By David Rogers. BLOWING ROCK, N.C. — It took a 3-entry jump-off to decide the winner, but when the sawdust had settled, a horse named Corleano owned by a Wellington, Fla. stable, with a Wellford, S.C. trainer and ridden by a young woman from Austin, Texas emerged triumphant in the Russell Hall Memorial Classic, one of the feature events of the Blowing Rock Charity Horse Show on July 28.
BONUS PHOTOS AT BOTTOM OF ARTICLE (click on any image to activate Slide Show mode for best viewing)
A field of seven horses and riders negotiated the twists, turns and hurdles of the Broyhill Equestrian Preserve’s inside arena for the Russell Hall Memorial, with scores of patrons, other riders, owners, trainers and support personnel lining the fences, jamming the box seats, and watching intently under overcast skies but otherwise dry conditions.
The first four horse and rider duos knocked off at least one rail but the last three all had clean runs, thus forcing the 3-way jump-off.
The last rider in Round 1, Nick Stewart riding Jaspar (owned by Across Town Farm, LLC; trained by Emma Fogler) opted to immediately make his jump-off run bit knocked down a rail. Next up was Quinn Larimer on Bronson CR (owned by Nestledown Equine Services LLC and trained by Lauren Kissel), who also failed to make a clean run.
The faults of the first two entries were somewhat miniscule but they left open the door for Corleano and Texas rider Grace Loughlin. As soon as they had traversed the circuit without a hiccup and within the allowed time, the public address declared what everyone already knew: “And there’s your Russell Hall Memorial champion.”
The Blowing Rock Charity Horse Show Foundation hosts three equestrian events each summer, a Saddlebred competition in mid-June and two separate Hunter-Jumper competitions in consecutive weeks at the end of July with the second week overlapping into early August.
The first Blowing Rock show was stage in 1923 on Green Hill Road, near what is now the Green Park Inn. Now the longest, continuous running equestrian competition in the nation, the Blowing Rock Charity Horse Show is now in its 102nd year, with one week to go, from Tuesday July 30 to Sunday, August 4.
The Blowing Rock Charity Horse Show features competitors of all ages, from the very youngest amateurs to the most veteran professionals. The Hunter Jumper competition attracts more than 500 horses each year and well over 2,000 people to town from all over the U.S.
BONUS SCENES FROM THE ‘LEAD LINE’ EVENT ON JULY 28
All photographic images by David Rogers for High Country Sports
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