Heading into the jump-off for the $20,000 Show Jumping Hall of Fame 1.45-Meter Amateur Jumper Classic at the Devon Horse Show, David Oberkircher knew he’d have to use Vulkato’s massive stride to his advantage if he wanted to win.

Just three pairs made it to the jump-off, and the first pair, Alexander Alston and Oak Grove’s Carlyle, were eliminated, while Baylee McKeever and Formidible turned in a clear round in 34.37 seconds.

“Vulkato has a huge stride, but he’s a bit of a slower mover, so I really have to do the leave outs when I can to try to get people,” he said. “[I] did one less stride in the first line, and I think that’s basically where I made up the time and just tried to stay neat and save as much time as I could.”

Oberkircher stopped the clock at 34.01 seconds to take the win. It also helped cement the high amateur jumper championship for the pair and earned the leading amateur jumper rider award.

“I won some in the local hunters actually years ago, and I was second with Upper with the stake class that’s jumping tonight a couple years ago, but this is probably the best I’ve done in my 10-15 years coming here,” he said.

Oberkircher is from nearby Collegeville, Pennsylvania, so he has a long history with Devon. He started competing in the local hunters, competed some in the open jumper classes and now does the amateur jumpers.

“I love coming here every year,” he said. “I love having my family around and having support. It’s been great.”

Oberkircher brought two horses to Devon: Upper and Vulkato. Upper won the opening class on Thursday and Vulkato was seventh. Both horses skipped the second class and came in fresh for the classic. Vulkato had just one fence down in the first round to finish seventh.

“I thought the course rode really nicely today,” he said. “We were in the gold ring the other day which is a bit tight and kind of harder to ride in, but we have some more space in here, and I thought the course was great. I think three clears, for the amount of people in it, was probably an appropriate amount, and I thought the horses jumped nicely today.”

While he’s been riding Upper for seven years, he’s been paired with Vulkato, a 13-year-old German Sport Horse stallion (Vulkano—Carisma P, Carismo) for two years.

“He’s been a great partnership,” Oberkircher said. “He has stepped up over the past two years and has taken me to jump some big FEI classes, and he’s a wonderful horse with a big stride and a great brain so lucky to have him.”

The 29-year-old works in real estate finance in Washington, D.C., so he commutes back and forth on the weekends to ride.

“I try to get a weekend of practice in before a horse show and then meet everyone at the show,” he said. “I would love to practice more but need to work. You know, doing what I can. My team that keeps the horses up here are fantastic and I am really lucky to have them.”

Story and Photos by Kimberly Loushin for The Chronicle of the Horse