Callie Seaman Secures Grand Adult Amateur Hunter Championship at Pennsylvania National Horse Show
Five new champions and two grand champions were crowned in the Penn National Children’s and Adult Hunter Championships, presented by Marshall & Sterling, on Friday and Saturday, October 20-21, 2023, at the Pennsylvania National Horse Show in Harrisburg, PA.
Earning the Grand Adult Amateur Hunter Championship – after sweeping all three of the over fences classes in the Adult Amateur Hunters 18-35 – were Callie Seaman and Divine Romance, owned by Hallowell Lane Farm LLC.
“This is a really special mare,” said Seaman of the 6-year-old Oldenburg that also earned the 3’3” Green Hunter Championship earlier in the week with Laena Romond of Heritage Farm. “[Divine Romance] has had a really amazing year; she’s never left a horse show without a championship or a reserve championship. She was circuit champion in Florida, so she’s really been a gift. I bought her last year, and my other trainer, Patricia Griffith, showed her. Then, I took the reins this year.”
The Penn National Adult Hunter Championships, presented by Marshall & Sterling, are one of the newest additions to the PNHS and are one of the featured competitions held in the show’s Keystone Arena, added to use in the show in 2021. For Seaman, that venue was the ideal first taste of “Harrisburg” for Divine Romance.
“The coliseum is such a fun place to show, and then to have a younger horse in [the Keystone Arena] is a really nice way to get to introduce them to such a prestigious show in a little bit of a less [daunting] environment,” said Seaman. “Indoors is always the highlight of our season; Harrisburg in particular I think is a really important show; it’s one of my favorite venues. It’s a really meaningful show to me, and I always want to do my best when I come here.”
Earning the reserve championship behind Seaman and Divine Romance in the Adult Amateur Hunters 18-35 were Kendall Meijer and Out of Office.
In the Adult Amateur Hunters 36-49 the championship honor went to Elizabeth Tarumianz and Conlaro, owned by Deer Creek Farm LLC.
Tarumianz and the 18-year-old Holsteiner gelding earned two wins and a third place over fences to secure the tricolor. For Tarumianz, it was an exciting trip to the winner’s circle, as she is more often found cheering on her daughter, Ella Tarumianz, than doing the riding and winning herself.
“[Ella] was Grand Pony Champion here last year, so for me to come here this year and get a championship is really great,” said Elizabeth Tarumianz. “Usually it’s all about her, so that was really fun!
“It’s actually an interesting story, because I was not in the market for a horse,” continued Elizabeth Tarumianz. “I was fortunate enough to go to my trainers’ farm in Ocala. They said, ‘Hey, do you want to ride an extra? He’s down here for somebody else to try.’”
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