Winners Crowned Following Cross-Country Phase at 2022 Essex Horse Trials

Winners Crowned Following Cross-Country Phase at 2022 Essex Horse Trials

Peter Chesson Memorial Classic Car Show and Mars Candy Hunt Highlight Event’s Conclusion at Historic Moorland Farm

After several shake-ups on the leaderboards following Saturday’s cross-country phase, the Essex Horse Trials concluded at the historic Moorland Farm in Far Hills, NJ, with afternoon awards for over 100 entries. Among the division champions were Isabelle Bosley of Monkton, MD, and Karen Martin’s 10-year-old Hanoverian mare Paper Doll, who claimed victory in the $10,000 Open Preliminary division after finishing on their dressage score of 22.1.

As one of the most popular equestrian events in New Jersey, the Essex Horse Trials features some of the nation’s top riders with their Preliminary horses competing in the thrilling sport of eventing. The two-day sportfest took place July 1-2 with dressage and show jumping at the iconic Hamilton Farm, home of the U.S. Equestrian Team (USET) Foundation in Gladstone, NJ, and exhilarating cross-country at the historic Moorland Farm in Far Hills.

Bosley, 25, has been developing Paper Doll slowly over the last three seasons under the watchful eye of boss and mentor Lillian Heard. “She’s a very careful jumper, so we didn’t want to scare her by moving up too fast,” Bosley said. “She’s really come around, and she’s an awesome Prelim horse. I’m hoping to move her up again soon.

“She’s a pretty bold cross-country horse,” Bosley added. “I’ve run a lot of Prelim events with her at this point, and we had seen a lot of things on today’s course before. I knew that as long as I stuck to my plan for our ride, everything should be alright. I did think she might refuse the jump into the water because that’s the biggest drop into water she’s done so far, but she jumped it really nice and carefully. I’m really thrilled with how she took it all on, especially in the heat. She just motored around the course like it was nothing.”

Alongside Paper Doll, Bosley has a 4 Star horse, Night Quality, with which she has been slowly building up her career. Three years ago, she and Night Quality took fourth place in the Essex Horse Trials Preliminary division despite running in that year’s deep mud. They were most recently in England on a U25 Nations Cup run, with Bosley continuing to seek out the horses, results, and experience she needs to make it to the top of the sport.

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Essex Horse Trials | The Essex Horse Trials is a USEA and US Equestrian-sanctioned competition, held on the grounds of beautiful Moorland Farm in Far Hills, New Jersey, in the heart of the Somerset Hills region.

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