The gorgeous gray and the Californian did it again! Rumba and John French kept their lead (even though yesterday’s scores didn’t carry forward to today). They topped the leader board yesterday, received a perfect score of 400 in tonight’s classic round and kept their lead in the handy round to be crowned the first winners of the International Hunter Derby Finals. The pair was just so skillful, not putting a foot wrong. They obviously are very tuned in to each other. That horse is so amazing. Granted, I am partial to grays, but he is so gorgeous, even if he were a horrible mover and couldn’t jump a thing he’s still like an Adonis to behold. Of course we know that isn’t the case, because he is the king of his discipline.

John and Rumba strut their stuff at the jog

What’s ironic and somewhat funny is when I spoke with John this spring he really wasn’t sure he and Rumba would be making the trip. He thought it would be a hectic schedule with indoors following on the East coast, and of course being from California, it made it quite a haul for him. I think we’re all glad he came, and I am sure his camp is equally happy they made the tough decision to come. The pair was spot on, and this was obviously right where they belong.

So much happened today in a short period of time, so let me step back and give you the highlights. The jog was held mid-afternoon, and it was another brilliant day to be in Kentucky. Three riders were asked to re-jog their horses, but all were passed. Three additional riders jogged just in case any problems arose with whatever the ground jury felt they saw with the three in question, but in the end it was still the top 25 that competed today.

An aerial view of part of yet another impressive course

Just before the course walk it started to look pretty dark and just felt like rain. Thankfully, it was nothing more than a light misting. Spectators, sponsors and owners started to arrive as the drizzle subsided, and it was a perfect night. Unlike summer in Kentucky it was quite chilly which was nice and may have even made the horses a little fresh, maybe just giving them that extra boost needed for two rounds tonight. It reminded me a bit of the Kentucky Derby. Folks were in their Sunday best. It was as if they were paying respect to not only a time-honored tradition but also the future of this amazing sport. We all knew we were about to see history in the making.

The first round tonight went smoothly. There were only a few knock downs between the top 25 and a few hard rubs. Mostly, it was just brilliant riding. Rumba and John were 14th in the order of go, and when they finished their round the crowd erupted. Rumba got two big pats from John for a job well done, and the crowd continued showing their admiration for the pair until they left the arena. Their score of 400 was impressive to say the least. The panels of judges gave them the following scores: a 90 plus 10 bonus points, a 90 plus 9 bonus points, a 93 plus 9 bonus points, and a 90 plus 9 bonus points. It doesn’t get much better than that. Just as an aside, another rider who was full of love for their horse was Mary Lisa Nicholson-Leffler. She and Sam Adams had a great round, and she let her horse know she was proud of him. That’s always nice to see. The pair did advance to round three.

John and Rumba just one jump away from winning it all

By the time round three started the sky was dark, and the new stadium’s lights had kicked in. I bet you could have seen it from miles away. It was awesome. The course required a few tweaks, but most everything stayed in the same place, and the order was changed along with what jumps were and weren’t included. There was a great skinny oxer (#5) that required the riders turn right after jumping it and then walk their horses in between the oxer and then pick up their canter and move on to the next jump. The skinny oxer was the only fence to really cause any problems. Two horses had stops there which was unfortunate after coming this far. One was Tammy Provost and Peridot who looked so great up to that point. They were sitting in second place, so it was hard to see, but Peridot jumped it beautifully on the second approach. Laura Pfieffer and Foreign Encounter came into the final round sitting in eighth place and were this round’s happy campers. Laura had such a huge smile on her face when she finished her final round that even the announcer had to draw the crowd’s attention to it. It was infectious. The announcer commented that Laura embodied making the traditional hunter course fun. The crowd gave her a huge round of applause. When the time came for John and Rumba, there was little anyone could do to stop the magic that was happening between the two of them. It was another great round, maybe not quite as good as their previous (based on the scores) but more than enough to declare them champions. As the favorites coming in, Jen Alfano and Jersey Boy finished a very respectable second and seemed thrilled with their accomplishment as well.

I’d like to end with something I witnessed just as I was leaving the stadium for the night. This could not have been a more perfect ending to an incredible night. A woman and her two daughters stopped John as he was leaving with his arms full of all his new swag (that’s a fancy word for all the cool stuff you win when you are a top rider and win one of these things). The woman introduced herself and her daughters to John and told him they drove down from Illinois to watch the Derby Finals. She said the girls wanted to congratulate him for a job well done and wanted to shake his hand and give him a present for Rumba. Each girl handed John a carrot and asked that he give it Rumba for a job well done. John commented that he certainly deserved it. That pretty much sums it up better than I ever could. Get excited and spread the word…the International Hunter Derby Finals is going to be a regular player on the horse show scene, and this is only the beginning!

George Morris and Bobby Murphy walk the course

It was a perfect day for round 1 in the International Hunter Derby Finals. The sun broke through sometime after the course walk, and the winds were just about right. Two late scratches, Calvin K and Crossroads, left us with just 54 starters. It’s always funny to see which fences cause problems. Some people like to guess which they’ll be before the competition begins. I would have never guessed correctly, but that’s why I am blogging and not competing. The only fences to cause problems today were #3, #4 and #5, interestingly enough—the three option fences. Only one horse and rider parted ways, and that was at fence #5. The oxer options at fence #3 caused the most problems with multiple refusals. One of the most interesting things to happen occurred at fence #2 and left many scratching their heads. Just after Tina Judge and Trust Me jumped their first fence and were about four strides out from fence #2, the fence collapsed. Trust Me stopped calmly and stood there, very gentlemanlike, no doubt blown away as to what he was supposed to do with a fence that was no longer erect. There was no gust of wind, nothing like that; the standards just seemed to fall over. Trust Me went on to jump the fence like a champ (and the crowd seemed very pleased for him) but had a little too much excitement left over for fence #3, leaving them with a score too low to make the top 25 this year. Better luck next year to a great duo!

Competitors strategize in front of fence #3...the troublemaker...who would have known?!

There were so many happy faces after so many rides today; it was great to see. Sarah Ward and Voltaire did not finish in the top 25 but were so pleased with their ride. It’s always nice to see someone at a show who truly seems to appreciate being there and obviously got something out of the experience. Despite knocking a couple cords of wood at fence #10, the pair finished up with smiles and pats for a job well done and were obviously grateful for the experience.

Ron Danta, Bill Moroney, Roy Burek and Shawna Dietrich and today's top five finishers. Peter's the one with all the ribbons in his hand!

As the day went on, the scores seemed to soar. John French and the gorgeous gray, Rumba, entered the ring 42nd in today’s working order and seemed to easily set the new high score of 367. The duo received marks of 90, 93, 92 and 92 from the four judging panels. More high scores followed with stellar rounds by Peter Pletcher, Maggie Jayne and Jessica Springsteen who followed closely on John’s tail. As it stands now, only two riders remain with multiple mounts. Maggie will return on three of her four original mounts, and Peter will return on all four of his original mounts. Tomorrow’s competition will definitely be an exciting one. The riders will draw for their order later today, and we’ll expect to see the top 25 return at 6:30 p.m. just after opening ceremonies.

The Wall of Winners

I wish everyone could have seen how abuzz the Horse Park was today with the top Hunter riders, their trainers, owners and mounts. Watching the warm-up hack this afternoon was extraordinary. The Hunters have staked their claim on the new outdoor arena, and they were out in full force. There’s just something about seeing all the best riders in the world all in the same place, and today was just the beginning.

The Jersey Boy Team

The welcome reception officially kicked off the event in style, located just behind the new USHJA headquarters where construction is almost complete—just a couple more months to go before the staff moves in. This informal gathering even included an ice sculpture embedded with the USHJA logo. The weather was a bit warm and muggy, so I am sure by now that gorgeous sculpture is no more. At the end of the welcome reception, president Bill Moroney presented the George H. Morris perpetual trophy to the leading series horse throughout the 2008/2009 Derby season. Owner Susie Schoellkopf and rider Jennifer Alfano were present to accept the award on behalf of Jersey Boy. His grooms, Erin and Emily, also received a cash bonus for their hard work to keep this equine superstar healthy, happy and in top shape all season long. We all know how much work that is, and of course these ladies deserved so much of the praise for what they do every day. After the reception, Charles Owen hard-hat tours were given of the new USHJA facility.

USHJA Immortalized in Ice

Here’s the rundown for tomorrow. Fifty-six horse-and-rider combinations will come to play in the first round—a striking course designed by Patrick Rodes and Bobby Murphy. First to go in the randomly chosen order will be Terrapin Station and Abby O’Mara, making history at 8:20 a.m. as the first horse-and-rider combination in the first ever International Hunter Derby Finals…no pressure though! The course includes 12 jumping efforts with three options at fence #3, #4 and #5. Tomorrow’s class will be a classic Hunter Derby rewarding good jumping, brilliance and pace.

It’s no doubt history is being made. A special thanks goes out to all the sponsors who have helped make this a reality. We all hope this is just the beginning of catapulting Hunters to the world stage in a way they so deserve. It is unprecedented to see $100,000 in prize money awarded with no entry fee. Just think what this will do for the sport! Stay tuned for great things. Tomorrow should bring a lot of top rides, and the competition will be stiff. The excitement can be felt in the air at the Kentucky Horse Park; I just wish you could all be there!

There is something about an “inaugural” event that gives one a feeling of excitement. Think of how many firsts there have been—how many first time events were huge successes and almost never came to be because of naysayers and the amount of hard work that lay in front of those in charge. I am happy to say this was not the case for the USHJA International Hunter Derby Finals, and I am proud to say I will play a role in covering this first time event—no doubt the first of many. The numbers are impressive; the field is vast. Horses and riders traveled from all across the U.S. to be a part of this first time event that is so steeped in tradition that our thoughts immediately return to very familiar names like Sallie Sexton and Bill Steinkraus.

Kentucky Horse Park Johnson Arena.

Here are the facts. An impressive 60 horses are set to start on Friday morning. Amateurs will compete against juniors and professionals. The youngest rider is just 15 years old with six other juniors completing the field. Geldings are the in the majority with only five mares and two stallions competing. Eleven riders have multiple mounts. An unprecedented $100,000 of prize money will be awarded.

One of 60 entries competing in the inagural Hunter Derby Finals: Juan Pablo Gnecco’s, Corlago, a German Warmblood stallion trained by Hillary Simpson. Photo courtesy of Juan Pablo Gnecco.

Over the past 18 months, between December of 2007 and June of 2009, 45 Derbies have taken place, and the courses have been nothing short of magical. The top 25 riders will return Saturday night to what will no doubt be a breathtaking course designed by Patrick Rodes who has wowed crowds and competitors all season. The Kentucky Horse Park’s new outdoor stadium will surely be a place that sees history made on the evening of Saturday, August 22. I’ll do my best to report on the sights, sounds and maybe even smells that embody this inaugural event for those of you who can’t make it to the Bluegrass this year.

On Friday, August 21, the inaugural USHJA International Hunter Derby Finals will take center stage at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Kentucky. Can’t make it to Lexington to watch? Log on to www.equestrianlife.com/derby to watch live streaming coverage beginning at 8:00 AM eastern on August 21.

Patricia Griffith and North Country en route to a Derby victory at the 2008 Showplace Spectacular II. Photo by OC Imageworks.

You can also stay up to date on all the Derby news on USHJA’s Twitter page http://twitter.com/ushja as well as www.USHJA.org/Derby where you will be able to find the latest information and follow our Derby Blog!