Alexandra Cherubini Wins Big At Devon Horse Show

May 27^th, 2013 – 20 horses and riders participated in the $5,000 NAL Adult Amateur Jumper Classic this past Monday at the Devon Horse Show in the hopes of taking home the winning title. Held in the Dixon Oval, the course was set and the pressure was on. Despite the pressure, Alexandra Cherubini and EquiFit Carlos jumped their way to win the class.

The course included a double and triple combination, and a ferocious red and white oxer with a liver pool set underneath of it. An oxer that’s about 4 ft high and wide is already a scary looking jump, now let’s add in a liver pool – Talk about a horse’s worst nightmare! 10 of the 20 to go either jumped it hesitantly, deer jumped or hopped over it, refused it, dismounted their rider, or were eliminated because of it. Only a handful jumped it without problem, but it was clear that the majority of the horses did not agree with the jump’s inclusion in the course.

Like the NAL Pony Jumpers, the NAL Adult Amateur Jumpers did not see more than 2 clear rounds; Rachel Boggus and Weidam were the first to ride clear and were followed by Alexandra Cherubini aboard Equifit Carlos – challenging Boggus to a jump-off.

In a 2 horse jump-off it’s pretty simple… You either go first or you go last. If you’re first you don’t have the advantage of watching how the course will ride and if you’re last the pressure is on to see if you can ride it better and beat the competition. The question here isn’t, can you do it? – You can do anything you set your mind to! The question is how badly do you really want it?

Second and last to jump-off after Boggus and Weidam’s clear 40.310s, Alexandra Cherubini knew that in order to win she had to jump clear and ride faster; risking having a rail down if her signals were not precise enough to effectively communicate speed and distance to her mount. Activate “competitive jumper mode” and Cherubini zoomed to the finish 3.74s faster for a total of 36.570s – Cherubini and Equifit Carlos win NAL Adult Amateur Jumpers at Devon clean and clear!

Cherubini rides under the instruction of Margie Engle and has racked up some great wins over the years. She recently began riding and showing the 10-year-old grey Hanoverian gelding, bred by Klaus-Detlef Naeve, during week 7 of the Winter Equestrian Festival in Wellington, FL. and placed 1^st out of 37 at the NAL/WIHS Adult Amateur Jumper Classic during the Kentucky Spring horse show. The handsome grey gelding has accumulated approximately $7,000+ in prize money in the Adult Amateur Jumpers and is by the elite stallion Contendro – currently ranked as the leading jumper sire by the USEF under their “Leading Jumper Sire” standings. Looks like this kind-eyed sweetheart is going to make his dad very proud!

By: Claudia Lorena

Watch a video of Alexandra and Equifit Carlos’ NAL rounds at Devon

Video courtesy of USEF Network.