The USHJA Hunter Derby was a beautiful course created by Skip Bailey. It wound around the Large Oval, taking the riders and their mounts through a series of tests. In round two, riders showed off their skills, taking inside corners to three fences, including the trot fence, and a long gallop to the final fence, a grey oxer heading towards the in gate. Michael Leon led on his horses heading into round two, but unfortunately had stops and one rail on three of his mounts. His final ride in round two was on his own Nil Du Buffant Rouge, leading him to first place. In second place, it was Fiona Sewell and Karl Ernst in their first Hunter Derby and third place went to Kristin Hardin and Nicole Teague's Caruso's Barichello Z.
The S&S Bank Card Systems Grand Prix was an exciting competition, with some of the top riders in California coming to support the inaugural LA Equestrian Festival at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center. Course designer, Skip Bailey, designed a challenging course for the riders, which included three combinations and multiple long bending lines.
Kristin Hardin and Bert marched through the course without missing a beat, coming out of the ring as the first competitor to go into the jump-off. Amy Hess and Cavat had a little wiggle at the end of the arena, going to fence 5, but became the second to advance to the jump-off! Kevin Winkel had a hard rub through 6A and 6B, but left the rails up to only end up with two time faults on Optical Illusion, Winkel and his second ride, Osophia, advanced to the jump-off well within the time allowed. Fences 8 and the 9AB combination caused problems for multiple pairs, including stops by Nicolette Hirt and Soehnke Theymann and a rail came down for Sarah Witten.
The jump-off provided the riders with the opportunity to test themselves and their horses in a winding course that made a tight figure eight, ending with a long galloping bending line to the final fence, the S&S Bank Card Systems jump! Hardin and Bert were once again on their stride in the jump-off, putting up a clear round in a fast 30.959 and setting a high bar for the competition. Hardin and her second mount also had a clear round, but not quite as fast, landing them in third overall. Winkel and Osophia were right behind Hardin, with a clear round but just .15 of a second slower, putting them in second! Amy Hess and Cavat had down 9A, Mark Watring and Balyon just had down fence 1 and Soehnke Theymann and Coolaroo unfortunately had down fence 8, putting them in 5, 6 and 7, respectively!
Hardin not only placed first, but also received the Bobby Drennan Perpetual Trophy. We were thankful to have Bobby's mother Aurora Drennan and his sister Kathy Biagi there on behalf of Bobby to present the trophy to Hardin. Thank you to both Aurora and Kathy for being with us this evening and presenting the trophy.
We would also like to thank LA Saddlery for their generous support in donating $5,000 in certificates to our top 12 riders for their participation in the LA Equestrian Festival! We are so grateful for their continued support and sponsorship!