100 Reasons to Celebrate: Kate Conover & Small Love Deliver Perfection in the $15,000 UF Veterinary Hospital USHJA National 3’ Open Hunter Derby

Ocala, FL – History was made bright and early Friday morning at World Equestrian Center – Ocala (WEC) in the WEC Stadium. Kicking off Hunter Derby Friday of World Championship Hunter Rider (WCHR) week, Kate Conover delivered perfection in the $15,000 UF Veterinary Hospital USHJA National 3’ Open Hunter Derby aboard Iwasaki and Reilly’s Small Love (Chacco Blue x Wisilvia), topping a competitive field of 41 horse-and-rider combinations.

Course designer Kevin Holowack set a natural, flowing track that invited riders to catch each fence off a forward gallop. The field rose to the occasion, impressing the judges and producing one of the highest-scoring derbies to date, with an impressive handy cutoff of 88.5.

The 13-year-old Hanoverian mare is no stranger to the WEC – Ocala spotlight, marking her fifth derby win during the 2026 Winter Spectacular Series.

“Small Love is an incredible mare. I only get to ride her when her owner, Augusta Iwasaki, isn’t here, and honestly, I’m hoping she doesn’t come back for the last week, although I think she is,” Conover laughed. “I’ve been so lucky to ride her. She’s just so good in these classes. She jumps every jump a 10. It’s so much fun. I only ride her on Fridays at WEC when there’s a derby in the [Stadium] and Augusta isn’t here, so I’m always excited when I get the opportunity.”

Conover returned to the handy leading the class with a first-round score of 95. The duo followed Jennifer Jones in the second round, who posted a high score of 99, and Conover felt the pressure.

“The handy felt like a jump-off,” she laughed. “To be honest, I didn’t have my plan for Small Love until the end because I knew Jenny was going to go for it. We’ve been pushing each other since we were kids, so I knew on that partnership she’d definitely make me work for it. When I saw the 95 plus four, I knew I couldn’t take the safer route like I did earlier on my seven-year-old.”

Conover reflected on her handy effort, which resulted in a remarkable score of 96 plus four high options, putting a perfect 100 on the leaderboard.

“From two to three, you had to go right and be tight, and my mare can be a bit funny about tight turns, but she handled it so well. I thought, ‘Okay, if I have a shot, I’m going to jump the coop, go right, take my time to the hay jump, land on the left lead, and then just bring it home.’ She was awesome. When I jumped the last fence, I thought, ‘Okay, I think I got her,’” Conover smiled.

An impressive two-round total of 195 secured yet another victory for the pair.

“To see my name with 100 on the board is such a blessing,” Conover reflected on her perfect score. “I’m still waiting on that perfect single-round 100, but I’m getting closer! The best part is that my parents are here to watch me today, so it was a special day.”

$15,000 USHJA National 3′ Open Hunter Derby Results

Explore the daily class schedule, orders of go, class counts, and final results on HorseShowing.com. For real-time scoring, check out Ryegate.Live.

Photos courtesy of Andrew Ryback Photography.
Videos available at ClipMyHorse.TV

Make sure to visit the WEC Blog and follow us on social media @worldequestriancenter for full coverage on all feature classes! 

This event is made possible through the support of our generous sponsors and marketing partners, the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association, and Ocala/Marion County Visitors and Convention Bureau.