Palisadian Stephanie Danhakl jumped to first place in the final 2004 standings of the World Hunter Rider National championships by virtue of winning the United States Equestrian Federation’s Large Junior Hunter and Small Junior Hunter divisions. Senior captain of her equestrian team at Harvard-Westlake High, Danhakl won the Large Hunter points championship on her favorite horse, Lifetime, with whom she has won three straight High Point National Junior Hunter Rider championships. She won the Small Hunter title on a mare named Galatea. ‘For nationals I go to two shows a month,’ said Danhakl, who just turned 18. ‘At each show there are four rounds of jumping and you are judged in each category. You accumulate points at each show and the rider with the most points at the end of the year wins.’ Danhakl’s success is the product of hours in the saddle. She drives to Middle Ranch in Lake Futeres to train for two hours after school and practices for as much as six hours on weekends. ‘I’m definitely best at Hunters but lately I’ve been focusing on Jumpers, which is more challenging,’ she said. ‘I want to move up to Grand Prix competitions, which are harder.’ For Jumpers, Danhakl is breaking in a warm-blooded German horse named Herr Schroeder.
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