Ocala, FL – Sunday, September 8 brought top-tier action to World Equestrian Center – Ocala for The Championship Show 2024. Today’s featured classes highlighted the $35,000 NSBA 3-Year-Old Trail & $3,000 Limited Rider Bonuses.
The $35,000 NSBA 3-Year-Old Trail featured a competitive field of top horse-and-rider teams, with ten entries taking on a technical pattern designed by Tim Kimura. In the end, StillRockinTheHouse, ridden by Nick Mayabb and owned by Becky Crider Durrett, came out on top.
Trail is a new discipline for the 2021 gelding by The Best Martini x Prissy Legs. “He’s a three-year-old we just purchased in May. Last year, he competed in pleasure as a two-year-old, and as a three-year-old, he’s only recently started learning Trail in the past few months.”
Mayabb appreciated today’s course. “It’s nice to show here because there’s a lot of space between the obstacles, which is great for young horses in training,” he said. He also expressed his gratitude for the prize money, calling it “incredible.” “This is the only show that offers such a large amount, so we’re extremely thankful to World Equestrian Center for having us.”
Justin Wheeler and Cheyenne Augsburger’s 2021 gelding PennyForUrThoughts (Machine Made x Too Cute To Snooze) scored the $3,000 NSBA 3-Year-Old Open Trail Limited Bonus.
$35,000 NSBA 3-Year-Old Trail Top Three Results:
1 StillRockinTheHouse, Nick Mayabb, Becky Crider Durrett
2 Slow Southern Drawl, Kyle Dougherty, Ty Paris Dougherty
3 PennyForUrThoughts, Justin Wheeler, Cheyenne Augsburger
$3,000 NSBA 3-Year-Old Open Trail Limited Bonus Top Three Results:
1 PennyForUrThoughts, Justin Wheeler, Cheyenne Augsburger
2 Xtremely Dreamy, Lasusa Colton, Alicia Fleming
3 GoodThingsRCertain, Colton Pylman, Steve & Carolynn Alexander
The Championship Show 2024 Open Hunter Derby
This morning, a talented group of hunter professionals gathered in Indoor Arena 4 to compete in the $10,000 NSBA Open Hunter Derby. In the end, it was Morgan Ratkowski who claimed victory aboard her own Better Buy The Minit (Do You Have A Minute x Tickle My Asset).
Ratkowski and the 19-year-old gelding impressed with a smooth first round, earning a top score of 86.
Returning to competition after a year off, Better Buy The Minit didn’t miss a beat. “The first round was really good. It’s been a year since I’ve shown him, but he just floated around. He knows his job, I just try to stay out of his way,” Ratkowski shared with a laugh.
For the handy round, Ratkowski had a clear strategy. “I wanted to get out of his way because the handy is his shining point. He knows what I’m thinking before I even ask. That’s really why we come and play in the derbies, because that’s the fun stuff for him,” she explained. “I aimed for a clean trip, took all the high options, and stayed as tidy and handy as possible.”
The pair delivered once again, earning another impressive score of 96, bringing their two-round total to 182 and securing the win.
$10,000 NSBA Open Hunter Derby Top Three Results:
1 Better Buy The Minit, Morgan Ratkowski, Morgan Ratkowski
2 Hows That For Ya, Robert Stucky, Morgan Miller
3 Never Forgotten, Lauren Patterson, Allison Mcculley