Easter weekend was a hopping good time at Gold Coast April. This was the second Gold Coast Show Series show of the 2015 season. After winning the last $1,000 USHJA Hunter Derby at Gold Coast February with C Coast Z, Michael Leon was back to win it again— this time aboard a different horse. Michael won the derby at Gold Coast April aboard Carrera (Piñon West, owner) and followed closely in second place with C Coast Z (Anna Sophia Lotman, owner). Had Michael won the derby again aboard C Coast Z, the pair would have earned a $500 LEGIS Hunter Rider Bonus check. “I’m perfectly okay with that,” he commented about not getting the bonus this time. “Carrera just moved up to 3’6’’ level this year. I’m trying to develop her for the national and international derbies. We went second on course and she just opened up her nice, big, quiet stride. She was soft off the ground and jumping in excellent form.” In general, Michael considered his Easter weekend to be quite a success. “It was so exciting to be first and second then to have my client, Robb Peters, in third place,” he said with a smile. “Robb worried me for a moment that he might beat me. All three horses jumped around the course really well. The first course was open enough to show the horses’ movement as well as their jumping style, and the second had good options to make it more technical.” Michael plans hopes to win a LEGIS Hunter Rider Bonus check later this year with Carrera. Robb was happy with his placing on his Celano. “I actually just bought him last week,” Robb shared. “It was my first show riding as his owner. It was also my first time in years showing at the 3’6’’ height. I just stuck with the plan—the same plan Michael did with his horses—and it proved successful. I was really amazed to get scores in the low 90s and high 80s, just a couple points behind Michael.” Lara Sachdeva and Upolu Champion, 1.00M Low Children's-Adult Amateur Jumpers Fourteen-year-old Lara Sachdeva (David Sterckx, trainer) earned the championship in the 1.00M Low Children's-Adult Amateur Jumpers aboard her Upolo. “The first time I rode her, I actually broke my arm.” Lara recalled with a laugh. “We’ve come a long way together. She always gets so excited when she hears that buzzer and knows it’s time to go.” Lara wants to keep progressing and move her way up the 1.10M height.
