front, and the judges gave him the win. Gus

front, and the judges gave him the win. Gus Forbush was third on his Asterisk.

“He jumped real well,” Mr. Branscome said of his mount afterwards. “It’s such a nice feeling to have him jump so well. I was so pleased.”

Following the novice timber race, which carried a $1,000 purse contributed by the Old Dominion Hunt, there was a maiden hurdle race, also with a $1,000 purse contributed by the hunt. And, like the novice timber race, the purse served to attract a good number of entries and forced hunt officials to split the race.

In the first division the fractious field had a good deal of trouble getting off as some horses bucked and others couldn’t be held back by their riders. John Branscome on Poppy’s Turn appeared to be aboard a bucking bronco as his mount leaped up and down before the start. The 27-year-old rider had to dismount to tighten his mount’s girth before the race could start.

Once the race did get under way Don Yovanovich took the lead on Desert Ace who seemed anxious to run, having already run off with his rider in a false start earlier. The lead was shortly taken over by Woods Winants on Tingle Too who then proceeded to swap places with Wee Pet, ridden by John Dale Thomas.

The field was close together as it hurtled toward the final fence. Tingle Too, Gravity Check, Poppy’s Turn and Desert Ace jumped the fence close together, so close in fact that Mr. Branscome, who was jarred loose when his mount landed badly, managed to stay on by falling against one of the riders landing alongside him.

Regaining his composure, Mr. Branscome then managed to urge Poppy’s Turn into one final lunge that carried him past the finish line a nose in front of Gerry Newman on Gravity Check. Tingle Too was third followed by Desert Ace who slipped and almost landed on his belly following the final fence, but then managed to recompose himself to give a creditable finish.