Thirty-nine stunning hunters took to the R+L Arena this evening, all vying for a win in the $5,000 USHJA National Hunter Derby. The course for tonight’s class was designed by Keith Bollotte and featured a winding course with bending lines and fences that emulated the hunt field. It was another week of tough hunter derby competition with scores reaching into the upper 80s and low 90s, but it was David Beisel and Lori Taylor’s elegant MTM Bentley (Bonaparte Z x Hot Cherie P) that earned the win by eight points.
Katie Cooper and Caves Farm LLC’s Lemieux (Warrant x Orsina II) set a high standard early in the order. The pair recently took top placings at the Winter Equestrian Festival in the Green Hunters, preparing them well for tonight’s class. Cooper and the eight-year-old KWPN gelding took three high options in the first round, earning a score of 84.
Alivia Kohus and her own Cristallo’s Carlachen P (Cristallo) also laid down a noteworthy first round. The pair took several top placings in various medal classes during Week 10 of ‘Winter in the Midwest’ at World Equestrian Center, and tonight’s derby course suited them well. Kohus and the nine-year-old Warmblood gelding opted for all four high options in the first round, earning a score of 83.5.
David Beisel and Lori Taylor’s MTM Bentley (Bonaparte Z x Hot Cherie P) earned the highest score of the first round. The pair have taken several top placings in the $5,000 USHJA National Hunter Derby class at World Equestrian Center, but had yet to take home the blue ribbon. Tonight, Beisel and the six-year-old Danish Warmblood gelding navigated a foot-perfect first round near the end of the order, taking all four high options for a score of 89.
The ring was refreshed and the top twelve entries returned for the handy round. Cooper and Lemieux returned early in the order to accommodate for Cooper’s multiple rides. The pair was flawless, finding fences 1 and 8 perfectly in stride out of the inside turn. They took all four high options, earning a score of 87 and bringing their overall score to 171, moving them into the top spot. Kohus and Cristallo’s Carlachen P returned near the middle of the order, taking handy inside turns to fences 1 and 8 and jumping all four high options for a score of 86. This brought their overall total score to 169.5, which positioned them in to second place. Beisel and MTM Bentley were last to return for the handy round. The duo also chose the inside track to fences 1 and 8, and the stylish bay gelding showed off his impressive jump at each of the four high options. They picked up a steady hand gallop to the last fence, wowing the judges with a brilliant final effort. Beisel and MTM Bentley were rewarded with a score of 90 for their performance, bringing their overall total score to 179 to win the class.
Beisel stuck around after the awards presentation to chat with us ringside about his win aboard MTM Bentley, “We’re happy to be showing at WEC. It was a great class and a fun ring to ride in. When I went in for the first round, he picked up a little; he got a little bright. Luckily, I was able to make the first bending line a little direct and keep him settled. I did the same thing in the second bending line, then he really relaxed and felt like he was jumping fantastic to finish up the rest of the course. I think he’s figuring out the handy rounds now because he went in and got a little excited. He held it together, but was like, ‘I know this part!’ He was a little up, but kept with me up the four-stride line. Then I, again, kept the seven-stride bending line a little direct and balanced. I thought the trot jump was really hard how it was up against the end of the ring. By the time we cantered the two-stride, he felt like he was starting to relax. I thought he gave me a nice vertical going away. I was kind of debating whether to do the high or the low option at the last fence because a few people had taken a rail there. At that point, I thought I’d better show off a little and take a shot at the high option and gallop to the last jump. It felt like he gave me a huge effort there, then landed and cantered away politely. It was a lot of fun.”
When asked about MTM Bentley’s personality, Beisel laughed, “He’s a ham. He’s a playful, cute horse, but he has a polite enough disposition so that his amateur owner can ride him and show him. At the same time, he’s super athletic for a little guy. He’s 16 hands, but he’s really athletic and so much fun.”
Lori Taylor, MTM Bentley’s owner, was thrilled with her gelding’s win, “There might be a horse out there with a better jump, there might be a horse out there with a bigger heart and there might be a horse out there with a better brain, but there is not a horse out there that’s better at all three than MTM Bentley. Seeing David ride him is awesome, but if you watch him pack an amateur like me around, that’s when you love him! That’s when you know he’s special.”
$5,000 USHJA National Hunter Derby Results
- MTM Bentley, David Beisel – 89 | 90 | 179
- Lemieux, Katie Cooper – 84 | 87 | 171
- Cristallo’s Carlachen P, Alivia Kohus – 83.5 | 86 | 169.5
- Rio’s Eclipse, Kristjan Good – 83 | 86 | 169
- Cansas, Katherine Butler – 81 | 82 | 163
- Corfou Marienshof Z, Charlotte Clark – 82 | 80 | 162
- Corallo Z, Sam Berry – 87 | 73 | 160
- Devout, Larissa Hufnagel – 79.25 | 80 | 159.25
- Wisteria BD, Alyssa Schiller – 79.5 | 77 | 156.5
- Charlie Parker, Katie Cooper – 88 | 49 | 137
Photos courtesy of Andrew Ryback Photography.