The Sweet Shop Grand Prix Arena was rocking all day with the $5,000 NSBA Markel Insurance Low Hunter Derby and High Hunter Derby as well as the $1,000 Added Non-Pro Trail and $1,000 Added Six Year And Older Open Trail classes on Monday.
The "Highs" And "Lows" Of The Hunter Derbies
The morning saw 12 horses and riders compete for the $6,800 total purse in the $5,000 Added NSBA Markel Insurance Low Hunter Derby. The fence height in the Low Derby was 2’6’ to 2’9’ and provided riders the option in the handy round to earn handy points by taking the higher of two fences offered.
Victoria Imbriglio piloted Fabulous Boss for owner Wendy Livingston to win the class, earning a paycheck of 2,312 for the win. The five year old mare known as GiGi is by Ultimately Fabulous and out of a UK Mito Boss mare. “I show USEF, so this is my staycation. This is a fun show for me,” laughed Victoria.
“I only live a little ways from here so it was easy to come over and show. GiGi is my best friend, and I love everything about her. She is opinionated, but sweet, and she loves to jump. In the handy round, I had originally wanted to go up and jump on the hill, but with the rain we got last night I decided not to. Everyone was having a hard time with the jump with the hay bales, but she was good. It was fun to hunt the jumps with her.”
Phoenix and Emma Walthart won the Non-Pro division of the class, earning a $500 bonus as well as the reserve champion paycheck of $1,836. “I lease Phoenix. He’s a Hanovarian Warmblood and he’s 21 years old,” Emma said. “I like everything about him. He’s perfect. He’s kind, forgiving and honest.
This was Emma’s second time to compete in the Low Derby. “We showed in it last year and placed seventh,” she said. “This year I really enjoyed jumping on the hill in the handy round, even though he swapped leads. I’ve been wanting to do that for a couple of years.”
Emma has made the most of her Big A experience. “My coach is at the beach this week, so I’m pretty much self-coached along with my mom,” she said.
The $5,000 Added Markel Insurance High Hunter Derby showed to an enthusiastic crowd Monday evening in the Grand Prix Arena. Strutin To The Blues strutted his stuff with trainer Chuck Briggs to take the win for owner Rodger Call, earning $2,587.50 for the win.
“Oscar is seven years old now,” Chuck said. “He is by Strutin On The Range and out of a Skys Blue Boy mare, and was bred by Olivia Hoeker. He’s a saint. He tries all the time, and he’s just a special horse.
“We kind of pick and choose where we show. He did really well in Kentucky and won all his classes in Florida. We’re looking at taking him to the NSBA World Show, Congress and the AQHA World Show.”
Rodger and Chuck are working on three horses in training. “We have Oscar, along with Rodger’s new Junior horse, and we have another new Junior horse for next year,” Chuck said.
In the Non-Pro division of the class, Isabella Erwin showed her horse Natural Ride to the $500 bonus as well as the reserve champion title overall, earning $2,150. “This was our first futurity class,” Isabella said. “We’ve been together for four years, and we’ve won some Dual-Approved NSBA classes, but nothing like this.”
“We only do the Hunters. He keeps me on my toes. He can be difficult to ride, but that makes it more rewarding when we do a good job. This was a different course today. I loved going up the hill, and the inside turns were fun, and I liked the trot jump.”
A Trail Of Cash
Trail exhibitors also got their chance to shine in the Sweet Shop Grand Prix arena on Monday. The $1,000 All Age Non-Pro Trail saw 14 horses and riders take the course, but it was Hot Ovations and Natalie Hudson who had the top score and the top prize.
“I’ve never done any kind of Non-Pro class like this before,” Natalie said. “We primarily show Level 3 Youth Horsemanship and Trail. We’ve had Benz for three and a half years. He’s by Ovations Only and out of Hot Blazin Dixie, who is by Blazing Hot.”
The sixteen year old enjoyed showing in her first futurity event. “Our go felt amazing,” she said. “I think that is my favorite pattern ever with Benz. He was so soft. And quiet and listened to me and picked up his feet. I couldn’t ask for anything more.”
Natalie describes Benz as a puppy dog. “He’s very special. He always follows you around like a dog. He loves donuts and skittles, and he can drink Sprite from the bottle.”
The nightcap class on Monday was the $1,000 Added Six And Older Open Trail Futurity. The class saw 13 horses and riders, but it was multiple world champion Hand Made Machine and Ryan Cottingim who rode to the top score and the top prize of $608.
“This was a really fun class, and it’s a great opportunity for us exhibitors to show off our horses to the crowd. It’s a ton of fun with the music and the excitement of the crowd. With Trail, we need that bit of excitement now and then, and the Big A does a great job of allowing us to present our horses.”
Ryan’s mount had a busy day on Monday, with Grant Mastin showing in the Non-Pro earlier in the day to a reserve championship. “After the Non-Pro we went back to the stalls and let him rest, and regroup. We didn’t bring him up until a few horses before our go and just warmed him up and showed. He’s so special to us and we try not to overdo the prep with him. He settled into the class when we went in and just did his job.”
Ryan talked about the special format of the class. “This class is a little bit different in that we are able to walk the course, but we’re not able to ride the obstacles, so we all come into the class a little fresh, so to speak. And Tim Kimura always creates some different maneuvers to challenge us.
The Big A/Stars N Stripes Show continues through Sunday, July 9. To view complete show results, please visit the Horse Show Tracker app.
