Christopher Webb Earns Top Honors in Hunter Breeding at the Upperville Colt & Horse Show Presented by MARS Equestrian™

UPPERVILLE, VA — On Saturday, June 8, Christopher Webb earned the Champion and Reserve Champion Best Young Horse awards at the 171st Upperville Colt & Horse Show presented by MARS Equestrian™. He handled Harbor Square RWC to the Championship and Chardoneigh RWC to the Reserve Championship for owners Jane and Bob Clark and trainer Emily Belin-McDonnell. Webb, of Middleburg, VA, was also named Leading Handler for the second year in a row.

Harbor Square RWC won the Non-Thoroughbred Colts Two-Year-Old class and the Non-Thoroughbred Breeding Championship, while Chardoneigh RWC received the top call in the Non-Thoroughbred Two-Year-Old Fillies Class and the Reserve award for the Non-Thoroughbred Hunter Breeding Championship.

This is Harbor Square’s second championship in two weeks, as Webb handled the bay Dutch warmblood to the Best Young Horse title at the Devon Horse Show on June 2.

“I’m simply grateful for this opportunity, great friends, great owners, and beautiful horses,” said Webb.

“Oscar is a lovely type and has a star quality about him,” explained trainer Emily Belin-McDonnell of Honey Brook, PA, referring to Harbor Square’s barn name. “While he’s a real professional in the ring, at home we are working on emotional maturity and learn more every day so that we can develop him and Chardoneigh into performance horses in time.”

The pair of newly minted champions will head home for some time off before preparing for the Sallie B. Wheeler Hunter Breeding National Championship in Lexington, VA.

The Upperville Colt & Horse Show is the oldest horse show in the U.S. Founded in 1853 as a one-day show to encourage better breeding and care of horses, the show has grown to a weeklong tradition with more than 2,000 equestrian and equine pairs competing in a variety of disciplines. Many of the continent’s top professional riders as well as amateurs compete under the spectacular setting featuring the famous oaks at Grafton Farm.

In addition to presenting sponsor MARS Equestrian™, UCHS is sponsored by Ethel M. Chocolates® and Lugano Diamonds (co-presenting sponsors of the 2024 FEI CSI4* Jumper Classic). Other sponsors include Buckeye Nutrition, Nutro Pet Food, Salamander Collection, B&D Builders, Delta Air Lines, Markel Insurance, and Piedmont Equine Practice.

For more information on the show, visit upperville.com.

Photo courtesy of UCHS.

Posted on: June 10, 2024