, E-mail: AHJF@earthlink.net.