Tuesday Brings Double Glory: Aeronautic and Forsini Share Grand Hunter Title as Endzweig and Coyle Shine in Jumpers at 2025 WIHS

Two beautiful horses were honored as the Grand Hunter Champions on Tuesday, October 21, at the 2025 Washington International Horse Show (WIHS), presented by MARS Equestrian™. Forsini, ridden by Laena Romond and owned by Lexi Maounis, and Aeronautic, ridden by Daniel Geitner and owned by Martin Schlaeppi, excelled in their divisions to capture grand honors.

At the end of the day, Ella Endzweig and Hurry Up B, owned by Rosemont Farm LLC, were quick and clear for victory in the $10,000 WIHS Children’s Hunter Championship, presented by MARS Equestrian. In the $10,000 WIHS Adult Hunter Championship, presented by MARS Equestrian Kimberly Coyle raced to the win.

Forsini and Aeronautic Share the Spotlight in Grand Hunter Championship Tie

Laena Romond, a trainer at Heritage Farm in Katonah, NY, and Forsini dominated on their first day of competition, winning all four of their classes across two divisions with three scores of 90 and one of 89. They placed third in the Green Conformation Hunter model class. Returning on Tuesday, they placed third in the Green Conformation Hunter Stake and won the Green Hunter 3’6” Stake with a score of 92. With an additional third place in the Green Conformation under saddle and a win in the Green 3’6” under saddle, they secured the championship in both divisions.

This is Forsini’s first year competing at the 3’6” height; Romond rode Forsini last year in the 3’3” Performance Hunters and they participated in the USHJA Green Hunter Incentive National Championships.

“I'm really proud of how consistent he's become,” she said of the nine-year-old Warmblood gelding by For Pleasure. “He could be a little bit ‘aware’ in his first time at a new venue, so I was really proud that he was able to walk in and really, from the first round, deliver here.”

Standing at only 15.3 hands, Forsini is a careful jumper and a “blast to ride,” said Romond. “In the indoor, it felt like I could really work with pace and ride forward to the fences. He's just a lot of fun to ride in the ring.”

This is Romond’s first grand championship at WIHS and to sweep ribbons along with two division championships was an abundance of riches.

“This is really a ‘pinch me’ moment to win against competition that I have such tremendous respect for and to be able to hold my own on a wonderful horse,” she divulged. “This is a pretty magical feeling.”

Geitner and Aeronautic continued a winning indoor season following their reserve championship at Pennsylvania National Horse show with the championship in the Green Hunter 3’9” division. They also won all four of their classes, which earned them the Grand Green Hunter Championship and the tie for Grand Champions.

“He walked right in from the first class and just felt at home in there,” said Geitner of the 10-year-old Warmblood gelding, “so we were hoping for good results.”

Geitner has competed Aeronautic for three years and also said that “Flyboy” has matured into a confident horse.

“He's a beautiful mover, but he's really gotten to where he can go right in and jump all eight jumps the same,” he remarked. “He used to tend to try too hard once or twice on course, and he's really evened it all out.”

Geitner credits Schlaeppi for buying hunters for him to ride since Schlaeppi no longer competes, but also that they are horses that can stay in the barn.

“We all dream about these moments, and we sell a lot of horses,” he expressed. “Being able to get the ride on one and keep one, it's pretty special.”

High Performance Working Hunter
Champion: Cannon Creek, Hunt Tosh, The Wheeler Family 
Reserve Champion:

Protocol Trophy
Cannon Creek, Hunt Tosh, The Wheeler Family

High Performance Conformation
Champion: California Love, Scott Stewart, Dr. Betsee Parker
Reserve Champion:

Green Hunter 3’9”
Grand Green Hunter Champion
Champion: Aeronautic, Daniel Geitner, Martin Schlaeppi
Reserve Champion:

Green Conformation Hunter
Champion: Forsini, Laena Romond, Lexi Maounis
Reserve Champion:

Green Hunter 3’6”
Champion: Forsini, Laena Romond, Lexi Maounis
Reserve Champion:

Leading Hunter Rider Award
Sponsored by Dr. Betsee Parker
Scott Stewart

Leading Hunter Owner Award
Lexi Maounis

Ella Endzweig and Hurry Up B Race to Win

With professional and amateur hunter competition completed for the day, construction of the evening’s jumper course got underway in The Show Place Arena as the contenders in the $12,500 WIHS Children’s Jumper Championship, presented by MARS Equestrian prepared to take center stage. A starting field of 27 horse-and-rider combinations elected to contest Nick Granat’s (USA) first-round track, but Ella Endzweig of Palm Beach, FL, emerged victorious after two flawless performances. 

Eleven competitors managed faultless efforts to advance to the short course. Already mounted on a “naturally fast” partner, Endzweig turned on the afterburners with the Rosemont Farm, Inc’s Hurry Up B. Posting an impressive time of 26.06 seconds, she dared the remaining field to give it their all but ultimately wouldn’t be caught. 

“My trainer always says she's one of the fastest horses here,” she detailed of the 13-year-old KWPN mare (by Kojak).  “I think the jump-off really suited her because she has a very big stride and she has a fast canter. I think the turns suited her well too.”

For Endzweig, who has only previously attended WIHS to compete in the pony divisions, her debut performance in the prestigious jumper finals went better than she could have imagined. 

“I’ve had [Hurry Up B] for about a year and a half, and I started off with her in the meter jumpers,” she stated. “I wasn’t super comfortable going fast at first, but I learned, and now here we are! My trainer used to ride her, but I’ve been lucky enough to take her over this year. She’s so perfect and special.

“My plan was just to go in and have a nice, smooth round,” Endzweig continued. “We had planned to do seven strides in the first line so that I could be landing a little bit on the inside track, be closer to the third jump, and then be tidy for the rest of the course.”

Clocking in just one one-hundredth of a second off of Endzweig’s winning time, Georgina Jewell (Palm Beach, FL) piloted her own eight-year-old Holsteiner mare, Conny 424 (by Colore) into second place with a finishing time of 26.07 seconds. Brooklyn Webb (Norwalk, IA) and Indigo Equine LLC’s nine-year-old Holsteiner gelding, H.S. Corporate Identity (by Chaman), stopped the clock in 26.72 seconds for third-place honors. 

Dartani Proves Herself for Second Consecutive Year

When Kim Coyle prepared for the $12,500 WIHS Adult Jumper Championship, presented by MARS Equestrian, she took advice from her groom before heading into the ring.

“Poncho is very into it,” said the Wellington, FL, resident. “He loves Dartani as much as I do. He said, ‘There is a chance. She can do it; you have to believe in her and just go for it.’ And sure enough, we did.”

Coyle and Dartani, a 14-year-old Holsteiner mare by Casall, topped an extremely fast jump-off by stopping the timers in 25.121 seconds for victory. They just passed Kristan Lassiter of New York, NY, riding Cezarro, owned by Showcase 81, LLC, who finished in 26.635 seconds for second place. Kendall Casaccio of Marmora, NJ, and her own Indigo ES were third with a clear jump-off in 27.121 seconds.

Coyle had nerves going into the class despite her win in 2024. “Honestly, I was kind of unsure as to what I was doing coming back here because it's kind of a hard thing to do to win again,” she admitted. “But [my husband] Jordan said, ‘Just go and if you win, great. If you don't, at least you won it last year and move on from that.’ I can't believe I’ve won this class two years in a row.”

Coyle did not see any of the rides before her in the jump-off, but she trusted in Dartani. “Dartani is so fast because she doesn't spend much time in the air. She kind of skims the jumps and motorcycles through the turns,” she said of her partner of six years. “I knew if I could find all the right strides that my horse would jump all the jumps, and it would probably be enough.”

The 2025 WIHS continues on Wednesday, October 22, with grand championships for the amateur-owner Hunter divisions as well as the start of the junior hunters. The international jumpers arrive on the showgrounds and will have their 90-second training rounds in The Show Place Arena to close out the day.