National Horse Show

Even though Joannah Hall Glass of Chatham, Pa., is a veteran National Horse Show competitor, she was as nervous as a beginner yesterday when she entered the ring for her turn in the lady's hunter class. Glass was anxious because she was in a position to achieve the major goal of her riding career. After winning the lady's hunter sidesaddle class two years in a row, she had only to win it a third time to retire the Peace and Plenty Farm Challenge Trophy. "I can't remember ever being so nervous," she said, going to the ring to show her 16-year-old mare, Closing The Ring.

Canadian rider Ian Millar won the $40,000 Grand Prix of New York last night by a margin of little more than 3 seconds in the National Horse Show at Madison Square Garden. Millar, who was riding the 17.2-hand Belgian-bred Big Ben, cut those seconds off his time in the jump-off by riding Big Ben inside one of the obstacles rather than around it as every other rider did. He was the last rider to attempt the course and Millar said that gave him an advantage over the eight other riders who had clean rounds over the original course.

With a borrowed junior jumper, Henri Prudent led the French equestrian team to victory in the World Cup Grand Prix of the National Horse Show yesterday. As the show began its six-day stay at the Meadowlands, Prudent led a field of 32 riders on Allison Firestone's Trick or Treat. Firestone usually competes on the horse in the junior-jumper division, a class not nearly as challenging as last night's class. Although he rode early in the 10-rider jump-off, Prudent's sharp turns and galloping pace gave him a time of 30.92 seconds, which none of the subsequent riders could match.

For the second night in a row, Canadian Equestrian Team rider Ian Millar rode the German-bred mare Pamino to victory in the National Horse Show's gambler's choice class. The mare, owned by Anthony and Janice Parotta of Philadelphia, won what many riders consider to be one of the most difficult of international and open jumping classes. Competitors jump the obstacles of their choice in any order they desire, with the more difficult jumps worth the most points. "This is a hard class because the jumps come up so fast at you," Millar said.

After winning last night's $50,000 Grand Prix of New York, Darlene Sandlin McMullen has set her sights on an even bigger purse: the $100,000 class that concludes the National Horse Show today. "He's fit, he's strong and he's ready," McMullen said of her horse Alley Oop, an 11-year-old Belgian-Dutch Warmblood she described as a horse talented enough to do anything she asks of him. "I just have to ride well enough to put him within range of the jumps," she said. McMullen, who moved to Texas from Jamison, Pa., was one of seven riders out of a field of 31 to go clear in the first round.

Leslie Lenehan gave the U.S. equestrian team an early lead in international competition at the National Horse Show with a decisive victory in last night's $25,000 International and Open Jumper Grand Prix. In the opening evening of competition, Lenehan galloped to victory on the diminutive Holsteiner mare Charisma, who at 15.1 hands is one of the smallest horses on the grand prix jumping circuit. Lenehan, an Olympic veteran, said the mare's size often is an advantage, especially in arenas such as last night's, where tight turning and agility can win as much as the long-strided gallop of a larger horse.

With her seasoned campaigner Gem Twist out of commission for the past several months, U.S. equestrian team rider Leslie Lenehan has had to rely on her up-and-coming mount for the National Horse Show and earlier fall competitions. Lenehan found, however, that using her No. 2 horse was not too bad. Aboard Charisma, a 15.1 Holsteiner mare, Lenehan led the U.S. equestrian team to victory in last night's Nation's Cup, giving the team its fourth consecutive annual win at the National.

United States Equestrian Team rider Margie Goldstein defeated a field of 31 riders to win one of the most popular jumping classes at the National Horse Show last night, the international and open jumper gambler's choice. Goldstein, first in the class, set a pace over the jumps that other riders could not match. What makes the class a crowd-pleaser is its format. Riders choose their own course of jumps, with each obstacle alloted points based on the difficulty of the jump.

In an upset that surprised the professionals and the onlookers, an amateur from New Hope, Pa., defeated the top riders in the country to win the $50,000 Big Apple Grand Prix last night at the National Horse Show. Hiro Tomizawa, who lives in New Hope and competes for his native Japan, was one of five riders to jump without fault in the initial round of competition and the only rider to go clear in a time of 32.01 seconds in the jump-off. This was the first Grand Prix victory for Tomizawa, 27, who has been competing on the Grand Prix ciruit for seven years.

The U.S. Equestrian Team grabbed the $25,000 Samsung Nation's Cup last night at Madison Square Garden, and with it won the international series of events, held in Europe and North America. In a two-round format over the same course at the National Horse Show, the U.S. team racked up 16 jumping penalties. The Canadian Equestrian Team placed second but offered little threat to the United States, finishing with 32 1/4 jumping faults. The German team was third, ending up with 32 1/2 faults.

Back in 1984, a mare with delicate features named Touch of Class and a muscular gray stallion named Abdullah carried the U.S. equestrian team to a gold medal at the Los Angeles Olympics. Last night, when the 114th annual National Horse Show began at Madison Square Garden, the son of Abdullah and Touch of Class won the first International and Open Jumper Class. Special Memories, who has the pale gray coloring of his sire and the lighter physique of his dam, also has the speed, agility and power over the fences that made his parents international stars.

After an 18-year hiatus, Gov. Whitman once again demonstrated her prowess on a horse, riding in a weekend competition at the U.S. equestrian team headquarters. New Jersey's governor finished the U.S. equestrian team's Challenge of Champions in fifth place, right behind jockey Julie Krone. Whitman guided a borrowed horse over a course of jumps in the grand prix jumping field. Although the jumps were lowered to 3 feet, the riders still had to manage the twists and turns of the course and ride against the clock.

If ever there was a horse that epitomizes the American dream, it is the fiery, gray show jumper Gem Twist. From his ordinary beginnings on a New Jersey farm, where he was bred to be a jumper, he went on to New Jersey's local horse show circuit and then to being named best horse in the world at the 1990 World Championships. Gem Twist carried Greg Best, his first grand prix rider, to a team and individual silver medal in the 1988 Olympics. Last year, with show-jumping superstar Leslie Lenehan in the irons, Gem Twist was the victor in the American Grand Prix Association Championship.

With her seasoned campaigner Gem Twist out of commission for the past several months, U.S. equestrian team rider Leslie Lenehan has had to rely on her up-and-coming mount for the National Horse Show and earlier fall competitions. Lenehan found, however, that using her No. 2 horse was not too bad. Aboard Charisma, a 15.1 Holsteiner mare, Lenehan led the U.S. equestrian team to victory in last night's Nation's Cup, giving the team its fourth consecutive annual win at the National.

Leslie Lenehan gave the U.S. equestrian team an early lead in international competition at the National Horse Show with a decisive victory in last night's $25,000 International and Open Jumper Grand Prix. In the opening evening of competition, Lenehan galloped to victory on the diminutive Holsteiner mare Charisma, who at 15.1 hands is one of the smallest horses on the grand prix jumping circuit. Lenehan, an Olympic veteran, said the mare's size often is an advantage, especially in arenas such as last night's, where tight turning and agility can win as much as the long-strided gallop of a larger horse.

With a sweep of the dressage competition at the National Horse Show under her belt, Canadian rider Penny Savitz is feeling optimistic about her chances of representing her country in the World Cup in Sweden in April. Savitz was the winner in both the Grand Prix class and the Grand Prix Musical Freestyle, which made up the North American Dressage Challenge. "I would love to represent my country in the World Cup or the Olympics. I think my horse is as good as any of the German horses that are winning now," she said.

Ian Millar, a member of the Canadian Equestrian Team, successfully cleared a seven-foot wall on his horse, Life Guard, to win the $10,000 Puissance Stake last night at the National Horse Show. Millar was pleasantly surprised by his victory over 11 other contenders. Until last night, his 8-year-old mount had never jumped anything higher than five feet. "I had no idea whether he would even do it, but in each round, as the wall got higher, he jumped better and better," Millar said.

After winning last night's $50,000 Grand Prix of New York, Darlene Sandlin McMullen has set her sights on an even bigger purse: the $100,000 class that concludes the National Horse Show today. "He's fit, he's strong and he's ready," McMullen said of her horse Alley Oop, an 11-year-old Belgian-Dutch Warmblood she described as a horse talented enough to do anything she asks of him. "I just have to ride well enough to put him within range of the jumps," she said. McMullen, who moved to Texas from Jamison, Pa., was one of seven riders out of a field of 31 to go clear in the first round.

The National Horse Show, which continued last night at the Meadowlands, is in danger of losing its accreditation to a much smaller horse show over a technicality, the executive director of the American Horse Show Association confirmed yesterday. Bonnie Jenkins, the association's executive director, said it will take at least two months to resolve the dispute between the management of the national show and Tom Struzzieri, who operates a horse show series in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., and in Palm Springs, Calif.