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Sunday, April 13, 2008

Winners of the Markel/Wellington Classic Dressage 2008 Winter Amateur Championships and Their Trainers Receive Awards this Weekend
By Lynndee Kemmet for DressageDaily.com

Jennifer Huber Wins Amateur Award with Horse She Couldn’t Sell

Jennifer Huber earned her award at the Grand Prix level with Al Pacino and their average score of 63.40 percent. Huber, who trained for many years with Sue Jaccoma and now trains with Christopher Hickey, found it a bit amusing that of all the horses that would earn her such an award it was her Hanoverian Al Pacino with whom, over the years, she has taken USDF Region 8 championships from Fourth Level up to Intermediaire II. She’s had the horse for five years and admits that he’s “very average.”

"His sire is Azur, a horse no one has ever heard of and his dam doesn’t even have a name, just a number,” Huber said. “When I got him, I really didn’t like him. I’m a groom at heart and when I got him, he didn’t want to be groomed and he had a lot of other issues. So, I didn’t like him and I didn’t really like to ride him. He’s not the most comfortable horse.”

Huber, who lives in Maine and winters in Florida, brought the horse down to Florida when she had him going at Fourth Level with the intention of selling him. “But I couldn’t get anybody to buy him. There were like all these weird things that kept happening. He was perfect for everyone who rode him, but there would be conflicts with trainers or weird vet things. So, I thought, fine, I’m not going to sell him and as time went on, we formed a partnership.”

To listen to Huber speak of Al Pacino it’s clear that there is genuine affection, although she’s not blind to his short-comings. “He’s not been easy. He’s not really gifted as a mover and sometimes his brain’s not really there either, but it’s worked out. I’m very proud of him. What makes me really happy is that he’s bonded with me. He really is very special to me, even though sometimes he’s so annoying.”

The ThinLine Inc Trainer's award goes to her trainer Chistopher Hickey. She gives much credit to Christopher Hickey for helping her achieve such success with her average horse. “Chris is wonderful. He’s really helped bring us along.”

Janne Rumbough and Junior Score High to Win Amateur Award