Early July meant lot of excitement for Megan Bash's students and horses from Cleveland Equestrian Stables based at Legacy Equestrian Center in Chester Township.For 10…
Early July meant lot of excitement for Megan Bash’s students and horses from Cleveland Equestrian Stables based at Legacy Equestrian Center in Chester Township.
For 10 days, the trainer and a handful of her riding students packed up their horses and adjourned to the Cleveland Metroparks Polo Field in Hunting Valley.
There they competed in the Chagrin Valley Hunter Jumper Classic, which was held July 2 through July 11, topped off by the 50th year of the Cleveland Grand Prix on July 12.
Bash, 39, who has had her stable at Legacy for two years, shepherds a collection of students ranging from adults to her son, Aiden, 7, with assistant manager and groom Ruben Camacho.
Like most larger stables, Cleveland Equestrian’s horses are housed in one of the many big white tents on the grounds with temporary stalls, dressing rooms and some common space with a picnic table where everyone can gather.
While the classic has a schedule of classes, the numbers of competitors can vary and timing becomes flexible. As with most shows, there is a lot of down time, interspersed with practice, pre-show jitters and getting horses and riders put together to compete.
By Saturday, despite a few rainy days, Bash’s students had picked up ribbons in hunter and jumper classes.
Alex Largent, 16, and Winchester were pinned reserve champions in the thoroughbred jumper class, competing in the child’s division and going over fences from 3-foot-6-inches to 3-foot-9-inches high.
The Largent family bought the chestnut gelding off the track four years ago and Alex has been riding with Cleveland Equestrian for three years. The class in which the pair competed is for thoroughbreds who have been repurposed from the race track, Bash said.
Alex’s mother, Janet Largent, said as a child, her son used to hang out with the horses at Lake Metroparks Farmpark in Kirtland and started riding at camp.
His grandmother encouraged his interest in horses, she said.
Alex said he would like to ride internationally and aim for the Olympic Games someday.
“We always look forward to jumping at the classic,” Bash said. “I think competing at this event has really encouraged Alex to want to compete nationally.”
He said he hopes to ride Winchester for a few more years, since the chestnut seems able to handle the bigger fences.
“He’s got the scope,” Alex said.
Taylor Murray, 17, riding her 17-hand-2-inch Hanovarian gelding, Caitano, was excited to have won the child jumper class last Friday.
“We had a very fast, double-clear round,” said Murray, who has been riding with Bash for a year. A student at Andrews Osborne Academy in Willoughby, she met Bash when the school closed down its riding program.
“When Taylor came to me, she was still competing in hunters and we have moved her up to the upper level jumpers in just a short amount of time,” Bash said, adding the jumps at that level are 4 feet high.
Taylor started riding at age 3 in Pittsburg and spent her early years in dressage before riding hunters, she said. Planning to study chemical engineering at the University of Kentucky, she hopes to continue riding and perhaps train on the side.
Other students included Bethany Proch, of Bainbridge Township, competing in the low adult hunter classes and Lauren Fitzgerald, of Chester Township, whose horse took top ribbons in pre-green hunter, Bash said.
Bash accompanied Aiden to the warm-up ring and watched him canter around, avoiding other riders and looking happy and confident on his pinto gelding.
“I want him to get used to the show atmosphere,” she said. It is an environment he may see more of as he grows up the son of a trainer.
On Sunday, Bash, having guided her students through numerous classes, competed on Pourkoipa Fontaine in the Cleveland Grand Prix. The pair placed fourth after competing in the jump off against six other horses.
