Mitchell, Korotkin and Waters Wear Land Victories in the Standlee/USHJA National Hunter Derby Regional Championships

19 JUN 26 Ocala, FL

Equestrian rider on a gray horse jumps over a white and pink obstacle in an outdoor arena with empty blue stadium seats in the background.

 Ocala, FL – The Standlee/USHJA National Hunter Derby Regional South Championships took center stage in the WEC Stadium at World Equestrian Center – Ocala (WEC), showcasing three highly competitive hunter derbies: the $12,500 Standlee/USHJA National Hunter Derby Regional South Championship – Open, Junior, and Amateur. Tommy Brawley designed flowing tracks that produced impressive scores throughout the day, with several combinations earning marks in the 90s.

Brady Mitchell and Silver Lining Soar to Victory in the $12,500 Standlee/USHJA National Hunter Derby Regional Championship – Open

A rider in formal equestrian attire sits on a gray horse with a colorful award ribbon, trotting on a sandy arena with a grassy field and fence in the background.
Brady Mitchell and Silver Lining. Photo by Andrew Ryback Photography.

The WEC Stadium welcomed 23 top hunter professionals Friday morning for the $12,500 Standlee/USHJA National Hunter Derby Regional Championship – Open. After two impressive rounds, it was Brady Mitchell and Silver Lining (Balou du Rouet x Clara), owned by Float On Equestrian LLC, who rose to the top of the leaderboard.

Mitchell spoke about his partnership with the talented eight-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding. “My very dear friend Dana Springer owns him. She started as a student and has become one of my closest friends. She’s not riding as much at the moment with two young children, but she still wanted to be involved and supportive. She said to me, ‘If you see the horse that you think is the horse for you, let’s get it,'” he shared. “He crossed my path in Florida this year, and I immediately thought, ‘That’s my horse.’ Dana was incredibly generous and bought him for me, and he’s been a winner from the beginning. We showed five or six times in Wellington, and he was champion every single time.”

The pair set the tone in the classic round, earning a score of 94 to take the lead heading into the handy.

A person riding a grey horse jumps over a red and brick-patterned obstacle during an equestrian event, with greenery and flowers in the background.
Brady Mitchell and Silver Lining. Photo by Andrew Ryback Photography.

Though sitting atop the standings, Mitchell knew he could rely on Silver Lining’s exceptional rideability in the second round. “He’s such a gymnast in the handy. It feels like you can do anything with him. You can open up the stride, close the stride, turn left, turn right—he’s just incredible.”

Mitchell and Silver Lining returned to deliver the highest score of the class, a 96, securing a winning total of 190.

A man on horseback wears a winner's sash and is flanked by three people holding flowers, a large check, and a tote bag at an outdoor equestrian event.
Brady Mitchell and Silver Lining recieve their first place awards presented by Alessa Chancy of Standlee Photo by Andrew Ryback Photography.

Following the victory, Mitchell reflected on his experience competing at World Equestrian Center – Ocala. “This is the most productive two weeks of the whole year for me. I love coming and showing here in this stadium. It’s the best.”

$12,500 Standlee/USHJA National Hunter Derby Regional Championship – Open Results

Carsyn Korotkin Scores One-Two Finish in the $12,500 Standlee/USHJA National Hunter Derby Regional Championship – Junior

A rider wearing a helmet and jacket guides a gray horse over a yellow show jumping obstacle in an outdoor equestrian arena.
Carsyn Korotkin and Hurricane. Photo by Andrew Ryback Photography.

Carsyn Korotkin dominated the $12,500 Standlee/USHJA National Hunter Derby Regional Championship, taking home a one-two finish with Hurricane and Forte, respectively. With two standout performances, Korotkin rose to the top of a competitive field to claim championship honors.

Korotkin spoke about her stunning winning mount, Hurricane (Numero Uno x Think Twice II). “He gave me a great feeling today. A very good friend of ours, Taylor Oakvik, owns him. I don’t get to ride him too often and I mostly do him in the equitation classes, actually. His way of going is just beautiful and I had a feeling he would get a top result today,” she smiled.

A rider in formal equestrian attire guides a brown horse over a jump in an outdoor arena with greenery in the background.
Carsyn Korotkin and Forte. Photo by Andrew Ryback Photography.

“Forte, who was second, is my hunter. He is a little bit greener and is just coming along. He is starting to turn out to be really great and I am so happy with how he is developing,” Korotkin added.

Aboard Cavalieres Sporthorses LLC’s 14-year-old KWPN gelding, Hurricane, Korotkin remained untouchable throughout the class, earning a pair of 87s for a winning total of 174.

Returning for the handy, she shared, “My plan was different coming back on Hurricane for the handy. I wanted to be a little bit tighter and neater through my turns. I wanted to make sure I stuck to my plan and that I didn’t get in my head because I knew I was coming back on top.”

Forte (Crunch x M-Cohiba 2091), the 10-year-old Finnish Warmblood gelding, also laid down consistent rounds to earn a pair of 81s to finish in second place.

Five people and a horse pose outdoors with a large check and ribbon after an equestrian competition. A woman on horseback is draped in a blue blanket. Flowers and sponsor banners are visible.
Carsyn Korotkin and Hurricane accept their first place awards presented by Alessa Chancy of Standlee. Photo by Andrew Ryback Photography.

“It feels great,” Korotkin laughed when asked about her double victory. “The team behind me is amazing and I couldn’t be more thankful. The horses are amazing and they feel awesome. And this facility is so beautiful. WEC makes these wins feel so special — from the ribbons, the prizes, the ring, and the beautifully decorated jumps.”

$12,500 Standlee/USHJA National Hunter Derby Regional Championship – Junior Results

Hayley Waters Wear Lands a Double Victory in the $12,500 Standlee/USHJA National Hunter Derby Regional South Championship – Amateur 

The $12,500 Standlee/USHJA National Hunter Derby Regional South Championship – Amateur capped off an exciting day in the WEC Stadium. In the end, Hayley Waters Wear swept the top two placings, claiming victory aboard Nitemoves (Zento x Naminka) and reserve honors with Genuine (Diarado x Kampari W), both owned by Mr. & Mrs. Chuck Waters.

Equestrian rider in formal attire jumps a brown horse over an obstacle decorated with flowers and logs in an arena with empty blue stadium seats.
Hayley Waters Wear and Nitemoves. Photo by Andrew Ryback Photography.

Waters Wear showcased impressive consistency throughout the class, piloting three mounts into the handy round. Nitemoves led the way after the classic round with a score of 90, while Genuine followed closely on an 88 and Bull Run’s Luminous earned an 86.

The partnership with Nitemoves is still relatively new. Waters Wear only began showing the seven-year-old Zangersheide gelding last week, but his talent has quickly exceeded expectations.”We’ve had him a couple of months, but last week was my first show with him. We weren’t planning on doing the derbies with him this early, but he has been so good we decided to try.”

The pair looked right at home in the classic round, where Waters Wear felt the young horse handled Tommy Brawley’s track with ease. “It was a lot of single jumps and the ring looked beautiful. I thought he jumped really nice in the first round.”

A rider in formal attire guides a brown horse over a white jump decorated with pink flowers during an equestrian event in an arena.
Hayley Waters Wear and Genuine. Photo by Andrew Ryback Photography.

First to return for the handy aboard Bull Run’s Luminous, Waters Wear delivered another solid effort to finish on a two-round total of 167, securing fifth place. She then raised the bar with Genuine, fresh off a derby victory the week prior. The pair earned a handy score of 89.5, boosting their overall total to 177.5 and securing the reserve championship.

Returning last aboard Nitemoves, Waters Wear elected to ride a more conservative handy after an earlier risk with another mount didn’t quite pay off. “I took a risk on my first horse that ended up not coming up very nice, so when Genuine was leading, I decided not to take the risk with Nitemoves.”

A rider on a horse wearing a champion's blanket and ribbons poses with two men holding a large prize check at an outdoor equestrian event.
Hayley Waters Wear and Nitemoves accepting their awards presented by Alessa Chancy of Standlee. Photo by Andrew Ryback Photography.

The strategy proved successful. Nitemoves earned an 88.75 in the handy for a winning two-round total of 178.75, completing a one-two finish for Waters Wear.

$12,500 Standlee/USHJA National Hunter Derby Regional Championship – Amateur Results

A rider on horseback and a woman standing beside them pose in front of a display board reading "WEC Ocala Summer Show 2026" at an outdoor equestrian event.
Equestrian rider on a horse poses for a photo with a handler at an outdoor event, with a large screen and floral decorations in the background.
A rider on horseback and a woman standing beside the horse pose in front of a sign reading "WEC Ocala Summer Show 2026 USHJA/Standlee Reg Champ HTR Derby Amateur," with flowers in the foreground.
Chelsea Stopford accepted ‘The Style of Riding Award presented by Annie Connolly, owner of ACE Equestrian. Photo by Andrew Ryback Photography.

The Style of Riding Award, sponsored by ACE Equestrian, was presented to Jennifer Bliss, Lola Bacardi and Chelsea Stopford in recognition of exemplary horsemanship. The recipients received an embroidered backpack, an ACE gift certificate, and select ACE PRO4MANCE products.

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

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