Wilmington, Ohio – Winter Classic 8 at World Equestrian Center – Wilmington featured top hunter/jumper competition from Wednesday, January 31 to Sunday, February 4. Izzy Beisel (USA) ultimately stole the show on Saturday in the Sanctuary arena, taking the win both the $30,000 Grand Prix and the $10,000 Futures Prix. Anna Schierholz and Alisa Berry both scored their third derby win of the 2024 Winter in the Midwest Series Friday in the R+L Arena. Nicole Loochtan (USA) returned to the top of the leaderboard in the $10,000 EquiJet Welcome Stake Thursday.
It was a banner day for Izzy Beisel in the Standlee Sanctuary Saturday, claiming both the win and third place honors in the $30,000 Grand Prix with Vegas H (Valentino x Cobrah), and Diaz Barbotiere (Messire Ardent x Quambera Barbotiere), respectively.
“At the beginning of last year, the transition from horse to horse was definitely awkward for me. That was when I first started doing both of them in the bigger classes. I have gotten better at clearing my mind after the first horse. We go over the plan about four times, so I always have a good idea of what to do for each horse now,” said Beisel.
In a seven-horse jump-off, Izzy Beisel (USA) added another $10,000 Futures Prix win to her resume with David Beisel’s Contigo (Carombelle).
Beisel was “channeling the inner Margie Engle if you will. I figured she jumps a lot of younger, inexperienced horses and I asked myself what would Margie do?”
Schierholz continued her winning ways in the $15,000 USHJA National Open Hunter Derby, this time with her dearest Constellation (Cellestial).
“I imported him as a four-year-old and he has been with me for six and a half years which has been incredibly special. I trained him as a baby green horse all the way up to the 3’6” greens, and now as a performance horse that just does the derbies. My husband is so supportive and the best partner I could ever ask for. He has been a gem to agreeing to keep this horse despite lots of interest,” said Schierholz.
Berry returned with her own, On Point (Cola Zero x Lolita), to best a field of 19 horse-and-rider combinations in the $15,000 USHJA National Non-Pro Hunter Derby.
“We had talked about jumping the two-stride a bit right to left and making the really tight turn back to the last oxer. It was a long way around. I landed and I chickened out,” laughed Berry. “Everyone else went around, so it was fine to stay out. That was the original plan, but I took two steps after the two-stride and decided I didn’t want to do it!”
Loochtan topped the leaderboard with her own It’s Me Du Bosquetiau (Dayton Sitte x Mirette Du Bosquetiau) in the $10,000 EquiJet Welcome stake start the week.
“My horses are very consistent. Even after a couple of tricky weeks because of the weather, they make it so easy to get back in the ring. I know Marvin [It’s Me Du Bosquetiau] very well, so I know when he is ready and when he maybe needs more prep. The other horse that I did in the class today, Kupardie, is a newer ride for me so I am just figuring him out. They are both such reliable horses. Both really want to do the right thing and that makes my job a lot easier.”
Competition at World Equestrian Center – Wilmington continues Wednesday, February 7, with Winter Classic 9.
Make sure to visit the WEC Blog and follow us on social media @worldequestriancenter for full coverage on all feature classes!
Results can be found at horseshowing.com.
All horse show images are provided by Winslow Photography and can be purchased onsite at WEC – Wilmington or online through their website.