Team Brookway Tops $25,000 CWD Sellier Nations Cup Hunter Team Challenge
The $25,000 CWD Sellier Nations Cup Hunter Team Challenge concluded on Friday, February 7 at the Desert International Horse Park with Team Brookway winning by a large margin with 347 points. Team members included Karli Postel and Carlios, Dane Anson aboard Franklin and Sophie Cohen on Christopher Robin.
Finishing in second place with an overall score of 336 was the Pink Pony Club, made up of Postel, Jack Strang and Gabriella Anzelc. Third place went to The GOATS, with team members Mitch Endicott, Desi Cyr and Hailey Eynon riding to a score of 334.
The Hunter Team Challenge is a class like few others. The unique format incorporates an atmosphere of teamwork into what is traditionally an individual sport. Teams consist of a professional rider and two other team members, who must be either an amateur or a junior rider. Each team member rides twice. The second round is a handy round, composed of five to seven fences set at 3’3”.
The top two scores from each team in the first and second rounds are added together. If the following total score is within two points of the leading team, a third and final round is required. In this case, a third round was not needed due to the 11-point margin between Team Brookway and the second-place team, Pink Pony Club.
Postel and her team named their group after their home base of Brookway Stables, headed by Archie Cox. Postel chose her mount, Carlios, owned by Chloe Recknor, for the class as he “doesn’t ever let anyone down.” Her trust in the 10-year-old Holsteiner gelding paid off.
“We just went for ‘smooth and steady’ for the first round,” Postel said. “Carlios jumped to an 85 which we were super happy with. Then my partner, Dane [Anson], went and got an 88 on his mount, Franklin, which was great. I thought the course was beautiful. They did a really nice job.
“What I like most about this class is that it’s a team challenge, a team effort,” Postel continued. “So much of this sport is individual in the sense that – yes, you have a partner in your horse – but we don’t often always get to compete with a fellow exhibitor so that’s kind of fun. It was fun to get to work with both juniors and amateurs and kind of come up with our plan together and tackle the class as a team.”
Read more:
