Sisters rider soars at Brawley Classic

Hang time… that instant during a big jump when a horse is suspended in air, before he begins the descent back to the arena floor. A moment when time literally stands still and adrenaline rushes to fill the void.

Sisters rider Carli Redfield, 15, experienced hang time in a big way at the Brawley Classic hunter-jumper show in Salem on August 13. The Sisters High School sophomore won the open high jump class aboard Odysseus, a gelding owned by her trainer, Nicole Cobb. The pair flew over a jump that was five feet in height and had a spread of over four feet.

The class was a knock-out competition consisting of one jump: a triple bar spread starting at a height of 3-feet-6-inches with a spread of over three feet that expanded as the jump went up. Each competitor was allowed two knockdowns, with the third one causing elimination. They were given one go at each height; after all riders had gone, the jump was raised and widened.

As Redfield and Odysseus advanced through the rounds, they jumped clean each time. As the jump reached five feet, only Redfield and one other rider were left. Since five feet is the maximum height allowed, they continued to jump until one was eliminated. On the second round the other rider knocked down a bar.

“It was pretty amazing. And kind of cool being up in the air and pausing for that second of hang time,” said Redfield.

Adding to her accomplishment was the fact that it was Redfield’s first ride on the horse.

“He is such an athlete and jumped really smooth,” she said.

Cobb, who owns Mountain View Stables with her husband, Greg, had entered Redfield in the class.

Redfield’s regular ride is her eight-year-old American Hanoverian, Antone. This is his second year of showing, and Redfield enters him in classes with jumps ranging from three feet to three-feet-six-inches.