Peyton Bivins and Kamanyawannadance Win First Congress Title in Novice Am. Hunter Hack

By: Brittany Bevis

Peyton Bivins achieved a milestone this afternoon with her 13-year-old gelding Kamanyawannadance. The pair won their first Congress Championship title as a team in Novice Amateur Hunter Hack. The last time Bivins won a Congress Champion title was as an 11-year-old in Equitation with a horse named Who’s On The Rail.

Given the team’s relative newness to this event, Bivins wasn’t expecting too much going into today’s class. “I was surprised!” she says. “I literally practiced one day before this at home. Then, we practiced this morning, and I just did it. It was just one of those things… I showed him in it, for fun, about three years ago. This year, we thought, why not? Let’s enter.”

“Collin” is on a roll so far here at the Congress. Last night, he won the Open Hunter Classic with Ryan Painter in the irons. “They had an amazing go,” Bivins says.

Generally, Bivins and Collin compete in Hunter Under Saddle, Equitation, and have recently started Horsemanship. Later on at the show, they will compete in those events as well as two Hunter Under Saddle Maturities.

“I really like Equitation, but Horsemanship has been a lot of fun,” she says. “It’s so different, and he tries so hard. It’s something I haven’t done in years, so we’re both getting back into it at the same time.”

“Collin is the sweetest thing in the whole world. He took care of me through that whole class. I think he was telling me, ‘Just hold on!’ [My trainer] Leslie Lange has had him since he was very young. When I got him, I showed him in Hunter Under Saddle and Equitation, at first. Then, once Jeff Mellott came along, we started doing Horsemanship, and he’s done an amazing job with that. Jeff has really taken the time to work on turns and everything that Collin didn’t know how to do.”

The Reserve Champion in Novice Amateur Hunter Hack was Neil Godfrey and Ely Brown. Third place was Stacy Funston with Ima Hot Iron. Fourth place was Renee White with Natural Iron Mist. Fifth place was Susanna Wright with Ridin Good N Radical.

Winning Amateur Hunter Hack was Sarah Elder Chabot with A Well Dressed Man. The Reserve Champion was Indy Roper with Only Royal Blue. Third place was Julie Cole with Size Matters. Fourth place was Chad Sandoval with Cool Man Jazz. Fifth place was Susan Cannan with Jetset On Cruz.

Over in the Celeste Arena, Abigail Hardy rode My Secret Past to win 13 and Under Equitation Over Fences. The Reserve Champion was Nya Kearns with Beyond Captivating. Third place was JoBeth Scarlett with Soxys Krymsun Sun. Fourth place was Alissa Zwelling with Kentucky Blue Sky. Fifth was Kayleen Holliday with Dee Lucks Detail.