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- John French and Rumba
- © Hunter Messineo
The 2009 ASG Software Solutions/U.S. Hunter Jumper Association (USHJA) International Hunter Derby Finals can easily be summed up in one word: incredible. The inviting natural fences, horses and riders turned out to the nines (including some with quarter marks), formal shadbellies and even a red Team USA show coat all added to the significance of the weekend. It was a beautiful marriage of traditional hunter competition with the future of our sport. The best hunter riders and horses from across the United States traveled to Lexington, Ky., August 21-22, to compete for the title of 2009 Hunter Derby Champion and vie for a portion of the $100,000 prize money offered.
The International Hunter Derby was the brainchild of the USHJA High Performance Hunter Committee with the goal to bring back the hunters from days gone bye. It was to be a program that also could bring the hunters to an international level, develop sponsorship, increase spectators and bring tradition and riding principals back to the show ring. After 18 months of Derby competitions across the country, the horses who earned the most money were invited to compete at the Finals in Lexington.
The first day brought 56 horses into the ring. There were several lead-change issues, one fall (horse and rider were both fine) and the occasional missed distance, but mostly trip after trip of good riding. The course was inviting with natural brush obstacles, coops, logs and post-and-rail jumps, all derived from the hunt fields. The course also allowed for riders to show off their horses: Options included jumping larger fences, taking tighter turns or hand-galloping. Most riders played it conservatively in this first round hoping for the opportunity to come back into the ring for the Saturday finals.
A little past the halfway point, a gorgeous gray gelding entered the ring. He had such presence; you could tell he just knew he was something special. And special he was. He jumped every jump hard and round, his knees square and up to his eyeballs and a metronome-like tempo. Horse and rider made a challenging course look effortless. The judges agreed as Rumba and John French moved to the top of the leader board. It had been 36 trips since there was a change at the top. Rumba raised the bar, and the trips after him rose to the challenge with rider after rider moving into the second spot. At the end of the day, however, no one could out-dance Rumba.
With the top 25 horses moving on to Saturday's round determined, USHJA held a draw party with each of the returning riders selecting a silver tumbler to determine their order of go. In addition to the keepsake tumbler, they each received goodies from the sponsors including a Hunter Derby saddle pad and a $1,000 check.
The top 25 horses trotted for soundness in front of the ground jury on Saturday afternoon. All passed, and it was game on for the final two rounds.
I had the opportunity to walk the course with Derby Finals qualifier, Sean Steffee. It was an inviting and challenging course--the kind that made me want to come back when no one was watching and ride it myself. Round 2 was the hunter round--the first two jumps were straightforward rides and, as Sean predicted, presented no problems. It was an easy six strides between Fences 3 and 4, the first line on course, as riders headed to the first option at Fences 5 and 6. Riders were faced with a line, heading toward the in-gate, where they could chose to jump a 4-foot post-and-rails, which were airy and light, or a 3-foot-6 coop with rails. This was also the first distance question where riders could move up for the six or hold for the seven.
Sean told me the distance question would be easy for nearly all the riders, but there would be rubs by those who tackled the post-and-rails, and he was spot on. However, riders earned bonus points for trying the harder options. A small majority took the post-and-rails and you could hear the rubs, and occasionally a rail fell. All but one rider jumped the straight line; John French brought Rumba in over the coop on the right and out over the post-and-rails on the left. He caught everyone by surprise, and you could hear the crowd's excitement by his choice. It was an excellent example of how the Hunter Derby allows riders to show off their mounts.
