Hilltop News
After such a long, cold winter we were thrilled to see the arrival of spring and the first horse show of the season at Morven Park in Leesburg, VA. The VADA/NOVA Spring Dressage Show was held April 4-5 and Michael had an excellent start with Iris Aberbach’s Boxster A (Bugatti-Weltbekannt) and our own Qredit Hilltop (Quaterback-Dream of Glory). Boxster won both his Prix St. Georges Open classes with scores of 71.447% and 71.776% and was the High-Score winner for Prix St. Georges. Qredit made his FEI debut in the FEI Test of Choice Classes, also doing the Prix St. Georges test. He won both days and earned a great score of 71.25% on Saturday. Both of these horses are US-bred and Michael started both of them, so seeing their success and the potential to come is especially rewarding.
Stallion News
Hilltop Archives
What a way to end the year! The 2012 North American Stallion Test just finished this weekend and we couldn't be more pleased with the results for Qredit when he finished as the Dressage Champion & Overall Champion at the the 2012 70-Day North American Stallion Test!
It’s official – the USEF Sire Rankings have been tabulated for the year and we are very proud to announce that for the 2nd year in a row Riverman is the Eventing Sire of the Year and for the 3rd year in a row Royal Prince is the Dressage Breeding Sire of the Year! Congratulations to all the owners and breeders whose offspring contributed to these wins.
Hilltop Articles & Interviews
A Sport Horse Handler, whether at a show, inspection or exhibition, constantly strives for that 'magical moment' as he guides a horse in hand around the arena, often negotiating a large triangle formed from flower pots and jump poles. Together the two lift off and eat up the ground, matching stride for stride -- the horse seeming to float, to collect and extend on his own, all in perfect rhythm. The handler is as discreet as possible so that all attention focuses on the horse looking his best.
Kristi Nunnink's default expression is a smile. It doesn't matter how hard she's working, what level she's riding or how the horse under her is performing -- her mouth curls faintly upward, unforced. It may just be a coincidence of facial structure, or it may be a product of years of habit. But either way, the expression fits her, because Nunnink may very well be the happiest rider at Rolex Kentucky. At 48, she's heading to her first CCI**** with her horse of a lifetime.
