DEL MAR — From yearlings to 8-year-old jumpers, young horses were celebrated Aug. 28-Sept. 1 at the Blenheim EquiSports All Seasons Tournament held at Showpark.

Between the International Hunter Futurity (IHF) Breeding and Futurity classes as well as the Sallie B. Wheeler/USEF Hunter Breeding National Championship (SBW), Showpark’s Hunter Arena 1 was bustling with babies for two days. In the SBW Championship, handlers showcased youngsters in the “triangle format”, including a standing pose to assess conformation, exhibiting a walk away from the judges at an angle, a trot across the back of the ring and a walk back toward the judges. The honorable Debbie Sands and Sharon Stewart watched the competitors on the West Coast and later hopped on a plane to judge the East Coast group.

It was a busy couple of days for West Coast breeders and their offspring. The end results were especially exciting for well-known hunter breeder, photographer and supporter of equestrian sport, Tish Quirk.

“I’m still floating on cloud nine,” said Quirk, whose 2-year-old filly, Good Luck, (More Than Luck X Molly Malone) won every breeding class she had entered. “It was a fabulous day.”

Quirk was also thrilled with her team including Carleton Brooks.

“He is such a wonderful handler,” she said. “It is an honor to have him show the horse. He’s such a consummate horseman. In one day he gets to know a horse and brings out the best in them.”

Along with the highlight of the FEI classes, the grand prix field also hosted the 2013 Young Jumper Championships Western League Finals beginning on Thursday and culminating on Sunday. With three divisions for horses recorded with the YJC, the three round format allowed the budding five, six and seven/eight-year-olds to showcase their talent.

Three horses were triple clean in the 5-year-old division resulting in a jump-off. Leading the young pack was Fairbanks Valley Farm’s gorgeous KWPN stallion Da’s Mooi Man (Zapatero VDL x Indoctro), ridden by Jason McArdle.

“We bought him at an auction in Colombia,” said McArdle. “He is by Zapatero, who is a young stallion, and this was his first crop. I’ve had him for two and a half years and he’s really been a pleasure. He’s the easiest horse I’ve ever had to break. He’s an old soul but acts like a kid at times.”

When asked about the next step in his program, McArdle said they will just continue to develop him and see what they get.

“You never really know until they step up and do it,” he said.

In the 6-year-old division, nine horses competed in a jump-off. Two finished with four clean rounds overall, with Cross Creek Farms’ KWPN gelding Cupilor (Lupicor x Edison) and Michelle Parker taking the win.

“I’ve had him since he was four,” said Parker. “He’s always been very easy, fast, and careful. He was very tired today so I was a little worried, but he came around as soon as we started to gallop. We plan to continue showing him through the ranks of the young jumpers.”

With almost 30 in the oldest division, the final day ended with a jump-off between three 7-year-olds and three 8-year-olds. In an exciting finish, Comet (Theresa Boucher, owner) and Emily Esau Williams came out on top by .002 seconds over Branscomb Farm’s Venice B with Daniel Zilla. A Hanoverian gelding, Comet (Cornet Obolensky x Landgold) has only been in the barn since last January.

“Comet wants to win every time he goes in the ring,” said an elated Williams, who purchased the horse from Richard Rinehart of Indianapolis. “He is the most fun to ride, I feel very fortunate. He’ll let us know what he wants to do. But I think for now we will let him bask in his glory and see where he takes us.”

The Blenheim Fall Tournament will be held Sept. 11-15. The final show of the Blenheim season in San Juan Capistrano will host the $15,000 1.35M Jumper Classic, sponsored by CardFlex, the ASPCA Maclay Regional Finals, the inaugural CashCall Mortgage Futurity Finals and the $40,000 Fall Tournament Grand Prix, sponsored by EquiFit, inc.

Sallie B. Wheeler Hunter Breeding, Best Young Horse
Place – Horse – Owner – Rider/Handler
Champion – Good Luck – Tish Quirk – Carleton Brooks
Reserve Champion – Rosebud – Sue Lightner – Diane Yeager

IHF Hunter Breeding, Best Young Horse
Place – Horse – Owner – Rider/Handler
1 – Good Luck – Tish Quirk – Carleton Brooks
2 – Steal The Show – Jennifer Stillman – Marie Medosi

2013 Young Jumper Championships Western League Finals,
Five-Year-Old Division
Place – Horse – Rider – Owner – Total Faults/JO Faults/Time
1 – Da’s Mooi Man – Jason McArdle – Fairbanks Valley Farm, LLC – 0/0/36.278
2 – Camillo – Heather Olson – Orchard Hill Farm, LLC – 0/0/42.917

2013 Young Jumper Championships Western League Finals,
Six-Year-Old Division
Place – Horse – Rider – Owner – Total Faults/JO Faults/Time
1 – Cupilor – Michelle Parker – Cross Creek Farms – 0/0/34.384
2 – Hey Joe – Mayy Cyphert – Kelsey Can Ackeren – 0/0/38.790

2013 Young Jumper Championships Western League Finals,
Seven & Eight-Year-Old Division
Place – Horse – Rider – Owner – Total Faults/JO Faults/Time
1 – Comet (7) – Emily Esau Williams – Theresa Boucher – 0/0/35.547
2 – Venice B (8) – Daniel Zilla – Branscomb Farm, LLC – 0/0/35.549