Wilmington, Ohio – Hunter riders braved the rain at WEC – Wilmington Friday afternoon for the $10,000 Shoo-fly USHJA National Open Hunter Derby of Spring II. Kelly Arani ultimately dominated the field, securing first and third place honors with Madewell (Cardento x Tinka’s Queen) and Carosello (Cumano x Vibelle Z), respectively.
Taking over the ride temporarily for her sister, Arani knew she could count on her winning ride, “He is my sister’s horse. We have had him for six or seven years and she shows him in the 3’6” Amateur Owners. He is her good guy! She is obsessed with him, and he is always perfect. You know you can always count on him.”
“Madison [Arani] moved to Switzerland for two years, so we had to keep him going. We figured it would be fun to bring him here and he obviously did what we asked him to,” Arani laughed.
Arani found the key to success over Bobby Murphy’s tracks, earning scores of 88 and 89 with the 12-year-old Warmblood gelding, Madewell.
“I thought it was really well designed. It gave you a lot of options. Madewell is a veteran, so he could do all the inside turns. The horse that I was third on is only a six-year-old, so I could do some inside turns but also had the option to go around in certain places. It was really well built.”
Her six-year-old Zangersheide gelding, Carosello, earned a first round score of 92 to ultimately land in third place.
Arani reflected on her rewarding day in the hunter ring, “I am so happy with Madewell. I am absolutely thrilled with Carosello as well. He really showed up today and jumped some of the best jumps I have felt on him. Hayley [Barnhill] has been riding him and helping us develop him, and Kevin [Gallagher] showed him in his first derby last week. He got even better this week, so it was a really rewarding day.”
Katelyn Mcphie earned second place honors with scores of 80 and 82 aboard the Woodland Acres Equestrian entry, Coolcorron Kaito (Cobra18 x Greenhall Maybe So), a seven-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding.
$10,000 Shoo-fly USHJA National Hunter Derby Results
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Results can be found at wec.net.
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