Ocala, FL – The first Hunter Derby Friday of the 2024 Summer Series welcomed over 50 stunning hunter combinations to compete in three derbies: $12,500 Golden Ocala 3’6”-3’9” Hunter Derby, the $10,000 UF Veterinary Hospital USHJA National 3’ Open Hunter Derby and the $10,000 USHJA National 3’ Jr/Am Hunter Derby. Dean Rheinheimer set the winding tracks that allowed riders to show off their horses’ scope and brilliance.
The $12,500 Golden Ocala 3’6”-3’9” Hunter Derby was the highlight event of the afternoon where a field of elite hunter combinations competed for top honors. Victoria Colvin reigned supreme, earning first, second and third place.
Colvin had the same plan for all three of her mounts heading into the handy round, where she was sitting in fourth with Remington, second aboard Dicoblue PS and first aboard Southland. “My plan was the same for the most part with all three. I wanted to do all of the turns. But, with Soutland, I had to give him a little more room to the big oxers, so I didn’t stay as tidy. They all jumped great and I am so happy they succeeded!”
Colvin won the class aboard SG Equestrian LLC’s eight-year-old Irish Sport Horse, Southland (Obos Quality x Glidawn Crest) with an impressive score of 92 in the first round and a 95 in the second for an overall score of 187. “Southland, I’ve been riding for about a year. I did the 3’ Greens last year, and he’s just stepping up to the 3’6” Greens this year, while doing a few derbies. He’s been amazing. He’s a little pony type, but has a lot of scope.”
Dicoblue PS (Diarado’s Boy x Stutbuch 1 Chactine), a 10-year-old Oldeburg gelding, owned by Isabelle Castellanos earned the second place ribbon with Colvin in the irons with a first round score of 90 and a handy score of 92 for a two-round total of 182. “We got him three or fourth months ago for his owner Isbabelle. He was doing the jumpers here in Ocala, and he’s already been a superstar in the derbies.”
Colvin piloted Castellanos’ equitation mount, Remington (Camillo VDL x Super Spring), a nine-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding, to third place with an overall score of 179. “This was my first time showing him. We thought maybe he could step up and do a derby, and it worked out pretty well. We might just do him at derby finals!”
$12,500 Golden Ocala 3’6”-3’9” Hunter Derby Results:
1 Southland, Victoria Colvin, SG Equestrian LLC: 92 | 95 | 187
2 Dicoblue PS, Victoria Colvin, Isabelle Castellanos: 90 | 92 | 182
3 Remington, Victoria Colvin, Isabelle Castellanos: 89 | 90 | 179
4 Worthy, Maria Rasmussen, Sunset View Farm LLC: 89.5 | 87 | 176.5
5 MTM Lolah LOL, Dorothy Douglas, Abigail Davenport: 84 | 90.5 | 174.5
6 Caligua, Clair Kellner, Suzanne Cayatte: 86 | 88 | 174
7 MTM Ahoy, Dorothy Douglas, Nina Koloseike: 83 | 89 | 172
8 SVF Changeup. Maria Rasmussen, Sunset View Farm LLC: 75 | 91 | 166
9 Celebrity Experience, Lola Bacardi, Lola Bacardi: 80 | 71 | 151
10 Chacco Ricco, Erika Moore, Noble Steeds LLC: 50 | 73 | 123
Victoria Colvin and Playwright Reunite to Win the $10,000 UF Veterinary Hospital USHJA National 3’ Open Hunter Derby
Early this morning, 20 stunning hunters gathered at Indoor Arena 1 to vie for top honors in the $10,000 UF Veterinary Hospital USHJA National 3’ Open Hunter Derby. Victoria Colvin emerged victorious after a stellar handy around aboard Pine Castle Farms’ Playwright (Cascadello L x Tatiana LL).
Colvin has known the nine-year-old Holsteiner gelding for several years now, “I showed [Playwright] two years ago in the 3’6” divisions and then he was sold to a kid. He’s been doing the 2’6” classes and thought it would be fun for him to do this,” shared Colvin.
A first round score of 86.5 had the pair sitting in fourth coming back for the handy, “I had a few points to make up, so I knew I had to be really handy. He’s very easy to turn, all you do is look, and he’s right there.”
The pair floated around the handy track, taking each inside turn while jumping all four high options for a high score of 94 and two-round total of 180.5 for the win.
$10,000 UF Veterinary Hospital USHJA National 3’ Open Hunter Derby Results:
1 Playwright, Victoria Colvin, Pine Castle Farms: 86.5 | 94 | 180.5
2 MTM Nutmeg, Dorothy Douglas, MTM Farm: 89 | 91.25 | 180.25
3 MTM Exceptional, Dorothy Douglas, Abigail Davenport: 85 | 92 | 177
4 Shameless, Josh Dolan, Kim Domenicone: 87 | 89 | 176
5 MTM Nonchalant, Crystal Young, Adelle Alletto: 84 | 91 | 175
6 MTM Holding Court, Tracy Fenney, MTM Farm: 88 | 84 | 172
7 Aladdin, Jenny Miller, Jenny Miller: 81 | 87 | 168
8 Storyville, Stephanie Frey, Leslie Kramer: 80 | 86 | 166
9 Newtwon’s Harper Lee, Colin Savaria, Karen O’Connor: 82 | 83.5 | 165.5
10 SVF Richie, Maria Rasmussen, Sunset View Farm LLC: 79 | 59 | 138
Lily Epstein and Chando W Forge New Partnership to Win $10,000 USHJA National 3’ Jr/Am Hunter Derby
In the $10,000 USHJA National 3’ Jr/Am Hunter Derby, 20 horse-and-rider combinations put forth their best efforts over Dean Rheinheimer’s natural tracks, but it was Lily Epstein who piloted Greta Heimbold-Gilpin’s Chando W (Cabardino x Salome) to victory.
This was Epstein’s first time showing the flashy 14-year-old Warmblood gelding, “I was able to jump school him a couple of days ago, but this was my first time competing with him,” she said. “He was really good in the first round, and I knew for the second round he was going to be just as great. I was able to take one inside turn and stay smooth to the rest.”
Epstein received the highest first round score of an 87 and an 81 in the handy round, for an overall score of 168 to secure the top spot on the leaderboard.
Epstein enjoyed showing Chando W under the guidance of her trainer Kelsey Duffy, “He was so much fun to ride. He’s so sweet and has the cutest face. He made my job easy,” expressed Epstein.
$10,000 USHJA National 3’ Jr/Am Hunter Derby Results:
1 Chando W, Lily Epstein, Greta Heimbold-Gilpin: 87 | 81 | 168
2 Malcome, Hayley Waters Wear, Mr. and Mrs. Chuck Waters: 79 | 84 | 163
3 Javador T, Madison Berger, Berger Equine, LLC: 76 | 82 | 158
4 Fiat, Lily Epstein, Forever Equestrian, LLC: 81 | 76 | 157
5 Coltrane, Erica Prockow, Avery Lambert: 76.5 | 76 | 152.5
6 Kadans T, Alexandra Ader, Maarten Huygens: 69 | 81 | 150
7 High Society, Adelle Alletto, Adelle Alletto: 80 | 69.5 | 149.5
8 Athenes D’Amaury, Tessa Perigo, Tessa Perigo: 77 | 72 | 149
9 Cambastian, Evana Somareddy, Evana Somareddy: 68 | 76 | 144
10 Checkpoint Charlie, Rory Caskey, Nourah Caskey: 79.5 | 64 | 143.5
Visit HorseShowing.com for final results.
Explore the daily class schedule, orders of go, class counts, and final results on HorseShowing.com. For real-time scoring, check out Ryegate.Live. Photos courtesy of Andrew Ryback Photography.
Videos available at ClipMyHorse.TV
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