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AMATEUR HUNTER HACK & SAMANTHA ROPER FLIES HIGH IN HUNTER CLASSES FOR FIRST AND SECOND AMATEUR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS. BY LAUREN SCIBA, JOURNAL INTERN In a ring full of veteran World Show riders, Samantha Roper of Hobart, Indiana, did her best to show off her gelding, High Flying Assets, in the amateur hunter hack. Samantha and “Fritzel” cleared the line and worked the rail with power and grace – and the judges noticed. Placing first under three judges was enough to win the duo their first amateur world championship. they had to stay focused, though, to come back for the amateur working hunter finals a short time later. Sixth in the go, the pair scored another world championship. The Journal caught up with Samantha to find out what she thought about her goes. Q: Congratulations Samantha. Tell me, how does it feel to be a world champion? Samantha: It feels unbelievable. Words cannot describe how good it really feels. Q: How do you think your fences went today? Samantha: They went as good as I could have hoped. I came around the corner and I just saw the distance and sat there and he did the rest. He was perfect. Q: What was going through your head during the rail work? Samantha: I just wanted to show him off the best that I could, maintain focus, and stay relaxed. Q: Will you tell us a little bit about your horse? Samantha: His barn name is Fritzel. He’s quite the character. He’s very spoiled. We love him very much. I share him with my sister, (Leslie Roper) Indy. She actually called me before I showed tonight. She told me exactly what to do and how to do it and gave me a good pep talk. It helped a lot. Q. What was it like to turn right around and have to get ready for another set of finals? Samantha: The pressure was definitely off. I just went in there, and I knew that if I had a good ride that anything could happen. Q. Did you ever expect to win two world championships? Samantha: Oh, no. You spend your whole life dreaming about coming and winning one, and to come and win two in the same day? Words can’t even describe that feeling; it’s unbelievable. Q. Do you have any more classes to show in this evening? Samantha: No, I’m finished. My horse show is completely finished. I stay through tomorrow. And then I’ll get back to Indiana for school, at Valparaiso University. I’m a second-year law student there. Q. What are your plans for next year? Samantha: Hopefully, my professors don’t Google my name because they don’t know where I am, but we’ll be back next year. WINNER STATS Horse name: High Flying Assets AMATEUR HUNTER HACK AMATEUR WORKING HUNTER
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