Wilmington, Ohio – The R+L Arena at World Equestrian Center – Wilmington set the stage for hunter derby Friday of Winter Classic 14 of the 2023 Winter in the Midwest Series. Course designer Michael Pegg (CAN) switched gears this week to decorate the indoor arena for the field of hunter athletes. To conclude the day, it was Melissa Donnelly (USA) and Cinda (VDL Douglas x What Pride) that topped the $15,000 USHJA National Open 3’ Hunter Derby sponsored by GGT-Footing.
Donnelly, of Just A Folly Farm in Oxford, Michigan, returned to the R+L for Winter Classic #14 prepared to continue her winning streak as she was crowned champion of the prestigious class during Winter Spring Forward.
This week, aboard Elizabeth Becker’s Cinda, the seasoned professional jumped to perfection in the first round to score an 85 returning for the handy phase.
“The first round was a flowing, galloping course. You had to make sure your horses were adjustable and sharp in a few places to keep their focus. The handy was a lot of fun. There were good options for turns to be able to maintain a nice gallop,” Donnelly remarked on Pegg’s tracks.
The duo returned for the handy sitting in third place and exercised all the handy options to move up the ranks. Donnelly piloted the 18-year-old Irish Sport Horse mare to a second-round score of 85.5 for a two-round total of 170.5 to earn Cinda’s first derby win.
Donnelly spoke on winning mount, “Cinda is 18 years old now and she has been doing the derbies for a while. She is a ton of fun out there. We stick to the low options just to protect her and not risk anything. She was able to follow and flow today so nicely through all the turns and options. It was definitely fun for her! It feels really good to break what felt like a streak of just sitting happily in the ribbons, and it is especially exciting to put the win on this one. She is probably the hardest for me to ride. You do it her way and you stay out of her way!”
Aboard last week’s winning mount, Corlando 49 (Cartani x Olanda I), Donnelly posted scores of 75 and 93 for an overall of 168 to round out the podium in the class.
$15,000 GGT-Footing USHJA National Open 3’ Hunter Derby Results:
1 Cinda, Melissa Donnelly, Elizabeth Becker | 85 | 85.5 | 170.5
2 Capriati, Alexia Trapp, Alexia Trapp | 90 | 79 | 169
3 Corlando 49, Melissa Donnelly, Elizabeth Becker | 75 | 93 | 168
4 Victory Gold, Jennifer Schwartz, Jennifer Schwartz | 76 | 90 | 166
5 Dijon, Spencer Turnblacer, Spencer Turnblacer | 79.5 | 86 | 165.5
6 MTM Bentley, Allie McBreen, Lori Taylor | 80 | 85 | 165
7 Davidson, Allie McBreen, Lori Taylor | 79 | 84 | 163
8 I’m Very Special Z, Emily Wulff, Emily Wulff | 88 | 73 | 161
9 Ohana, Holly Kalso, Madison Pape | 73 | 87 | 160
10 TC E2, Michaella Gerlacher, True Course | 78 | 81 | 159
Katie Finley & Co-Pilot Land the $15,000 USHJA National Non-Pro 3’ Hunter Derby Win at Winter Classic 14
Thirty-three talented horse-and-athlete combinations commenced in the R+L earlier Friday afternoon for the $15,000 USHJA National Non-Pro 3’ Hunter Derby. Of the large field, it was Katie Finley (USA) that led the way aboard her own Co-Pilot (Numero Uno x V-Cassiano) to earn her first career derby win.
Finley, training with Spencer Turnblacer of Houdini Farms in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, has contested the class numerous times, consistently posting scores in the high 80s. The enthusiastic junior rider commented on her win, “I have every color ribbon in my room except for first! I have dreamed of winning this class, and I finally did it!”
Aboard her nine-year-old Holsteiner gelding, Co-Pilot, Finley jumped a textbook first classic hunter round for a high score of 89, ultimately putting the duo in second place moving onto the handy.
Finley shared on her two high-scoring rounds, “The left bending line was really hard for him because he naturally lands right. Other than that, it rode really well for him, really forward. He likes to swap from the right to the left, so I was cautious of that and had a feel of the right rein. I made sure to move up in the last line because I know lot of people were chipping there in eight. I wanted to make the handy as handy as I could. I knew since I was coming back in second I needed to go all out and I knew that I had to make all of the turns to move up. He held his leads strong up the last line even though it was a tad bit tight and flowed nicely through the two-stride!”
The picturesque pair took advantage of every handy opportunity in the track to earn a second-round score of 88. With two consistent rounds, they earned an overall score of 177 to land their first derby win together.
$15,000 USHJA National Non-Pro 3’ Hunter Derby Results:
1 Co-Pilot, Katie Finley, Katie Finley | 89 | 88 | 177
2 No Worries, Elaina Davis, Sarah Oelerich | 86 | 82 | 168
3 Cheers, Sarah Barker, Sarah Barker | 82.5 | 84 | 166.5
4 Rehy Wonder Boy, Grace Pruchnicki, Annette Spicker | 79.5 | 85 | 164.5
5 Carlina 24, Alla McKeown, Madeline Baer | 88 | 73 | 161
6 Gucci, Samantha Roper, Samantha Roper | 87 | 72 | 159
7 Red Roc, Kiera Phlipot, Kiera Phlipot | 90 | 68 | 158
8 Latido, Savanna McMichael, Samantha Pfleging | 81 | 70 | 151
9 Konstantin, Emily Laudenbach, Emily Laudenbach | 82 | 63 | 145
10 Cosmo Cool, Grace Hildebrand, Grace Hildebrand | 79 | 60 | 139
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 wec.net.
All horse show images are provided by Winslow Photography and can be purchased onsite at WEC – Wilmington or online through their website.