Wilmington, Ohio – The R+L Arena at World Equestrian Center – Wilmington set the stage for Hunter Derby Friday of Midwest Indoors II, where Trevor Hawthorne secured the highest scores of the day with the rising star, Due North (Dinken x Pantania T), to win the $15,000 Kentucky Equine Research USHJA National Open Hunter Derby.
“Due North is a seven-year-old that was sent to me at the beginning of summer and he is owned by Liz Porter. He was sent to me as a sale horse, but to also be developed at the same time,” Hawthorne shared.
“Liz said to do what I can at the shows and he will sell himself because he is so good! He has been nothing short of perfect since I have had him! He was champion in the 3’3” Greens this week,” Hawthorne spoke highly of Porter’s young mount.
Laying down a near perfect first round, the duo impressed for a high score of 94. Hawthorne discussed his thoughts on Michael Pegg’s (CAN) first round track, “The course was great. I thought the first trip was a little bit of an equitation type track. The first part of the course started with an S turn and you don’t really see that too often in hunter courses. WEC has great jumps and the signature swoopy arches at the end of the ring, so to start with that was different, but the horses jumped it great. The rest of the course really fell into place through the bending lines. You were really able to show off the horse.”
Returning in the leading spot for the handy, the seven-year-old Holsteiner gelding let his talent speak for itself, jumping to a 91.5 for an overall score of 185.5 to secure the win by four points.
“WEC is great, especially for the young horses, that’s why I come here! The footing, jumps and courses are always beautiful. We come and prepare for Florida. It is the only show where you find the same quality of tracks and jumps. The horses love it here. You can school and really take your time with them,” Hawthorne noted.
$15,000 Kentucky Equine Research USHJA National Open Hunter Derby Results:
1 Due North, Trevor Hawthorne, Liz Porter | 94 | 91.5 | 185.5
2 MF Starboy, Sarah Duhon, Michael Britt-Leon | 91 | 90.5 | 181.5
3 Mariner, Tammy Provost, Angela Pietig Brown | 89.5 | 89 | 178.5
4 Soho, Ashleen Lee, Daphne Meadows | 86.5 | 91 | 177.5
5 Newspeak, Ashleen Lee, Emilie Welles | 86 | 90 | 176
6 Ideal Bambou Z, Hayley Anderson, Hayley Anderson | 83 | 92 | 175
7 Jaipur, Kat Barkema, Zachary Parks | 84 | 88 | 172
8 Fineas, Jessica Jurkowitz, Clover Hill Farm | 90 | 79 | 169
9 Quilando, Stefanie Portman, Jodi Fryar | 78 | 79 | 157
10 Persuasive, Tammy Provost, Jill Donaldson | 89 | 64 | 153
Canturello Carries Lauren Theil to First $15,000 USHJA National Non-Pro Hunter Derby Win
The $15,000 USHJA National Non-Pro Hunter Derby was the first featured event of the day Friday in the hunter arenas at WEC – Wilmington. Of the 23 horse-and-rider pairs entered in the class, Lauren Theil ultimately came out on top, earning her first ever hunter derby win, with her own, Canturello (Jiqueenturo Di Luna x Ostella).
Theil spoke on her partnership with Canturello, “We got him in May. We started him in the jumpers and decided to do something simpler, so we turned to the hunter ring with him. We started in the 3’3” Junior Hunters and made our way up to the 3’6”. We have been doing that for a couple of weeks now and I have only done a couple of derbies on him. This is my first derby win ever!”
Aboard her seven-year-old Belgian Warmblood gelding, Theil posted a first-round score of 89, returning for the handy in the top spot.
“I was just trying not to pressure myself coming back for the handy and was just reassuring myself. I wanted to jump the first jump on an angle to make the inside turn easier. I got my trot right where I wanted it and I ended up on the bending seven and the rest was smooth sailing!”
The duo was in perfect form for a high score of 90 and a winning two-round total of 179.
“I really liked the track, it was super fun to ride. It was very doable but it wasn’t too easy. I was really thinking about my outside aids for the track to the one stride so that I could keep him straight and moving through the one,” Theil commented on her thoughts about Pegg’s track.
$15,000 USHJA National Non-Pro Hunter Derby Results:
1 Canturello, Lauren Theil, Lauren Theil | 89 | 90 | 179
2 Denero, Sophia Welniak, SSAM Equine LLC | 82 | 92 | 174
3 Qualtender, Jordan Wicklund, Pamela Wicklund | 86 | 87 | 173
4 Solo Canto, Peyton Scott, Micaela Kennedy | 81 | 78 | 159
5 Unlimited, Isabella Fabrizi, Fabrizi Equine LLC | 72 | 86 | 158
6 Cosworth, Abaigeal Musser, Front Row Sport Horses LLC | 71 | 71 | 142
7 Budapest, Ainsley Russell, Ainsley Russell | 83 | 54.5 | 137.5
8 Macauley RGS, Amy Bailey, Granite Bay Properties LLC | 69 | 68 | 137
9 Livello, Shanna Newby, Shanna Newby | 71.5 | 63 | 134.5
10 Lorenzo Z, Ava Roof, Ava Roof | 80 | 49 | 129
Make sure to visit the WEC Blog and follow us on social media @worldequestriancenter for full coverage on all feature classes!
Results can be found at horseshowing.com.
All horse show images are provided by Winslow Photography and can be purchased onsite at WEC – Wilmington or online through their website.