Wilmington, Ohio – Hunter riders gathered under the sunshine Friday afternoon at World Equestrian Center – Wilmington for the $10,000 USHJA National Hunter Derby of Spring I. Of the 28 stunning entries, it was Megan Bash (USA) that mastered Bobby Murphy’s (USA) classic hunter tracks aboard Caparo (Casall x Tamara ZP).
Bash, of Cleveland Equestrian, impressed the judges instantly as the third to go in the posted order. The seasoned professional piloted Amber Ashba’s Caparo to a textbook first round for a high score of 89.
Bash commented on her talented young mount, “Caparo is seven-year-old, and this is his first year in the Green Hunters. This is the first derby that I took the high options because he started the year quite green in the ring. He has come along beautifully, and he is a great mover and great jumper. He is very brave with a lot of scope, so it is really a pleasure to get to ride him. He is for sale, but we are aiming for the Green Incentive Championships this summer, so he will stay with us until then.”
Returning as the final pair to contest the handy round, Bash executed her plan to perfection. The seven-year-old Holsteiner gelding rose to the challenge, wowing the judges for a second-round score of 87 and a two-round total of 177 for the win.
“The course was great. The jumps were beautiful. Since he is green and the high jumps are new, I planned to be handy, but I wanted to give him enough room to feel confident. He really stepped up to the plate and showed us how capable he is. He acted like it was just a normal day and the bigger jumps only made him jump better,” Bash spoke on the handy.
A frequent visitor to the winner’s circle, Catherine Rinehart (USA) of Rinehart Farm in Westfield, Indiana, rode her own, Hero (Brainpower x Corini W), to second place. Rinehart guided the 11-year-old KWPN gelding to two stunning rounds for scores of 84 and 87 and an overall score of 171.
Colleen Holton (USA) and the ten-year-old Hanoverian gelding, Udefix (Uccello x Contendra), rounded out the top three. Holton, of Carraway Hill in Westerville, Ohio, and her longtime partner, made light work of the derby tracks and earned high scores of 81.5 and 89 for a total of 170.5, just shy of the second-place ribbon.
$10,000 USHJA National Hunter Derby Results:
1 Caparo, Megan Bash, Amber Ashba | 89 | 87 | 177
2 Hero, Catherine Rinehart, Luke Rinehart | 84 | 87 | 171
3 Udefix, Colleen Holton, Colleen Holton | 81.5 | 89 | 170.5
4 Persuasive, Tammy Provost, Jill Donaldson | 83 | 85 | 168
5 Benji, Devin Milan, Cynthia Chaconas | 79 | 89 | 166
6 Apparently, Tammy Provost, Elliot Hodge 81 | 83.5 | 164.5
7 All In, Tammy Provost, Brenda Christenson | 82 | 82 | 164
8 Gucci, Samantha Roper, Samantha Roper | 80 | 83 | 163
9 Copernicus Z, Taylor St Jacques, Mk Equestrian USA LLC | 78.5 | 84 | 162.5
10 Incanto, Kristen Jones, Kristen Jones | 86.5 | 76 | 156.5
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Results can be found at wec.net.
All horse show images are provided by Winslow Photography and can be purchased onsite at WEC – Wilmington or online through their website.