Show Jumpers Celebrate Halloween with Gambler’s Choice at the National Horse Show

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While a windy, cold and rainy night kept Halloween celebrations subdued in Lexington, Kentucky, riders and spectators enjoyed their own festivities in the Kentucky Horse Park’s Alltech Arena.

Since its move to Kentucky in 2011, Friday night has featured the puissance. This year, the organizers decided instead to offer a Gambler’s Choice jumper class on the evening of Friday, Oct. 31. In keeping with the Halloween theme, riders rode in costume, bringing some fun to the often traditional and conservative show ring.

In a Gambler’s Choice Class, there is no set course. Jumps are given point values based on their difficulty, and riders accumulate points for each jump they successfully clear within a set time. They can jump the fences in any order they choose and in either direction. At the end of that set time, riders can attempt the joker fence. That final fence adds 200 points to their score if they clear it. But if they knock a rail on the joker, those 200 points are deducted.

Francois Mathy of Belgium was the first rider on course, dressed as a referee aboard Ornellaia. The pair put down an impressive ride that couldn’t be topped; Mathy walked away with first place at the end of the evening. American Schulyer Riley rode Dobra de Porceyo to a second place finish with the popular pair of Olympic veterans, Laura Kraut and Cedric, coming in third.

See more video coverage of the 2014 National Horse Show at USEFNetwork.com.

Leslie Potter is Managing Editor of horseillustrated.com. Follow her on Twitter: @LeslieInLex.