USHJA On Course Episode 28

USHJA: Welcome back to USHJA On Course! I'm Terise and today I have a bit of a different episode for you.

We just wrapped up a week of top Hunter competition at the Kentucky Horse Park, where over $500,000 in prize money was awarded throughout our annual Platinum Performance/USHJA Hunter Championship Week. In this episode, instead of being joined by a guest, we are going to recap the week's best moments and hear from all of our newly crowned champions just moments after they were awarded their titles.

Things kicked off on Tuesday, August 15 with the Platinum Performance/USHJA Green Hunter Incentive Championships.

A new format for the 3'/3'3" Championship debuted with a ‘bye’ system. Horses that placed in the top 10 in Tuesday's First Round were awarded a ‘bye’ to the Final Round. Those exhibitors could then elect to compete or not in the Second Round at their own discretion. The horses that placed in the top 10 in the Second Round on Wednesday, based solely on that round's scores and excluding those that were in the First Round top 10, were also be awarded a ‘bye’ to the Final Round. Finally, the top 10 horses with the highest combined scores from both rounds, excluding those in the top 10 in the First or Second Rounds, moved on to the Final Round.

Judges Mike Rosser, Holly Orlando, Jeanne Marie Miller, Jennifer Bauersachs Troy Hendricks and Jessie Lang saw 145 3' and 3'3" horses compete in Tuesday's first round courses designed by Kevin Holowack. Of the top 10 awarded, six chose to utilize the new format and not compete in the second round, saving their horses for the Final. 138 horses returned for Wednesday's second round, where the rest of the Final Round's contenders were determined.

On Thursday, after 61 horses took to the first round of 3'6/3'9" competition, the Championship Rounds got underway.

The 3'/3'3" Championship awarded the first title of the week. Due to ties, 31 horses qualified to return for the Final Round on a clean slate.

Across three days of competition, Florian, owned by Dr. Betsee Parker and ridden by Scott Stewart, took the Championship honors and the $22,537.50 check with a six-point lead on a score of 281. The duo started strong with a second-place finish in Tuesday's First Round, earning a bye to the Final Round where Scott chose to save the gelding for the Championship.

Scott Stewart: With Florian, he went well the first day, so I did not show him yesterday. Considering he hasn't shown in a very long time—he hasn't shown since week six—I was a little nervous not showing him, but I thought if I did show him, and he got a little plain and boring for the third day, I would kick myself. So, I was really thrilled with the way he went.

He was purchased a couple of years ago. I did pre-green last year. Last year he was very green and he made some mistakes and didn't make the final. And then he won the class at Capital Challenge indoors and I showed him just twice. He was champion in Florida and this is it. So, he hasn't done a whole lot.

He's very straightforward and brave. So, it wasn't really about the jumping.

I like the new format because if you have a horse that went well and finished that well and you thought they could use the day off from jumping, you could. And it also gave me the opportunity with Cerulean Blue where I messed up to get in the final of the second day. So, I think it's a good format. Just bringing the best horses forward because a lot of times some of the really good horses will make a mistake and it's nice to have them all in the final.

USHJA: Jennifer Hannan and Stephanie Bulger's Notorious, tied for second with Scott and Cerulean Blue, owned by Rivers Edge, on a score of 275.

New this year, an additional 10 Tier II riders not already competing in the Final Rounds returned first to compete over the same course for the Overall Tier II awards, which offered a chance at 20 percent of the prize money. Jennifer and Notorious qualified for the final after taking fifth in the Second Round and their reserve champion win made her the top-placing Tier II rider, taking an additional $13,522.50.

The 3'6"/3'9" Championship wrapped up Thursday with 30 horses, plus the 10 additional Tier II riders.

Leading through the entire Championship and ending with an untouchable 11.5-point lead, McQueen, owned by Strasburg Morin Inc., and ridden by Nick Haness took the title and $10,706.88 on a score of 284.

Nick Haness: I thought that the rounds today went really well. You know, it was a little bit of a challenge at the end of the day. I think the atmosphere changed quite a bit. The weather shifted. It got kind of windy, but the second round was pretty inviting. A lot of single jumps. You could really gallop. I think that was a really fun part for me on my horse, particularly in the second round, really letting him open his stride up and use his stride and scope to be brilliant. And I think, I tried to do that and I think it did pay off.

McQueen is a really fun horse. I've been able to ride him quite a few times at some big venues. He was Grand Champion at Devon this year as well. So, after Devon, we kind of let him go back to hang out for a bit. Just really try to target a championship here this week. So, I'm obviously thrilled with the results of that. He's a very fun horse. He's really my style horse.

I love riding him because I can really use a loose rein on him, and I can trust him 100%. He's very brave, but he has a lot of stride and a lot of scope. So, a venue like this in this huge arena is actually a great place for him to show that off. So, I was really excited to show him here and he was great all week long.

He was champion in the first year this week and he obviously made an impression today with a 98, which was very exciting for us. I think across the diagonal line, there was a bending line that was either an eight or a nine. I chose to do an eight because he has a huge stride and I think that oxer sealed the deal for us. And he really fired over that oxer and jumped it beautifully. And the last line again was like a long galloping line. I let him open his stride and he just gave me his all. It was really nice.

Honestly, I think McQueen has a big future ahead. I think he's a horse that will be able to compete in many different venues. I think indoors will be fun this year with him. I also think he'll be a very successful Derby horse. He has a great brain. He's very easy. Last week, he basically turned out and I rented a farm here in Kentucky because I'm from California and he got to just basically eat grass all week long last week and barely do much of any work. And he kind of came to the show refreshed and ready to win and that's sort of how we treat him all year long.

He's just sort of a horse that can come out for the main events and you really can count on him to produce great rounds. So, I'm really excited about that. I think in the future, like I said, I think derby finals would be a goal for us for him just because I think those bigger jumps will be really fun for him.

USHJA: Reserve went to Chris Payne and Stephanie Ring's Hemsworth on a score of 272.50, and Scott Stewart and Sophie Gochman's Colter rounded out the top three on a 271.50.

The 3'6''/3'9'' High Score Overall Tier II rider was Geoffrey Hesslink on Meridian Farm LLC's Drumroll with a score of 270. He earned an additional $5,139.30.

Friday saw the start of Platinum Performance/USHJA International Hunter Derby Championship competition with the Classic Hunter Round. Eighty-three horses competed over Alan Lohman's course, which saw impressive scores from start to finish. In the end, John French finished the day in the lead with Meredith Lipke's Paradigm. The pair posted a score of 300.75 to sit in the top spot heading into the Handy Round.

John French: I'm pretty happy with Paradigm. I only showed him in one class this week and he's just, he's a type of horse. Even when you're a little bit nervous, he's good to ride. Because he has a very relaxing canter and it's such a good rhythm and if you get excited, that's fine. He's not going to get that excited. So, it was a good horse to go in on first.

We got Paradigm from Mike McCormick and Tracy right in the summer or the spring of last year. Then I had an accident, broke my leg, I was out for a few months, so he didn't do much. When I started riding again, he was the only horse I wanted to ride. You know, at the beginning, I trusted him, he was super comfortable and I had a new hip.

We did a few shows last year and then this year, the owner said I really want you to have him for the Derby and sort of gear him up for doing Derbies. So, our focus was the Derby finals and she's probably going to take the reins over after this. But, he was this breeding stallion over in Europe and he was gelded right before we bought him.

He's really just a second year horse. I mean, I started him last year right in some bigger classes because he has the scope and everything to do it. But really, he could be doing second year green. And this is probably only a year of doing the Hunters.

Last year I was second and moved down to eighth. A few years ago I was first and second in the first round and didn't do very good on either in the second round. So hopefully this will be better this year. I mean, I'm not going to go crazy. It all depends really on how people go before you. You know, depending on the course, there'll be a lot of options that you might want to take, but it really depends on if other people are doing it. And if someone does it, it gets a really high score, it kind of forces you to have to do it, so I'll see how the course is going and how everyone else is doing.

USHJA: Geoffrey Hesslink and Drumroll sat in second on a score of 298.25.

Geoffrey Hesslink: My goal was just to have a good round on the horse. He's relatively new for me, but I have been lucky enough to do a few bigger classes, and he is, I think, made for a competition like this, so I just really wanted to be confident and have a good round.

I've actually won the Tier II Derby finals before. I think that was the year John was in first and second in the first round. I didn’t think it was possible to win that much money, so it was really cool to walk away with a big check like that, so I'm really looking forward to that.

USHJA: Amanda Steege and Cheryl Olsten's LaFitte De Muze were in third with 297.75.

Amanda Steege: I was thrilled with Lafitte today. He's 12 years old. I think this might be my fourth Derby finals on him. But for me, he's still developing as a horse and in a class like this and in these big classes, sometimes he and I both get a little overly excited. So, our goal was calm confidence today, which I felt like he did that perfectly out there.

And I am happy with my spot. Usually I'm like lower, just hoping to make the second round and trying to claw my way back, so I feel really good about coming in third and having a few years of experience already in tomorrow's night class. So, I'm feeling good and I thought today's round was great, not only for myself, but in general, sitting up there, I thought there were so many beautiful rounds and very few big mistakes or horses that looked overwhelmed. So, hats off to Alan for that. And I thought in general, the horses all jumped really well and looked happy out there.

John French: Yeah. We never have gotten scores like this today. I mean, I don't even know if you've made it to the second round unless you were in the 90s.

Amanda Steege: We were all really relieved to have to count to 10 or 11, because we had to do a lot of counting to 10 and 11 in Green Incentive finals. So, I was so excited when I walked the course and I only had to count to two.

Today was really nice, but the atmosphere of this place tomorrow night is much different, there's so much more energy, there's a lot more going on, so I always find that part to be really exciting. I mean, we waited a whole year to do this again. Like, when I left last year, I think I was seventh last year, and I was like, I can't believe I have to wait a whole year to do that again. So, I sometimes feel more nervous for this round, the classic round, just because you don't want something silly to happen. You don't want to have an unlucky rail or a lead change where you're not supposed to. Once I make it into tomorrow's round, I actually feel more relaxed.

USHJA: On Saturday afternoon, riders that did not qualify for either the Section A or Section B Handy Round could compete one more time in the $10,000 Derby Challenge.  Ariana Marnell rode Marnell Sport Horses' Ocean Road to a tie with Colin Syquia and Cynthia Sulzberger's Front Page. Each pair earned a score of 293 and collected a check totaling $2,600.

Finally, Saturday night hosted the culmination of the week--the International Hunter Derby Championship Handy Round. The championship and it's prize money is split into two sections, A and B, based on the rider's Tier, which is determined by the amount of money earned over the last three years in International Hunter Derbies.

This year, the top 30 horses from the Classic Round returned to contest the shortened course as Section A and 80% of the prize money. The top 25 Tier II rider-and-horse combinations, including the 10 already qualified as Section A, returned to compete for the Section B title and an additional 20% of the prize money. The 10 Tier II riders that qualified for both sections only jumped once but could earn money in both sections.

Returning in reverse order, Section B riders got the evening started over the technical course, which featured a trot jump into a unique pen obstacle. Section A riders followed.

The first of the Classic Round's top three to return, Amanda and LaFitte De Muze had an unfortunate rail to put them out of the running. Penultimate duo Geoffrey and Drumroll followed, setting the tone for John by earning a two-round score of 599.

Fourteen years after his 2009 win with Rumba in the first ever International Hunter Derby Championships, John and Paradigm were awarded a 95.50, 97.75 and 93.25, plus four high options, to secure the title and the $37,719.35 check by a mere quarter of a point.

John French: It's been a long time. I didn't know if I was going to, you know...win another one. I'm probably the oldest person in the class, so maybe this will be the last time for me, so it makes it even more special. It still feels amazing to win this class. Like, to me, I think it's, for the hunters, it's the biggest special class that there is.

After my first horse I, at one point I was trying to be a little too bold and he kind of hung back. So, I just decided after riding him not to go crazy. We had a bit of a lead going into tonight, so, I was a little bit worried about the trot jump and the turning back to the vertical because my horse likes to land on the left lead, so I knew I'd have to do a change inside there and turn back to that jump. But, the high options I think he jumped really well. He had one run, but his scores were still enough carried over from yesterday to win the class.

He's super brave. He's super scopey. He has this amazing canter, like a rhythm between the jumps. So, especially when you're riding in a big field like this, you could just see your stride from so far back because the canter is so comfortable. The balance is so good. And to me, he just goes in a straight rubber snaffle. You know, he doesn't even go in much bit at all. A lot of times, like today, I ride him in a hackamore. Don't even ride him in a bit. He'd rather go without a bit, really.

If we could have gone out on the cross-country field, I would have just gone out for a hack across the field, but you know, starting Wednesday night we had to stay in the warmup area. I just rode him a little bit this afternoon for 20 minutes. It really wasn't much preparation after showing him yesterday, and I did one warm-up class earlier in the week just to see how he felt, and I could tell he really liked it here, he liked this ring, and he wasn't going to be nervous about anything.

USHJA: Geoffrey and Drumroll finished with the reserve champion title and a $24,675.71 check. As the highest-placed Tier II rider, the pair were also named Section B champions and took home an additional $8,594.51.

Geoffrey Hesslink: I was happy with my round. I thought the course was maybe a little tougher than it looked originally. My horse was quite impressed, I thought, with the atmosphere, and he really kind of was trying to be quite sharp. So, I wanted to be bold and kind of give him a nice canter to workout of and he kept coming up with the jump. So, it felt really nice. It was good. He tried really, really hard.

USHJA: Jimmy Torano rounded out the top three and took $18,940.08 with Laskano. Coming in from the ninth spot after the Classic Round, the pair posted the same Handy Round score as French to finish with a 586.50 overall.

Jimmy Torano: I thought my horse was great. It's a horse you can totally count on. He's not spooky. Great rhythm. He's kind of with me the whole way. He never had to do a lead change the entire round. He landed every single lead. I mean, I don't think he could have really gone any better. You know, he was good here before last –I made a mistake in the Handy Round, I got a little too bold and he fell off his lead. Tonight I got to say, I don't think the horse could have gone any better. I was real happy with him.

USHJA: And that's a wrap! After five days of competition and over 500 rounds, three new champions were crowned. We extend a special thank you to all of our sponsors, supporters and members who celebrated the week with us.

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