I asked Scott to assess the courses, designed by Phil DeVita, and here's what he told me.
Listen: Scott Stewart assesses the hunter courses at Devon
Scott is like a force of nature when it comes to the hunter division. John French, who hadn't ridden at Devon in 20 years, came with three horses from trainer Archie Cox. But though Scott admitted to feeling the pressure, the final score wasn't even close. Scott had 113 1/2 points for the Leading Rider title, to John's 88 points.
In a funny twist, John's name was down as the sponsor of the Leading Rider honors, and I know he wanted to win the title in a big way. He told me one of his customers began sponsoring the class last year in his name. That didn't matter when he wasn't riding here in 2006, but it was certainly ironic this time around.
You can bet John will be back in 2008, and he told me he wants to bring more horses.
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- Scott Stewart with Highland Park receives the Leading Rider trophy from Pam Keller.
- © 2007 by Nancy Jaffer
Scott also swept the young horse under saddle classes here yesterday, as once again Kenny Wheeler took the Best Young Horse title for the 33rd time--and on his 79th birthday! The winner is a fine-looking bay two-year-old, Capital Hill, by Nob Hill. Kenny bought the horse from Diana Dodge a few months ago.
I could continue to go on and on about Devon; the shopping, the little carnival that kids love, the historic brown barns (which are being renovated). I'm glad it doesn't change much, because I never get enough of it. With all the cookie cutter shows out there these days, Devon seems even more special.
The show has an extra day this year, continuing through Sunday with local classes, but I can't linger. I'm off to the Jersey Fresh Three-Day Event. Look for my EquiSearch.com postcard from there Sunday night.
