Colvin and Dicoblue PS Lead The Way After the Platinum Performance/USHJA International Hunter Derby Championship After Classic Round

Lexington, Ky.—Aug. 15, 2025— The annual $235,550 Platinum Performance/USHJA International Hunter Derby Championship returned to the Rolex Stadium on Friday afternoon at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Kentucky. Eighty elite horse and rider combinations gathered for the championship event to vie for a spot in the top 31 to advance to Saturday’s Overall Handy Round. At the end of the day, Victoria Colvin and Dicoblue PS topped the field with a score of 299 with three scores in the mid-90s before adding in all four high options. She was followed by Jennifer Hannan and Cellestino, who were awarded a score of 294. Rounding out the top three were last year’s winners of the Classic Round, Amanda Steege and Lafitte De Muze, who earned a score of 290.75.

“He is an incredible horse,” expressed Colvin after her win. “I've been showing him for the last couple of years, and every time he goes in the ring, he always performs–he's a gem to be able to ride.”

After the morning’s Green Hunter Incentive Championship, course designers Ken Krome and Meghan Rawlins reset the ring for the afternoon's International Hunter Derby competitors. With 13 jumping efforts and four high option fences that flowed through the expansive Rolex Stadium, the course was set for the judges Abby Blankenship, Jeanne Marie Dunford-Miller, Lynn Forgione, Tammy Provost, Mike Rosser, and Scott Williamson to sort the 80 competitors and determine the top 31 to return for Saturday’s Handy Round. 

Entering the ring forty-second, Dicoblue PS and Colvin, of Loxahatchee, Florida, took the lead midway through the class and set a very high standard. “It was a long course, but every jump he jumped a bit higher, which is a little unusual. He felt great, and he didn't feel like he really got tired, so that was good," said Colvin, looking forward to tomorrow's Handy Round. "He's normally quite good in the Handy. I think Ocala was his first night class, so this would be a second, but knock on wood he will be great!”

Dicoblue PS is an 11-year-old Oldenburg gelding that Colvin began riding during the winter season of 2024, but was recently purchased by John and Stephanie Ingram, and she was thrilled to be able to ride him again at this year’s championship. Earlier in the week, the duo claimed the second-place prize in the Platinum Performance/USHJA 3’6″/3’9″ Green Hunter Incentive Championship.

“I'm very grateful to John and Stephanie for letting me ride in here,” she explained. “I know him really well. He is a super, super sweet animal and he always loves to go in and compete. It was nice to be able to get back on him and show him in a bigger venue on Tuesday before this Derby Championship."

Hannan, of South Kingstown, Rhode Island, aboard Stephanie Bulger’s Cellestino also had a standout performance to earn a top spot ahead of the final Handy Round. “I was honestly really happy with my round,” she noted. “I was able to really gallop the whole round from start to finish, and that was my goal. Everything really came out of stride, so I'm pretty pleased!”

Rounding out the top three was Ocala, Florida’s Amanda Steege, who is excited for Saturday’s Handy Round, aboard Cheryl Olsten’s Lafitte De Muze. “I'm really looking forward to it,” she expressed. “Lafitte is excellent in the Handy. This class, historically, has a lot of changes during tomorrow night's event. It's not normal that our horses just walk in for a night class and do the Handy. I'm really excited that I'm doing that on a horse that has a lot of experience. He felt amazing today and I honestly think it was one of the best rounds of his career.”

The sixteenth annual Platinum Performance/USHJA International Hunter Derby Championship will conclude on Saturday, August 16, with the thrilling Handy Hunter Rounds. The top 31 horses from the Classic Round will return to tackle a shortened, technical course and vie for 80% of the prize money. An additional eight Tier II riders will return to total 20 Tier II riders competing for an additional 20% of prize money.

Tier II horse-and-rider combinations—those riders ranked 41st or lower on the 2024 Rider Money Won list—will compete for the Tier II Championship title. If a Tier II rider qualifies for the Overall Handy Round, their horse will only jump once, but they will be eligible to earn prize money in both Overall and Tier II. Currently leading the Tier II standings and sitting tenth overall is Michael Britt-Leon, of Alpharetta, Georgia, aboard Can’t Touch This HS, owned by Mark Dorfman.

Additionally, the $10,000 Derby Challenge will be held at noon, allowing horses and riders who did not qualify for either Handy Hunter Round to compete one more time for a substantial amount of prize money. 

The USHJA thanks the sponsors who helped to make these championships possible, including Title Sponsor Platinum Performance and Official Sponsors Herm Sprenger, Nutrena, and Parlanti International. Thanks also go to the Official Broadcast Provider ClipMyHorse.TV; Championship Official Sponsor Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital and Pharmacy; Supporting Sponsors Essex Classics, RingSide Pro, Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation, Human Touch, Horseflight, and Equidae Insurance; Award Sponsor Equine Equipment; Challenge Round Supporters Ken and Ceil Wheeler; Exhibitors’ Party Supporters John Ingram and Laura Karat; Rider Bonus Awards Supporters Ron Danta, Danny Robershaw, and Susan Schoellkopf/SBS Farms; and Bonus Award Donors Oakwell Farms, DS Holdings, LLC, Colleen McQuay, and Patrick Rodes.

The USHJA also thanks Show Manager Hugh Kincannon and the entire Kentucky Horse Shows team for their assistance with the Platinum Performance/USHJA Hunter Championship Week.

Wall-to-wall live streaming coverage is available at no additional cost to members at ClipMyHorse.TV. Additional coverage will be available in the upcoming issue of In Stride.

For more information about the Platinum Performance/USHJA Green Hunter Incentive Championships, visit ushja.org/GreenChampionship. For online results, visit ushja.org/competition/hunter-week-championships.

Edited press release with Cavaletti Consulting, LLC

Photos: Winslow Photography 

Platinum Performance/USHJA International Hunter Derby Championship Classic Hunter Round Results

Horse | Owner | Rider | Score

1. Dicoblue PS | John & Stephanie Ingram, LLC | Victoria Colvin | 299

2. Cellestino | Stephanie Bulger | Jennifer Hannan | 294

3. Lafitte De Muze | Cheryl Olsten | Amanda Steege | 290.75

4. Milagro | Zoe Wolf | John French | 288

5. Sinmigo Dos | Stable Assets, LLC | Halie Robinson | 280

6. Cannon Creek | The Wheeler Family | Hunt Tosh 279.5

7. Golden Road | John & Stephanie Ingram, LLC | Nick Haness | 277.5

8. MTM Crossed My Mind | Hodgkiss Farm LLC | Elizabeth Boyd | 277

9. Ivy League | Jennifer Alfano | Jennifer Alfano | 275

10. Can't Touch This HS | Mark Dorfman | Micheal Britt-Leon | 274.5

11. Fellow Z | Heritage Farm, Inc. | Laena Romond | 273.75

12. Axel | Isa Johnson | Hayley Barnhill | Hayley Barnhill | 273.5