Riding Magazine

California Riding Magazine • July, 2009

On Course with Zazou
One fall away from a perfect round at
revered Devon Horse Show.

by Zazou Hoffman

Hi Everyone,

Here’s my report after a great week at the Devon Horse Show in Pennsylvania. I got fourth in the USEF Talent Search on Ivy and won the one-round Washington Jumper class. I had a nice Maclay round but was a bit deep to the second jump. I got called back for the flat, but no ribbon. (If I had won, I would have gotten the Equitation Championship award. Not that I was thinking about it beforehand or anything, lol).

We took down the very last rail in our first Junior Jumper class, then I got to go in the Gambler’s Choice night class. I had a few rails and unfortunately just nicked the joker jump behind and had that down. I didn’t get a ribbon but I had a lot of fun and definitely had a respectable round.

Saving the best for last, I had the Junior Jumper Classic that night under the lights. There was a great crowd and the sounds of the Country Fair carried over to the ring. The jumps were beyond huge (a full 1.4M) and the course was super technical. Did I mention that the oxers were stout and that this was my first show doing the High Junior Jumpers?

It was by far the biggest and hardest course I have ever had to jump. I thought I was going to be sick during the course walk because I was freaking out so much. Devon isn’t exactly the place where you are supposed to try jumping bigger jumps. Ha-ha! The course had a ton of right bends and right turns and places to conveniently shift right, which were all just asking for me to have a rail or a stop on Jamison because of his love of the right side of the jumps.

So I warmed up great and I started along my course beautifully. Everything was coming up great out of stride and I was getting everything done without fault. I come to the last jump, which was a vertical off of a right bend in a tight six strides. I held Jamison out on the track and I tried to really hold him off it and keep him left, as the jump was right into a short right corner. But, of course, leave it to me to hold him just a little bit too hard to the left making the distance just a little bit long and he darts out left and I fall off!!!!!

The bridle came off and everything. I am completely fine and I actually laughed as I got up because it was pretty ironic that I fell off because he went left when all I was thinking about was not letting him go right. Anyways, Jamison jumped incredibly and I couldn’t be happier with how smoothly my first High Junior Jumper classic went, with the exception of one jump!

Lotsa Laughs

I wasn’t the only one to get a laugh out of it. As I stood in the bleachers watching the earlier riders go, I was right behind the inimitable and extremely talented Grand Prix rider, Jimmy Torano. A lot of people were knocking the last jump down so he turned around to me and said, “If you are clear until the last jump, you hold that left rein. You just hold that left rein. Don’t let your horse go right.” Well, of course, I “held that left rein.”

He immediately called one of my trainers John Brennan and they laughed about it while Jimmy gave me a great compliment by saying that I had the best round of the class until the last jump.
Also, when I came out of the ring half laughing and half upset, one trainer (I think Kim Prince) said, “The course was just meant to be one jump shorter. Blame it on the course designer.” Everyone was able to joke about the fall, as I have to admit it was pretty funny. Sadly, though, there were only four clear rounds and no double clears, so I would have been in the top five if that hadn’t have happened. I am ecstatic about my week at Devon though. Ivy and Jamison were great and I couldn’t be happier with them.

Through a new merger with Phelpssports.com and Horse Show Live, www.shownet.biz, offers a brilliant service whereby a competitor or parent can purchase a video of each round for $5 or, for a set fee, purchase video of all horse show rounds. The company is making my fall-off round available so that you, my loyal readers, can familiarize yourself with this technological innovation. If your parents, like mine, live on the opposite coast from where you are competing, then they will be really happy. Mine were ecstatic!

I am excited about ShowNet Plus, which was set to debut at the Lake Placid Horse Show in late June. For a $95 annual fee, subscribers receive a variety of horse show information, including video clips, orders of go, e-mail alerts and real-time standings and results. I am told that PhelpSports.com subscribers will soon be able to access the ShowNet Plus system. At the moment, ShowNet is only tracking East Coast shows, but maybe that will change.