Wilmington, Ohio – Featured hunter competition for the 2023 Fall Classic Series commenced in the R+L Arena at World Equestrian Center – Wilmington with the $15,000 USHJA National Open Hunter Derby sponsored by Premier Equestrian. Besting a field full of professionals, Luke Rinehart (USA) piloted his best hunter partner, Hero (Brainpower x Corini W), to the win.
Luke Rinehart’s sister, Elizabeth Rinehart (USA) earned first and second place aboard Bond (Clarimo) and Billy Cromwell (Zinedine x Annagroff), respectively, in the $15,000 USHJA National Non-Pro Hunter Derby.
Luke Rinehart, riding out of Rinehart Farm in Westfield, Indiana, followed in his father’s winning footsteps with his own 11-year-old KWPN gelding. The junior rider returned to the handy phase sitting in third place with a first-round score of 80.5.
Hero, a familiar face in the winner’s circle, came back for the second round in top form, and impressed the judges for the highest score of the class of 88.
Luke Rinehart commented on his handy plan, “My plan was to do what my sister did! Hero was a little impressed, but we have a routine. We flat in the morning and he was quiet today. He is better off the left lead, so I decided to go left to the first jump in the handy. I was thinking about catching the inside turn from the out of the eight-stride, but I landed left so I ended up going right around.”
With an overall score of 168.5, the duo claimed the third Rinehart win of the weekend.
“I am actually happy that I did the open derby and Lizzie did the non-pro, because her scores were higher than mine and she would have beaten me,” laughed Luke.
WEC – Wilmington sponsor 2nd Round Equestrian presented a $500 bonus to Aubrey Hunt and Cosmo Cool, the second place finishers after the conclusion of the second round of the $15,000 USHJA National Open Derby.
Elizabeth Rinehart Follows in Family Footsteps in $15,000 USHJA National Non-Pro Hunter Derby
Elizabeth Rinehart dominated the $15,000 USHJA National Non-Pro Hunter Derby with her picture-perfect mounts. The young rider, experienced beyond her years, piloted the 11-year-old Warmblood gelding Bond to the highest scores of the day of 89 and 86 for an overall total of 175, having only been together for two months.
“My plan was to just have smooth rounds. There were some inside turns I wasn’t sure if I was going to do on Bond because this is my first derby on him. On Billy, I knew I wanted to take all of the turns because that is what he always does in the equitation. I had three in the class, and I didn’t get much warm-up in for the handy, so that was hard to change from horse to horse especially since they are all such different horses,” said Elizabeth.
Aboard her familiar equitation mount, Billy Cromwell, Elizabeth Rinehart made every handy effort available to secure a podium finish.
With scores of 84 and 86 and a two-round total of 170, she claimed the family’s third podium finish of the day with her nine-year-old British Warmblood gelding.
$15,000 USHJA Premier Equestrian National Open Hunter Derby Results:
1 Hero, Luke Rinehart, Luke Rinehart | 168.5
2 Cosmo Cool, Aubrey Hunt, Grace Hildebrand | 167
3 Calderron, Gustavo Prato, Gustavo Prato | 162
4 Providence, Nicole Loochtan, Sabrina Mikula | 161.5
5 Benji, Devin Milan, Cynthia Chaconas | 155
6 Hilton II, Keely McIntosh, Booth Show Jumpers | 144
7 L-Up To Snuff, Jessica Penn, LL Show Jumpers LLC | 72
8 Diavisto Na, Joseph Fischetti, Derek Petersen | 70
$15,000 USHJA National Non-Pro Hunter Derby Results:
1 Bond, Elizabeth Rinehart, Ava Berman | 175
2 Billy Cromwell, Elizabeth Rinehart, Elizabeth Rinehart | 170
3 Corallo J, Leah Sousa, Leah Sousa | 138
4 Kingston Blue, Elizabeth Rinehart, Claire Rockacy | 137
5 Fine Line, Savannah Embly, Embly Stables LLC | 135
6 Clooney LB, Haylee Moore, Brooke Moore | 129
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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.