Ramirez and Viva Mas Shine in 8th Annual EAF Grooms Class at Blowing Rock Charity Horse Show
Class winner Victor Ramirez and Viva Mas with Bruce Christison, Leslie Wheat Roberts, and Amy Christison. Photo by Missy Luczak-Smith.
Blowing Rock, N.C. – July 28, 2020 – Victor Ramirez topped a field of 24 entries with Geddaway Farm's Viva Mas to win the $4,200 Equestrian Aid Foundation Grooms Class at the Blowing Rock Charity Horse Show on Sunday, July 26.
A time-honored tradition at BRCHS, this year’s class was dedicated to the memory of show groom Justino Trinidad, who died unexpectedly earlier this year. Trinidad was widely regarded as a consummate professional and was well known within the equestrian community for his affable personality and generous spirit. "He worked so hard and loved so big," said Leslie Wheat Roberts, whose amateur hunter Sigh spent years in Trinidad's care.
Justino Trinidad with Leslie Wheat Roberts' Sigh in the 2017 EAF Grooms Class at Blowing Rock Charity Horse Show. Photo by Sally Floyd Kay.
Since its inception in 2013, the EAF Grooms Class at Blowing Rock has been organized and sponsored by Equestrian Aid Foundation board member Missy Luczak-Smith and her husband Doug Smith. In honor of Trinidad, Roberts and Bruce and Amy Christison generously matched the Smiths’ cash prize, making this year’s purse the largest in the class’s history.
In addition to prize money, each class participant received products from Shapley's Superior Grooming Products and Equine Elixirs, along with gift certificates to The Green Frog and The Coffee Shop. Ramirez also received an EAF Grooms Class jacket and coolerette made by The Clothes Horse.
“This year’s class was especially meaningful,” said Luczak-Smith. “Amidst the difficulty of 2020, it’s so important to celebrate our grooms and to recognize their expertise and the multitude of ways they show up for us every day. They are the cornerstone of equestrian sports.”
Luczak-Smith also expressed thanks to Michael Check, Anna Currey, and Ellen Weaver for their support of the class.
