Ocala, FL – The final Hunter Derby Friday of the 2023 Winter Spectacular Show Series at World Equestrian Center – Ocala hosted more than 130 of the best hunters in the nation across three prestigious classes including the $75,000 Golden Ocala Golf & Equestrian Club 3’6”-3’9” Hunter Derby, $75,000 UF Veterinary Hospital 3’ Open Hunter Derby and $75,000 WEC Ocala 3’ Jr/Am Hunter Derby. Tucker Williams (USA) laid the open tracks that encouraged brilliance and saw competitors reach scores in the high 90s.
The $75,000 Golden Ocala Golf & Equestrian Club 3’6’-3’9” Hunter Derby saw an elite field of 33 hunters vie for top honors over Tucker Williams’ first round track. Samantha Schaefer and her longtime partner In The Know (Arkansas x Cavelle) owned by Madeline Schaefer bested the field after the pair navigated two foot-perfect rounds for a pair of scores in the 90s.
Schaefer and the 14-year-old Warmblood gelding received the highest first round score of a 94 to return to the handy sitting on-top.
“I always want to do my best by riding smart and doing what I think suits him,” said Schaefer. “I picked the real direct line to one. He is very good about sighting in and looking for the jumps with me which I think is why he is able to do the handies so well. Everywhere, I tried to be neat, and I waited as long as I could to the trot fence. It was a nice turn back on the hedge wall and count to nine to the last, trying not to mess up on the easiest line.”
The pair floated around the winding track for another high score of 94 and an overall score of 188 to secure the ultimate victory.
Schaefer spoke about ‘Spyder’, “This horse has some weird way of knowing when it’s important. There was no bucking or nonsense. He came out and was focused from the start. His groom of seven years told me this morning, ‘he’s good, he’s in the zone.’”
“I always say you have to play into his things and his personality. If you took the fun out of it for him, he wouldn’t be the horse he is for us. He’s spoiled rotten. He runs the show and he has no apologies. Seven years is a long time and I think my team, his farriers, vets and our managers have done an incredible job of keeping him going. I want him to go on forever.”
Schaefer shared her appreciation to World Equestrian Center – Ocala for hosting the three hunter derbies, “Three $75,000 derbies is incredible. It’s something we all look forward to and it’s something you bring your best horses out for. It’s amazing to be able to compete for this type of money. I love this horse show. I don’t know a more beautiful facility that essentially is in my backyard where I get to sleep in my bed and come back to every morning. I show up with a smile on my face every day.”
Tiffany Cambria and Kym K. Smith’s Malibu Ken (Cassall x Viness SH) earned second place with scores of a 92 and 95 for an overall score of 187.
$75,000 WEC Ocala 3’ Jr/Am Hunter Derby winner Augusta Iwasaki piloted Small Kingdom (Grandino 25 x Novillada Du Tot) to a third-place finish with scores of a 93.5 and 93.25 for a two-round total of 186.75.
$75,000 Golden Ocala Golf & Equestrian Club 3’6”-3’9” Hunter Derby Results:
1 In the Know, Samantha Schaefer, Madeline Schaefer: 94 | 94 | 188
2 Tiffany Cambria, Kym K Smith, Malibu Ken: 92 | 95 | 187
3 Small Kingdom, Augusta Iwasaki, Iwasaki & Reilly: 93.5 | 93.25 | 186.75
4 Cannon Creek, Hunt Tosh, The Wheeler Family: 92.5 | 92.5 | 185
5 Jordantinus, David Jennings, Allison Ventura: 91.5 | 92 | 183.5
6 Light My Fire MD, Harold Chopping, Alexis Niepert: 90 | 91 | 181
7 Coltrane, Daniel Geitner, Magnolia Lane Stables, LLC: 87 | 93 | 180
8 Ipanema, Josh Dolan, Belle Rolfe: 85.5 | 90 | 175.5
9 Ulysses, Maddie Tosh, Betsee Parker: 87.5 | 84 | 171.5
10 Con L’Anima, Josh Dolan, Christine Gonzalez: 86 | 76 | 162
11 MTM Lolah LOL, Dorothy Douglas, Abigail Davenport: 88 | 49 | 137
12 Autograph, Hunt Tosh, Ceil Wheeler: 88.25 | 47 | 135.25
Dorothy Douglas & MTM Exceptional Excel in the $75,000 UF Veterinary Hospital 3’ Open Hunter Derby
The final Hunter Derby Friday of the 2023 Winter Spectacular Show Series began with the $75,000 UF Veterinary Hospital 3’ Open Hunter Derby. Forty-seven stunning hunters competed over Tucker Williams’ first round track where athletes piloted their mounts to scores in the mid-90s, but it was Dorothy Douglas and Abigail Davenport’s MTM Exceptional (Casall Ask x Rheinsberg) that earned a pair of superior scores to take the win.
Douglas and the seasoned 14-year-old Holsteiner gelding found a seamless track in the first round for a score of 93.5.
Douglas spoke about the first-round, “This morning the judges were really rewarding of a nice flowy gallop. I think you had a bit of an advantage if you could go a little later in the order. I had three horses in the class, so I was able to learn and get a feel for the course. You could pick up a good canter and keep it. It rode really nicely.”
The pair returned for the handy sitting in second place. “I just relied on the fact that he’s an amazing jumper and knows his job. He’s done about 100 of these classes, so he knows the drill. I just focused on being smooth and having a nice round and trusted that the judges would reward it.”
Douglas and MTM Exceptional floated around the handy track, finding each fence right out of stride for the class’s highest score of a 95 for a two-round total of 188.5.
“It’s incredible that WEC offers three $75,000 Hunter Derbies. To have a 3’ derby with that amount of money gives the owners incentive to keep the horses. He’s Abby [Davenport’s] Amateur horse, so she can show him when she’s here and when she’s not, he still has a job where he can make a little money and continue to have fun. I think it’s so cool how you can treat a 3’ derby horse like a grand prix horse,” shared Douglas.
Daniel Geitner and Jennifer Cancellieri’s nine-year-old Brandenburg gelding Aventus (San Florestano x Kasiopeia) secured second place honors with a first round score of 92.75 and a handy score of 94.5 for a two-round total of 187.25.
Last week’s Open Derby winner, Kate Conover rounded out the top three aboard Chris Iwasaki and Liz Reilly’s eight-year-old Rheinishces Reitpferd mare Small Story (Self Control x Eurogirl). The pair received a first-round score of 92 and a second-round score of 94 for a total of 186.
$75,000 UF Veterinary Hospital 3’ Open Hunter Derby Results:
1 MTM Exceptional, Dorothy Douglas, Abigail Davenport: 93.5 | 95 | 188.5
2 Aventus, Daniel Geitner, Jennifer Cancellieri: 92.75 | 94.5 | 187.25
3 Small Story, Kate Conover, Chris Iwasaki & Liz Reilly: 92 | 94 | 186
4 Cypress, Timothy Maddrix, Missy Nolen: 93 | 91 | 184
5 Tangelina, Amanda Steege, Cara Garito: 91.5 | 92 | 183.5
6 Banks Mill, Daniel Geitner, Daniel Geitner: 94 | 89 | 183
7 PS Call Me, Jennifer Jones, Elizabeth De Meric: 93.25 | 88 | 181.25
8 Driftwood, Lauren Schweppe, Sheila Slack: 92.5 | 87 | 179.5
9 MTM Coconut, Luke Olsen, Ariella Gesthalter: 90.5 | 82 | 172.5
10 Not to Worry, Tiffany Cambria, Sarah Hellman: 91 | 80 | 171
11 Due North, David Jennings, Libby Hott: 90 | 76 | 166
12 Story Hour, Daniel Geitner, Donald Stewart : 89.75 | 44 | 133.75
Superior Scores Earn Augusta Iwasaki & Small Moments the $75,000 WEC Ocala Jr/Am Hunter Derby Win
Fifty-one horse-and-rider combinations put forth their best efforts over Tucker Williams’ first round track in the $75,000 WEC Ocala Jr/Am Hunter Derby. Scores soared into the high 90s, but it was Augusta Iwasaki and Small Moments (Cascadello I x Alcina) that took home the lion’s share of the prize money.
Iwasaki and the six-year-old Hanoverian mare owned by Chris Iwasaki and Liz Reilly found an effortless first round toward the end of the order for a near-perfect score of 98.
Iwasaki spoke about the talented young mare, “Her name is Clara. We have had her for just about a year. She’s super young, so we just began dabbling in the derbies for about six months.”
Iwasaki piloted all three of her mounts, Small Moments, Small Love and Allure DVE to the handy round.
“I think it goes to say, if you are able to ride the course multiple times, you’re able to learn from each and know what you’re doing a bit more the next time,” told Iwasaki.
The young athlete had the same plan for the second round for all three of her mounts, “I stuck with one plan for each horse. Gallop forward to the first jump, I think that always looks good and sets the tone for the rest of the track. Then I tried to be really tidy and smooth the rest of the way.”
Iwasaki was sitting third and fourth with her two other mounts when she returned last aboard Small Moments. “She’s very young, so I had a plan and stuck with it. I didn’t want to put too much pressure on her, so I just tried to deliver another smooth round.”
The pair delivered another superb effort for a second-round score of 91.5 for an overall score of 189.5.
Isabelle Ehman piloted Donald Stewart’s ten-year-old Belgian Warmblood gelding No Secret (RMF Cadeau De Muze x Geneve De Muze) to a first round score of 95 and a handy score of 92.5 for a total of 187.5 to earn second place.
Lily Toensing and her own 15-year-old Holsteiner Consanto (Collado x Camillo Queen) found third place with a score of 91.5 and 93 for a two-round total of 184.5.
$75,000 WEC Ocala 3’ Jr/Am Hunter Derby Results:
1 Small Moments, Augusta Iwasaki, Iwasaki & Reilly: 98 | 91.5 | 189.5
2 No Secret, Isabelle Ehman, Donald Stewart: 95 | 92.5 | 187.5
3 Consanto, Lily Toensing, Lily Toensing: 91.5 | 93 | 184.5
4 Small Love, Augusta Iwasaki, Iwasaki & Reilly: 94 | 90.25 | 184.25
5 Allure DVE, Augusta Iwasaki, Dutch Valley Sporthorses: 90.5 | 92 | 182.5
6 Condor, Isabel Harbour, Robin Felton: 89.5 | 90 | 179.5
7 Victor, Haley Waters Wear, Carelyn Monroe: 90.25 | 89 | 179.25
8 All On, Jane Gaston, Jane Gaston: 91 | 85 | 176
9 Kilroy, Isabella Erlick, Isabella Erlick: 88 | 82 | 170
10 Agave, Isabel Harbour, IMH Equine LLC: 90 | 78 | 168
11 Corvin CWF, Jaylee McAninch, Jaylee McAninch: 89 | 76 | 165
12 Jagerbomb, Isabelle Ehman, Donald Stewart: 92 | 72 | 164
‘THE STYLE OF RIDING AWARD’
Before the start of the handy round in the $75,000 Golden Ocala Golf & Equestrian Club 3’6″-3’9″ Hunter Derby, Bill Rube, presented the prestigious Style of Riding Award to Maddie Tosh for her classic style and sportsmanship. The recipient serves as a role model for preserving the integrity and tradition of equestrian sport. “This award is very special to me because the recipient of this award pays it forward both in and out of the show ring,” says Rube. Tosh received an elegant duffel bag and wore a white rose corsage on her lapel throughout the handy round to signify her achievement.
Photos courtesy of Andrew Ryback Photography.
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