WELLINGTON, Fla.--Tiffany Morrissey on Copernicus K, Clara Propp on Inquisitive and Angela Calicchio with City Walk won the Open, Junior and Amateur sections of of the $10,000 USHJA National Hunter Derby, contested on the grass Derby Field at Equestrian Village on Feb. 25.
Tiffany Morrissey on Copernicus K (Photo by Sportfot)Jumpers were featured in the International Arena at WEF with Lorenzo de Luca of Italy and Brazil's Fabio Leivas Da Costa winning five-star and two-star classes, respectively.
In the $10,000 USHJA National Hunter Derby, all three winners would equal or better their first-round scores with their second handy round.
Morrissey on Copernicus K started the handy round in fifth place with a plan, after a first-round score of 93, which included high option points, and she moved up to the win with a second-round score of 95, giving them a total of 188.
“I thought he was great in the first round, but I knew I’d have to pull out all the stops, go inside everywhere, gallop the last fence, be as neat and tidy as I possibly could,” said Morrissey of the 12-year-old Zwiebrucker gelding by Popeye K.
“He’s been an unbelievable derby horse for us,” said Morrissey said of the homebred. “He qualified for derby finals last year, and he’s already qualified this year, so he knows the drill now. He’s my number one derby horse right now.”
Kelsey Epperson on Didgereedoo VDL was second with an overall score of 187.25 points, and Colin Syquia on Front Page was third with 186 points.
IN THE Junior section, Clara Propp and Inquisitive also came into the second round looking to improve their rank after a first-round score of 85 had her in sixth place.
“I didn’t feel too much pressure with it being his first show back in a while,” said Propp said of the 14-year-old Warmblood gelding. “He was better than I could have expected, so I just wanted to just to step it up in the handy. I wanted to do all the turns that I could. I had a nice gallop to the last fence, because I just wanted to show off a little, and everything went to plan.”
The plan led to a second-round score of 92, giving them 177 for the win.
“He’d been my sister’s horse for a long time,” said Propp. “She won the Deeridge derby, so he’s a pro. He knows his job, and he’s so reliable.
“I love the derbies,” she said, “and so does he. He always has his ears perked. You can tell he’s really enjoying what he’s doing, which is just so nice to see. He’s pretty much perfect and always comes out the same horse.”
Second place in the Junior section went to Sydney Raidy on Dominik, with a score of 176.and just behind with a score of 173 in third place was Elizabeth Lowham-Ruzzo on Secret’s Out.
Unlike Morrissey and Propp, Calicchio started her handy round in the top position with a score of 84.
“Coming into the handy, I was a little nervous, to be honest,” said Calicchio. “I ended up getting over it though. As soon as I picked up the canter, I knew I we were on it. He’s always been so good, and he listened to me when I asked him to leave from where I did. He’s a great boy.”
The pair equaled their first-round score with another 84 to win on 168.
“I’ve had him for almost three years now,” she said. “He was doing the jumpers when I first bought him, but now we do the equitation and hunters. We do the 3’6” Amateur-Owners at WEF, and then also the Ariat and Taylor Harris Adult Medals. This was actually my first time out on the grass out here, and it was a blast. I would love to do it again.”
Lindsay Mutschler on Concord was second with a total score of 153, while third place with a score of 152 went to Leah Patipa on Regard.
Lorenzo De Luca won the $37,000 1.45m CSI5* on Dirka De Blondel.
In the one-round speed course, Israel’s Ashlee Bond was the fastest early in the class on Contefina LVF, and for along time she looked like the winner, but with eight left to got, de Luca shaved off precious time to win.
“I was planning to do one stride less in the end, but I didn’t see it,” said De Luca. “Even so, she is very fast, and she has been winning a lot of her classes since we started this winter. I just started bringing her out for some international classes, and it has been going well so I am glad I can count on her.”
Bond’s time of 64.26 seconds held up for second out of the 61 entries, and Carlos Hank Guerriero of Mexico onH5 Chacco-San was third in 65.73 seconds.
