Freehold, NJ – August 19, 2025 – Today the 111th Annual Monmouth County Horse, held at East Freehold Park in Freehold, NJ, featured the $5,000 Monmouth Junior/Amateur-Owner Hunter Classic. After the Amateur-Owner and Junior Hunter divisions concluded in the Grand Hunter Arena, riders returned later in the day for the hunter highlight.
After winning the division championship for the Younger Large Juniors, Jessica Springsteen and Tiziano came back strong for the Junior/Amateur-Owner Classic. In the first round, Springsteen guided her mount beautifully and received impressive first round scores of 85 and 99. Lindsey Mohr of Long Valley, NJ, and her ride Marvel also scored high with a pair of 87s. Both riders train with Frank and Stacia Madden at Beacon Hill in Colts Neck, NJ.
The riders then returned for their second round after a quick course change. They competed in reverse order of their scores, with the lowest scoring rider returning first and the top score showing last. Mohr and Marvel entered the arena second to last and rode consistently well. As the announcer stated Mohr and her horse’s good scores of 86 and 85, Springsteen revisited the show ring one last time. With a nice pace, Tiziano aced the course and came away with numerical scores of 88 and 90, which tallied up to reveal Springsteen’s exciting victory. Mohr finished in second place.
“I felt really good out there,” exclaimed Springsteen. “It was so much fun! My horse was really good. He’s only six years old, so usually he gets a little fresh at night. But he was so good today. He just went normal and was really quiet. I’ve been riding him since the beginning of the Winter Equestrian Festival in Florida. We started out in the Children’s Hunters and then moved up to the Junior Hunters in March.”
“I had such a good week,” she continued. “I’m really excited because I was champion on him earlier and I also won the Washington equitation yesterday. I qualified to go to the Washington Finals, and this will be my first year going! ”
Springsteen’s victory in the Washington International Horse Show (WIHS) Equitation class added her to the list of qualified riders who are eligible to compete at the Washington International Horse Show.
“Today was really fun,” said Mohr with a smile. “I loved the long run singles on the course. My horse felt great too. He felt a little spooky, but it was a good spooky. He hasn’t been this good in awhile. Frank [Madden] kind of figured him out when I moved him to their barn in April, so he’s finally getting things together.”
Stacia Madden added, “The courses were beautiful. The class was held after the rest of the show was over, so they had a nice turnout of people to watch the class. They also had a whole panel of judges to watch the kids, so it was really showcased. I think the kids had a lot of fun doing it. One horse is a small junior and the other is a large junior, and it’s nice to see them all compete against one another. They don’t get a chance to do that very often.”
Ellen Toon and Alexandra Stathis Triumph for Double Tricolors
Ellen Toon of North Salem, NY, led the way in the 36 and Older Amateur-Owner Hunters with both of her horses, Attache and In Disguise. Yesterday, In Disguise topped the leader board in the first over fences class, and Attache came in second. The two then returned for the second over fences and switched spots in the final ranking, with Attache jogging for first place and In Disguise taking second. In Disguise then performed in the under saddle class for another blue ribbon. Today, Attache’s brilliant performance rewarded him and Toon with the division championship. The reserve championship was pinned on the bridle of In Disguise. Attache was also Grand Amateur-Owner Champion for accumulating the most points.
In the 18-35 Amateur-Owner Hunters, Tribute and Krista Weisman took home the tricolor championship after winning a first and second yesterday and a first and fourth today. Tribute is owned by Krista and Alexa Weisman of Sherborn, MA. The reserve championship went to Gifted with owner Lee Kellogg in the irons. Kellogg resides in New York, NY.
For the Older Small Juniors, Alexandra Stathis added to her collection of tricolor ribbons once again. The young rider had a double victory with her two mounts, Davis Cup and Cool Blue. Her two horses claimed high ribbons throughout the division and came away with both champion and the reserve champion awards.
The Younger Small Junior division championship went to Alexandra Thornton and her chestnut gelding Tobasco. Tobasco, owned by Dunwalke LLC, succeeded with two firsts, a second, and a third. Kaitlin Campbell of Doylestown, PA, also excelled in the division and secured the reserve championship with her own Play Me Coltrane.
Mr. Wendell and Elizabeth Lubrano rode to the championship today in the Older Large Juniors after collecting high placings in all five classes. Mr. Wendell is owned by Horizon Hill Farm of Glenmoore, PA. Alexandra Stathis and Sports Fan came back strong as well. Sports Fan, owned by Scott Stewart, received the reserve championship tricolor. Stathis hails from Short Hills, NJ. In addition, Mr. Wendell earned the most points in the Junior Hunters and was the Grand Junior Hunter Champion.
Henderson and Massa Victorious in Junior/Amateur-Owner Jumpers Saturday at Monmouth County Horse Show
Early morning sunshine gave way to cloudy skies by lunchtime at the 111th Annual Monmouth County Horse, which is underway through Sunday at East Freehold Park in New Jersey. At the Stillwell-Hansen Arena, the Saturday jumper action focused the Juniors, Amateurs, Children, and Adults.
Germantown, Tennessee’s Blake Alder is designing the course for the jumpers this week at the Monmouth County Horse Show.
In the Low Junior-Amateur/Owner Jumpers, scored under USEF Table II sec. 2b, Time First Jump-Off, twenty-two starters went to the post. Of the twenty-two, eleven were clear and jumped off.
In the tiebreaker, it was the last rider in the ring, Ashley Massa and Jamira, taking top honors. Massa cruised home in 37.090 seconds to squeak out a narrow 3/10th of a second win over Shannon McGrath and Ancho de Pomme. McGrath’s time was 37.313 seconds.
In third place, 3/10ths of a second behind McGrath, was Sara Ryan and Orleen. They finished up in 37.680 seconds.
Massa trains with Monmouth County Grand Prix defending champion Laura Chapot. “I just started training with Laura in Florida, and ever since then, my horse has been going amazingly well,” she said. “Laura told me to keep my pace, and don’t lose the impulsion coming around a turn. Just keep coming forward and you’ll see your distance.”
Massa said the instructions paid off despite some pre-class jitters. “From fence 1 to fence 2, I had a great pace. I left out a stride in one line, and made a good turn from 11 to 10 at the end,” she detailed. “I was kind of nervous in the schooling area because I had a couple of bad take-offs, but she (Jamira) really helped me over them and that helped me gain confidence once we got in the ring, we both seemed to have a lot of confidence and it worked out for the win.”
In the High section of Junior-Amateur-Owner Jumpers, also scored as an immediate jump-off class under the Table II sec. 2b format, only five competitors lined up for the event.
Spellbound and Charlotte Henderson, the only combination to post a double clear round, took home the top prize. Joy Slater, with four faults in the jump-off on Pisano, finished second.
“It was a very good course with a smooth flow to it,” said Henderson following her win. “Everything worked out the way we planned it, and she jumped great.”
When asked if she took into account that there were no clear rounds, Henderson said, “I went pretty carefully. There was a turn where you could have really risked it with an inside cut, but I elected to go around and that choice worked out perfectly.”
A big day in the Stillwell-Hansen Arena on Sunday wraps up the 111th Annual Monmouth County Horse Show. The top Junior and Amateur/Owner Jumpers go head to head in the Quiet Winter Farm Low and High Classics in the morning, and then following special pre-event festivities, the $30,000 Stillwell-Hansen Grand Prix will provide a full afternoon of excitement. Thirty-five starters are expected in Sunday’s main event, with defending champion Laura Chapot looking for a repeat victory.
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