Team French’s Harrie Smolders Aboard Ever So Often Takes the Under Saddle Win in The Baran Global Hunter Classic
Team Hesslink Williams leads going into the Classic Round.
Harrie Smolders aboard Ever So Often accepts the award from Kristen Baran with Bethany Lee.
Mackenzie Clark Photo
Valkenswaard, Netherlands – July 11, 2025 – Competition in the groundbreaking Baran Global Hunter Classic began with Team French’s Harrie Smolders (NED) aboard Ever So Often(Arko II x Loeka Van De Distelhoeve/Nonstop) taking the win in the under saddle class in the Longines Tops International Arena. Rounding out the top three was Team Hesslink Williams’ 15-year-old junior rider, Faith Schuttemeyer (Boynton Beach, Florida) on Juan Carlos (Casall x A Comme Ci/Canturano I) and Concerto (Cathanos x Chavelle la Feme/Corianus) with Caroline Ingalls (Rancho Santa Fe, California), an amateur rider from Team California Rose, in the irons.
Team Hesslink Williams leads the standings following Day One. Team captain and professional hunter rider Geoffrey Hesslink (Wellington, Florida) and Paisley Park, a 13-year-old KWPN gelding (Carambole x Tomone/Voltaire), bred by Hollenbeck Rolf, owned by Andesite Equestrian and cared for by Jose Gaytan, took the fourth-place prize. Second-place finisher Schuttemeyer and Juan Carlos helped boost their standings. International jumper rider Lillie Keenan (USA) finished fifth. She piloted Spoken, a 10-year-old Brandenburg gelding (Stakkato Gold x Intrada de’Courante/Abke 4), bred by Gerald Dietze, owned by Andesite Equestrian and cared for by Gaytan. With strong performances across all three team members, Hesslink Williams heads into the Classic Round in the lead.
Team Hesslink Williams Captain Geoffrey Hesslink and Paisley Park trot by the beautiful Dutch tulip jump.
Mackenzie Clark Photo
Twenty-one horse-and-rider combinations shone in the Valksenswaard sun as they made their way across the immaculate grass in the Longines Tops International Arena for judges Shane George (Magnolia, Texas), Archie Cox (Palm Springs, California), Hope Glynn (Petaluma, California), Bob Crandall (Wellington, Florida), Rachel Kennedy (Brooksville, Maryland) and Adeline Wirth-Negre (France). After showing the walk, trot and canter in both directions, the top 10 were called back for a hack-off, where riders again showcased their mounts’ way of going.
Topping the field was Smolders, a three-time Dutch Rider of the Year and currently sitting in the top 20 in the Longines rankings, aboard the 11-year-old BWP mare, Ever So Often. Ever So Often was bred by Wilheim Velt, is owned by Walkenbach Equestrian LLC and is cared for by Irvin Cruz.
Harrie Smolders and Ever So Often. Mackenzie Clark Photo
“It’s my first hunter classic. Made possible by [Kristen] Baran. I’m very happy to be here and I’m very pleased. I will give all the credits to my horse. I just tried to stay on and she’s a fantastic mover and she was amazing. It was really, really fun and I’m excited and looking forward to the next few days.”
“It's my first hunter classic,” Smolders said. “Made possible by [Kristen] Baran. I'm very happy to be here and I'm very pleased. I will give all the credits to my horse. I just tried to stay on and she's a fantastic mover and she was amazing. It was really, really fun and I'm excited and looking forward to the next few days.”
Schuttemeyer and the 12-year-old Holsteiner gelding Juan Carlos were close behind in second place. Juan Carlos is owned by Andesite Equestrian and cared for by Jose Gaytan. Schuttemeyer is an accomplished junior with wins in the 2023 THIS National Children’s Medal Finals at Capital Challenge (Upper Marlboro, Maryland) and champion in the Small Junior Hunter 15/Under with Team French horse Ladies First at the 2025 Devon Horse Show (Devon, Pennsylvania).
Ingalls, who has been Grand Champion Amateur Owner Hunter at shows such as the Devon Horse Show, Capital Challenge Horse Show, Pennsylvania Horse Show (Harrisburg, Pennsylvania) and the National Horse Show (Lexington, Kentucky), earned the third-place prize aboard her own 13-year-old Westphalian gelding, Concerto, bred by Martin Simonsmeier and cared for by Lisa Baldassari.
Left: Faith Schuttemeyer and Juan Carlos. Right: Caroline Ingalls and Concerto. Mackenzie Clark Photos
Under saddle scores count 10% of the team's final score. Teams will drop the low score under saddle heading into the classic round on Saturday, July 12. Riders will navigate a beautiful course designed by Kevin Holowack (Ontario, Canada), with creative input from The Baran founder Kristen Baran, set at 3’6”. The teams will return in the reverse order of their scores from the under saddle portion. The international jumper riders will be each team’s lead-off rider, followed by the junior or amateur, with the professionals anchoring the class as team captains.
Don’t miss a minute of the action as the teams compete over the classic round course for points towards the overall team standings. Chris Sorensen, founder of Sorensen Stables and former president of Equestrian Canada is joined by Olympian Danielle “Dani” Goldstein-Waldman (ISR) to share their insights when competition continues tomorrow, Saturday, July 12 at 9:30 a.m. EST on GCTV and ClipMyHorse.TV.
Saturday, July 12:
3:30 p.m. CEST (9:30 a.m. EDT) - Classic Hunter Round
Sunday, July 13:
2:45 p.m. CEST (8:45 a.m. EDT) - Handy Hunter Round
ABOUT THE BARAN GLOBAL HUNTER CLASSIC
Co-founded by Kristen Baran and Andrew Lustig, and supported by an experienced team of industry leaders, the inaugural Baran Global Hunter Classic will take place July 11-13, 2025 in Valkenswaard, the Netherlands. The mission of this unrivaled event is to showcase show hunters-until now primarily a discipline in North America-on a global stage. The one-of-a-
kind competition will feature teams made up of three elite riders-one hunter professional as the team captain, one amateur or junior and one international show jumping rider-competing over a hunter style course, but in Nations Cup format. The 2025 Baran Global Hunter Classic is the debut for an unparalleled series of hunter competition in North America in 2026 and beyond. Visit thebaran.org for additional information.
For media inquiries and sponsorship opportunities, please contact thebaranevent@gmail.com.