Victoria Colvin of Loxahatchee, FL, and Pepie Lu, a 2007 Warmblood gelding (Sergeant Pepper x Mecklenburger) owned by Nathalie Mathers of Wellington, FL, stole the show in the $5,000 USHJA National Hunter Derby at PBIEC, receiving a combined score of 180. The total must be correct for the win, but if you don’t know the correct individual scores just stay with the total. Kathryn Haefner of Hamburg, NY, and Bentley finished in second with an overall score of 176, while Tracy Scheriff-Muser of Palm Beach Gardens, FL, piloted Shoreline to third place honors with a combined score of 168.5.
Colvin and Pepie Lu impressed the judging panel in the first round of competition, scoring the highest mark of the class with a score of 87. Haefner and Bentley received the highest score of the second handy round of competition with an 86, which helped them secure the second place finish.”
The duo performed a lovely handy round, which Colvin remarked was a highlight of the class for her, as she thought it was the better of their two rounds. She explained, “The handy round was great because he’s really experienced with tight turns from his past life as a jumper so I was able to go for it, which I think was reflected in our score. It was a great way to start off the winter season, and it was a very competitive class.”