Melissa Donnelly & Clooney LB Prevail in the $9,500 Shoo-fly Open Hunter Derby of Spring 2

29 MAY 26 Wilmington, OH

A rider on a dark horse jumps over an obstacle at an equestrian event, with a scoreboard displaying names and scores in the background.

Wilmington, Ohio – Hunter riders returned to the picturesque outdoor arena at World Equestrian Center – Wilmington (WEC) for the $9,500 Shoo-fly Open Hunter Derby of Spring 2. Bobby Murphy designed the arena with a stylish, natural track for the field of horses and riders.

A rider on a dark horse jumps over a fence in an outdoor equestrian arena with spectators in the background.
Melissa Donnelly & Clooney LB. Photo by Winslow Photography.

In the end, Melissa Donnelly’s consistency paid off aboard Brooke Moore’s Clooney LB (Caesar x Beatrice Von Wessenberk).

Though a new ride for Donnelly, the duo never missed a beat. “Clooney is a new ride for me; last week was the first time I ever got to ride him. He’s tons of fun to ride, very scopey, very handy, and very lazy,” Donnelly laughed. “Today he really stepped up and got a little fresh and full of himself for the handy!”

Four people pose outdoors with a large horse; one person is mounted, two hold a large check, and one holds a ribbon. The background has greenery and a white tower.
Melissa Donnelly & Clooney LB in the winner’s circle presented by Shoo-fly. Photo by Winslow Photography.

The 10-year-old Oldenburg gelding earned a first-round score of 84 from the judges and returned for the handy sitting in third place.

Donnelly planned to show off in the second round, utilizing every handy option available to climb the leaderboard.

A rider in equestrian attire guides a dark brown horse over a tall, green hedge jump during a show jumping competition outdoors.
Melissa Donnelly & Clooney LB. Photo by Winslow Photography.

“Going back in for the handy, I really tried to make sure he was fired up for that first tall oxer,” she explained. “I wanted to make sure I had enough energy today and that he picked up his toes for me. It was a lot of fun to have the options to make some sharper turns and really slick back through everything,” she added. “There were a lot of turns in there, and he stepped right up for me everywhere I asked.”

A second-round score of 87 and a two-round total of 171 put the duo on top.

A rider in formal equestrian attire guides a horse over a wooden jump during an outdoor horse jumping competition.
Tyler Petrie & Night Moves. Photo by Winslow Photography.

Tyler Petrie and Roseann Messina’s 11-year-old Hanoverian gelding, Night Moves (Belantis x Fidana), earned scores of 89 and 81 for second place.

Equestrian rider in competition attire jumps a white horse over a green hedge obstacle in an outdoor arena.
Elizabeth Rinehart & High Style. Photo by Winslow Photography.

Elizabeth Rinehart rounded out the top three with scores of 76 and 81 aboard Charlotte Rossetter’s 11-year-old German Sport Horse gelding, High Style (Cascadello x My Life).

$9,500 Shoo-fly Open Hunter Derby Results

Explore the daily class schedule, orders of go, class counts, and final results on HorseShowing.com.

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