The pinnacle of the 142nd National Horse Show Hunter competition took center stage in Alltech Arena, where an elite group of 16 horse-and-rider combinations were invited back for the $75,000 National Horse Show Hunter Classic. In its fifth year, the Hunter Classic highlights performance, style, and skill over two rounds.
John French and Walkenbach Equestrian LLC’s Oldenburg mare, Crystal Blue, led from start to finish with first-round scores of 91 and 92 and second-round scores of 93 and 91. Not only did French win the class, but he also earned Reserve Champion honors with Little Brook LLS’s KWPN stallion, Kaiden.
Heading into his last round, French had already secured the first-place spot and could only lose to himself. “It’s always nice when you know you’ve won it already on one horse, so I was a little bit less nervous. I just went for a smooth ride—a little bit more showing the horse off than the first round.”
Kelly Sims’ Cannon Beach, a Danish Warmblood gelding guided by Michael Britt-León, claimed third-place honors. “He’s a wonderful horse. He comes to the ring the same every single day. He really tries hard.” In his first year, Cannon Beach was champion two weeks ago in Harrisburg, and that experience prepared him to rise to the occasion in the Alltech Arena, earning a score of 84.75 in the second round following an initial score of 89 in the first.
To round out the award presentations, the BioStar Happy Horse Award was given to Kelly Sims’ Cannon Beach and rider Michael Britt-Leon.
About the course, French shared, “It was great tonight. It had bending lines and this is such a nice ring to ride in because it is bigger that most of the indoor rings that we’ve been showing in. So you can carry some pace and gallop around.” That was the intention of course designer Paul Jewell, who designed the track with this specifically in mind. Britt-León agreed, “There were opportunities for you to make decisions that best show off your animal. It was different than your normal course that gets built, which I thought made it more interesting and a little bit more exciting.”
$2,500 Whipper In Award
Presented by Meredith Lipke
On the Fox Hunting field, the “Whipper In” is the one who makes order from chaos. They keep all the hounds in order and make sure the hunt flows smoothly. In the same way, the barn manager of an elite show barn organizes the detailed and ever-changing logistics that make for a successful horse show for their team. This award celebrates and honors the unending hard work of this operational mastermind.
2025 Winner, Kim Davidson
While the Hunter Classic was happening in the ring, the Hunter Classic Gala to support the NHS Endowment took place in the WSJ Lounge overlooking the arena. Jennifer Burger, President of the NHS, shared the importance of the Gala to the future of the show. “The National Endowment’s goal is to get enough funding to ensure this horse show for life—that it is taken care of and can give grants and put on the performances that these wonderful horse and riders deserve.”
