Wilmington, Ohio – Hunter athletes gathered Friday evening during Summer II at World Equestrian Center – Ohio for the $10,000 USHJA National Hunter Derby sponsored by IDA Development. An established field of 33 stylish horse-and-athlete combinations flowed over Joey Rycroft’s (USA) track, but it was Colleen Holton (USA) and her own Udefix (Uccello x Contendra) that impressed the judges for the win.
Holton, of Carraway Hill, has debuted in the prestigious class numerous times with her talented gelding, landing in the top three during both Spring II and Summer I.
Holton spoke about her partnership with Udefix, “My mom and I bought Felix when he was six. I have developed him from the young hunters all the way up to the High-Performance Hunters and the derbies. He has been so fun for me to get to do all the bigger classes on and move up. I have never had a High-Performance horse or an International Derby horse, so it has been really fun for me to get to do those classes.”
The duo returned for the handy phase sitting in third place with a first-round score of 89. Competition was fierce in the class with the top scores all sitting close to each other.
“There weren’t a ton of options in the handy, so I was just trying to be forward and tidy. There weren’t any crazy turns to do, so I really wanted to be tidy and smooth through the turns. I really wanted to do the last bending line in nine strides, because I thought that it showed that you could be bold. I also wanted to get my trot late for the trot jump which he so good at,” Holton shared about her handy plan.
Holton guided her ten-year-old Hanoverian gelding to a foot-perfect plan, ultimately impressing the judges with their consistency and style. A handy score of 91 and a two-round total of 180 earned the duo the blue ribbon.
Ashleen Lee (USA) of Freedom Woods piloted Gillian Rees’s Speak For Yourself (Casall x Rose IV) to the second highest score of the day. The flashy eight-year-old Holsteiner gelding jumped in top form with Lee in the irons for scores of 86.5 and 91.5. An overall score of 178 landed the duo second place.
Rounding out the podium was Ashton Alexander aboard the Brookside Pine Farms entry, 21 Questions. Alexander secured her position in the second round with a score of 85.5, sitting in the middle of the pack at the start of the handy. The handy questions were no challenge for the six-year-old Warmblood gelding as he jumped to the highest second-round score of 92. Alexander earned third place with an overall score of 177.5.
$10,000 IDA Development USHJA National Hunter Derby Results:
1 Udefix, Colleen Holton, Colleen Holton | 89 | 91 | 180
2 Speak For Yourself, Ashleen Lee, Gillian Rees | 86.5 | 91.5 | 178
3 21 Questions, Ashton Alexander, Brookside Pine Farms | 85.5 | 92 | 177.5
4 Kadence Z, Stephan Foran, Ashleen Lee | 87 | 89 | 176
5 Cosmo Cool, Grace Hildebrand, Grace Hildebrand | 91 | 80.5 | 171.5
6 Benji, Devin Milan, Cynthia Chaconas | 88 | 83 | 171
7 Corlando 49, Melissa Donnelly, Elizabeth Becker | 83 | 87 | 170
8 Campari, Marie Lafond, Marie Lafond | 84 | 82 | 166
9 Denero, Sophia Welniak, Ssam Equine LLC | 90 | 73 | 163
10 Canion, Lucy Reich, Lucy Reich | 85 | 77 | 162
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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.