WCHR Week Excitement Begins With Professional Hunter Divisions at the Desert International Horse Park
Carleton Brooks piloted Deja Blue to two blues in the High Performance Conformation Hunters.
For Immediate Release
THERMAL, Calif. – March 17, 2021 – World Championship Hunter Rider Week (WCHR) kicked off at the Desert International Horse Park (DIHP) Week VIII, the final week of the Desert Circuit. The highlight of the week features the $100,000 WCHR West Coast Hunter Spectacular on Friday evening under the lights in the beautiful grand prix arena. Amazing prizes and grand championship awards await the winners of the WCHR divisions and Hunter Spectacular top scorers. Friday hunter action includes the $2,500 USHJA National Hunter Derby sponsored by Platinum Performance.
Hunter 1 saw the High Performance Hunters sponsored by OZ Inc and the High Performance Conformation Hunters, sponsored by San Marcos Training, with Bianca Jenkins’ Grateful and Gabriela Pattinson taking home the win in the High Performance Hunter model and the under saddle.
Gabriela Pattinson and Grateful won the High Performance Conformation Model.
Carlton Brooks (Encinitas, CA) lead the way in the over fences with Lighthouse, owned by Radler while riding Deja Blue, owner Roaring Fork Farms LLC, to the win both over fences rounds.
L’Con Reyes , owned by Bravado LLC, with Katie Taylor (Tarzana, CA) in the irons won the High Performance 4’ over fences and rode Catendro, owned by Mia Burlington, to the win in the under saddle. Aleron LLC’s Boy Wonder and Alexis Taylor (Medina, WA) grabbed the top call in the handy round.
Boy Wonder and Alexis Taylor won the Handy in the High Performance 4′.
Performance Hunters 3’3”, sponsored by Frontier Farms, saw 62 entries today with Leslie Steele (Calabasas, CA) aboard Golden Ticket claiming the victory in the first class while Kylee Arbuckle (Petuluma, CA) and Ask Anyone won the handy round.
Trainer Traci Brooks talked about the significance of WCHR week at the DIHP explaining, “Competition at the show has been amazing because people are excited about the competition itself and about the Hunter Spectacular and WCHR so I thinks it’s been really strong Having WCHR is good for everyone and good for the sport, It’s good for the west coast, it’s good for Thermal, it’s good for young riders to see it. I think the horse show has really risen to the occasion, the place looks beautiful, it’s landscaped and well decorated, it’s really beautiful.”
Carleton Brooks aboard Lighthouse in the High Performance Conformation Hunters.
Brooks also noted that the $100,000 of prize money was also a great addition and will make for a really exciting Hunter Spectacular under the lights.
Catch the $100,000 WCHR West Coast Hunter Spectacular live at 7:00pm Friday, March 19, 2021, by heading to Deserthorsepark.com and click on the “Watch Live” tab to watch. The winner of the class receives a $5,000 flight credit from Horseflight and a gift basket from Burtech Family Vineyard in addition to the big paycheck. The Leading Lady Rider receives a gorgeous bag from Lauracea.
Hunter competition continues with professional division championships on Thursday. For complete results, visit Showgroundslive. For more information on future events at the Desert International Horse Park, visit the website at Deserthorsepark.com.
About the Desert International Horse Park
With nearly 1.3 million square feet of competition and riding space, the Desert International Horse Park is one of the largest equestrian facilities in North America. Offering multiple weeks of world-class equestrian competition from October through March, the facility is a destination location for thousands of equestrians, their horses, family and friends for several months annually. Competitors from all over the world travel to Thermal, CA to not only compete but to enjoy everything the desert has to offer.