Ocala, FL – Horses and riders alike found sanctuary in Indoor Arena 1 from the unusually frosty temperatures during the fourth Hunter Derby Friday of the 2025 Winter Spectacular Show Series. Eighty-five horse-and-rider combinations contested for top honors in three featured classes: the $20,000 Golden Ocala 3’6”-3’9” Hunter Derby, the $15,000 UF Veterinary Hospital USHJA National 3′ Open Hunter Derby and the $15,000 USHJA National 3’ Jr/Am Hunter Derby. Course designer Tommy Brawley created twisting tracks to test horse-and-rider teams on their handiness and rideability.
Competition was strong in the $20,000 Golden Ocala 3’6”-3’9”, but it was ultimately Tracy Fenney and MTM Holding Court (A Golden Boy Hero x Baranka) who walked away with the crown after two effortless rounds.
MTM Farm’s coming eight-year-old Warmblood gelding is relatively new to the hunter discipline, having been imported just a year ago from Europe where he competed in young jumper classes. “When he came over, it took him a while to come into his own and start to look like a hunter, but he’s got a lot of scope,” she reflected. Fenney showed off his natural talent in the first round, scoring a polished 94 to take over the leaderboard.
Fenney and her mount still had to battle it out with a fierce field of competitors in the handy, but she was prepared to give it her all. “Everyone was really good. I don’t think there was one bad trip, so I was like, ‘Well, I got nothing to lose, I might as well just go for it.’”
MTM Holding Court’s history in the jumpers proved to be an asset during the second round, “I knew he could do all the inside turns. He’s really good at that. He’s almost better at winging it, like he’s doing the jump-off.” The gelding’s talent surely impressed the judges, earning a second-round score of 94. With a two-round total of 188, the two were unstoppable and galloped home with the victory.
$20,000 Golden Ocala 3’6”-3’9” Hunter Derby Results
Jennifer Jones and Azlan Top the $15,000 UF Veterinary Hosptial USHJA National 3’ Open Hunter Derby
The $15,000 UF Veterinary Hospital USHJA National 3’ Open Hunter Derby saw thirty entries compete for the victory on Friday morning. Jennifer Jones and Azlan (Vagabond De La Pomme x Creta LS) started strong and stayed on top through two smooth rounds to win the class.
The duo executed a beautiful first round and chose all four high options to earn a score of 95. Jones was thrilled with the eight-year-old Selle Français gelding’s performance, remarking, “I thought he was amazing. He felt really relaxed, and he jumped high. It felt good.”
Coming back for the handy round, Jones aimed to keep her lead from the first round and give Azlan a confident ride. “Since he’s a bit green, I decided to go around the flowers to the vertical to give him a second before the trot jump. He did a nice trot jump, so I think it was the right decision.” This strategy paid off, and the judges awarded the pair a second-round score of 90.25 to culminate in a total 185.25 points to take the class.
This win is an especially impressive feat for Providence Hill Farm, LLC’s young horse with only a few hunter derbies under his belt. “I did one in Kentucky, I did one last week, and then this was his third one. He has an amazing jumping style, and I think he’s going to be a famous 3’6” horse in the future,” Jones shared.
$15,000 UF Veterinary Hospital USHJA National 3’ Open Hunter Derby Results
Lilly Geitner and Banks Mill Go for the “Three-Peat” in the $15,000 USHJA National 3’ Jr/Am Hunter Derby
A field of thirty-five horse-and-rider pairs gathered at Indoor Arena 1 for the $15,000 USHJA 3’ Jr/Am Hunter Derby on Friday, with Lilly Geitner and Daniel Geitner’s Banks Mill continuing their winning streak to secure the blue for a third consecutive week.
The first course offered a change of pace for Geitner and the fourteen-year-old Warmblood gelding. “The first-round rode well. It was different from the past derbies we’ve done here because this one had a lot of lines and numbers.” The pair laid down a solid performance, earning a score of 91 to sit in third place going into the handy.
The second round challenged riders with a tight inside track, which Geitner and Banks Mill navigated with ease to earn an impressive score of 94. “Everything came up very nice for me with the way I angled all the jumps. And he turns on a dime, so it was perfect.”
Finishing with a two-round score of 185, Geitner was unstoppable. She had felt the pressure to continue her winning ways this week, but she stayed cool to pull it off. “Everybody all day has been asking me, ‘Are you going to three-peat?’ I was nervous when they asked me that, but I did it!”
$15,000 USHJA National 3′ Jr/Am 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! Plan your stay at World Equestrian Center – Ocala.