2003 Mid-Atlantic Regional

The 2003 Mid-Atlantic Morgan Regional Championship posed some unexpected challenges for Spring Hollow Morgan's 13 year-old stallion, Statesmans Silhouette. For the past 9 years Silhouette and his rider, Lori Shoemake, have been working exclusively in dressage - using free jumping for gymnastics and hopping over the occassional log on the trail. The pair had last jumped a course of fences when Silhouette was 4 - and even then his experience over fences was very limited.

But Friday morning at Mid-A proved that a well-trained, athletic and willing Morgan can do it all. That morning, Silhouette's 6 year-old son, Spring Hollow Night Magic, had a slight colic that resolved quickly with a shot of banamine, but it meant Magic and his rider, 13 year-old Devon Shoemake, could not compete in their Working Hunter classes that day.

When Lori offered Silhouette to Devon to ride, she quickly took her mother up on the offer despite the fact that Devon has only ridden Silhouette a few times to cool him out after her mother had worked him at home. Devon hopped on Silhouette, popped him over a few fences in the warmup, and got ready for the 2'6" Medium Working Hunter Division. They came away with the Reserve Championship - winning one class over fences and coming in second in two more. The pair had a blast and looked like they'd been working together in the division for years.

Later that afternoon, Lori took Silhouette in Sport Horse Suitability (a class modeled on the USDF Sport Horse Breeding specs and run on the triangle) and came away with the Stallion Championship - for the fifth straight time that he's been shown in that class at Mid-A.

On Saturday and Sunday Silhouette and Lori were back in familiar territory, winning two of his four Third Level Dressage classes with solid scores against strong competition and coming away with the Reserve Championship at Third Level and Above.

Silhouette's success in multiple disciplines - dressage, suitability and working hunter - earned him the Mid-A Sport Horse Championship over four other very tough competitors.

Silhouette's kids kept up his standards.

Despite missing one day of the two days of competition in the working hunter ring, Magic and Devon came away with the Junior Exhibitor Sport Horse Award Reserve Championship and won the AMHA Dressage Seat Medal class with a 65%.

Cathy Echternach's 8 year-old Silhouette son, Laughter's Lord Wilson was the Gelding Suitability Champion in a very large class and won a dressage class at Third Level.

Silhouette's 4 year-old daughter, Creekvale Chardonnay, owned and bred by Deanna and Frank Nowiki, was Reserve Champion Suitabilty Mares, and earned excellent ribbons in Beginner Hunter and scores in the 60's in Training and Intro Dressage.

And last, but certainly not least, 7 year-old Emily Shoemake made a successful showring debut in the Walk-Trot division with Spring Hollow Beaujolais, who last year carried her older sister to the Junior Exhibitor Sport Horse Award Championship.

All in all, Mid-A was an eventful, unexpectedly fulfilling horse show in 2003 and rivaled the success of Silhouette and some of his kids at Mid-A in 2001.