Little Tom and Patricia Diamond Hennessey Race to Adult Jumper Championship After Two Wins on Monday at 2006 Devon Horse Show
Devon, PA – It was a fantastic day for Patricia Diamond Hennessey of Kintnersville, PA, and her speedy jumper, Little Tom. The pair raced to the win in both the Adult Jumper speed class and the $2,500 Adult Amateur Jumper time first jump-off class on Monday evening. Their two wins gave them the championship in the division over Oceanview and Sarah Tait and Gator B. Careful and Kathleen Mitchell.
Hennessey and Little Tom have been together for over two years, and it seems that Little Tom’s fate was to be a jumper. “He was bred by mistake when the stallion jumped out and bred the mare in Canada. He was the result! He’s jumped out of the paddock himself,” she noted. “He turned out to be such a fabulous horse.”
The 15.3 hand Irish Connemara gelding was game for both classes today, despite earlier worries from Hennessey. “I was a little worried about the heat,” she explained. “I almost didn’t do the first class because I was concerned about pushing him too hard. Our plan was to be really neat in the turns and not so much fast. We were able to execute the plan, which doesn’t always happen. If you get him going quite fast, he’s gets flat and less careful. Our plan worked out perfectly in the first class.”
For the second class of the day, Little Tom and Hennessey were the last to return out of eight in the jump-off. They were chasing a time of 32.232 seconds, which was set by Franco and M. Scott Coleman. Little Tom had no trouble with the very twisting course set by Philip DeVita. They raced around cleanly over the top of the jumps and came home in a time of 30.925 seconds to the cheers of the crowd.
“For the second class again, we didn’t do too much in the warm-up area because we wanted to save him for the ring. He jumped beautifully in the first round. He felt a little bit tired, but then when he went in for the jump-off, he just lit up,” Hennessey said with a smile. “Down the last line, he felt like he was flying!”
Hennessey has a team that helps her at shows. Her usual trainers, Holly Mitten and Chris Kappler, were unable to be here today, so Hennessey had help from grand prix rider Callan Solem. “It’s a group effort,” Hennessey acknowledged. “Neither of them could be here this weekend, so Callan was great to step in.”
Hennessey was also quick to mention her husband, Kevin Hennessey, for his role in her success. “I do all the stuff in the barn, so he has helped me out and helped me at the ring. It was great to have him here.”
It has been at least a ten year absence since Hennessey has shown at the Devon Horse Show, when she competed in Local Hunters and the Hunt Teams. “When they added the adults this year, it was such a great opportunity. I’m so glad that I got in,” she revealed. “I don’t show too much, so I was a little concerned that I wasn’t going to have enough points to get in. When I got the acceptance letter, it was very exciting. It’s always a great atmosphere here. Even if you can’t come and show, you always have to come and watch.”
For full horse show results, please visit www.thedevonhorseshow.com.