Ocala, FL – Hunter Derby Friday as soon as once more took heart stage within the WEC Stadium throughout the 2025 Summer season Collection at World Equestrian Heart – Ocala. Greater than 60 horse-and-rider combos stepped into the enduring area, all aiming for prime honors. The day started with the $10,000 UF Veterinary Hospital USHJA 3’ Open Hunter Derby, adopted by the $10,000 USHJA Nationwide 3’ Junior/Novice Hunter Derby. Below the glow of the stadium lights, the joy peaked with the featured class of the day: the $40,000 USHJA Worldwide Hunter Derby.
Course designer Dean Rheinheimer crafted flowing, technical tracks that showcased every horse’s fashion and brilliance. Twenty-three of the nation’s prime hunter combos contested the Worldwide Derby in entrance of a distinguished panel of judges: Jimmy Lee and Amy Eidson (Panel One), and Karen Deprato and Traci Weston (Panel Two).
Ultimately, it was Victoria Colvin who dominated the night time aboard two excellent mounts. She clinched the win aboard Castellrock LLC’s Dicoblue PS (Diarado’s Boy x Stutbuch 1 Chactine) and tied for second on SG Equestrian LLC’s Southern Night time (Diamant De Semilly x Henna S).
Recent off a one-two end within the 3’6”-3’9” Hunter Derby throughout Week III of the Summer season Collection, Colvin carried that momentum into Friday night time. She first tackled the monitor aboard the eight-year-old KWPN gelding Southern Night time, incomes a easy first-round rating of 164. Then she returned with Dicoblue PS, an 11-year-old Oldenburg gelding, elevating the bar with a prime first-round rating of 185.
Heading into the useful spherical, Colvin had related methods for each horses. “My plans had been about the identical. Southern Night time is just a little greener; he’s solely finished a few derbies, however he did the Hunter Spectacular night time class, so he has some expertise beneath the lights. [Dicoblue PS] hadn’t proven beneath the lights but. I simply tried to be neat, tidy, and provides the monitor a very good experience.”
She added with amusing, “I really didn’t notice till I went in that just about each soar was the excessive possibility. They usually jumped very excessive. It was excessive choice to excessive possibility, to trot soar, to excessive possibility, to in-and-out, to excessive possibility once more. They had been each leaping out of their pores and skin—I wanted my sticky spray!”
Southern Night time delivered a standout useful spherical, incomes a rating of 176 for a two-round complete of 340, touchdown them in a tie for second. Colvin returned final aboard Dicoblue PS and sealed the win with a superb useful spherical that scored 193, bringing their complete to a powerful 378 for the tricolor ribbon.
“I’ve been right here a couple of occasions now, and I feel we’re going to start out coming much more usually,” Colvin shared. “It’s very enjoyable—the ability is gorgeous, and there are such a lot of choices. You possibly can present indoors or open air, and also you don’t actually get that anyplace else.”
Michael Tokaruk additionally delivered a standout efficiency aboard John Rutledge’s 10-year-old Swedish Warmblood gelding, Superstar. Matching Colvin and Southern Night time’s first and second-round scores, Tokaruk earned a complete of 340 to share the reserve honors.
$40,000 USHJA Worldwide Hunter Derby Outcomes
Tracy Fenney and MTM Nicely Stated Are Excellent in $10,000 UF Veterinary Hospital USHJA Nationwide 3’ Open Hunter Derby
A gifted area of twenty-two horse-and-rider combos took to the WEC Stadium to compete within the $10,000 UF Veterinary Hospital USHJA Nationwide 3’ Open Hunter Derby. Finally, it was Tracy Fenney who rose to the problem, including one other victory to her standout summer season season aboard the promising six-year-old gelding MTM Nicely Stated, owned by Marie-Claude Motty.
The course proved to be fairly the check for a younger horse. “I feel the course gained in the present day,” laughed Fenney. “With a few the jumps, the horses had been liable to going towards the gate. It was sort of exhausting midway by means of, while you jumped the soar closest to the gate; all of them wished to land left, and then you definately had a hairpin flip to the correct into the in-and-out. It was a terrific studying expertise for [MTM Well Said].”
The pair effortlessly answered each query, impressing the judges and reaching the very best first-round rating of 90.
MTM Nicely Stated returned for the useful spherical with the maturity and bravado of a horse properly past his years. “He’s nice and tremendous courageous,” stated Fenney. “He positively acts like an older horse. While you have a look at him, you’re like, ‘There’s no approach he’s six.’ He doesn’t act six. He doesn’t do something that makes him look like he’s six.”
Fenney guided MTM Nicely Stated to an impressive useful rating of 98—a powerful feat that secured a profitable two-round complete of 188.
$10,000 UF Veterinary Hospital USHJA Nationwide 3’ Open Hunter Derby Outcomes
Lilly Geitner and Banks Mill Return to the Winner’s Circle in $10,000 USHJA Nationwide 3’ Jr/Am Hunter Derby
Eighteen gifted junior and beginner athletes took to the WEC Stadium to compete for prime honors within the $10,000 USHJA Nationwide 3’ Jr/Am Hunter Derby. Lilly Geitner piloted Banks Mill, a 14-year-old Warmblood gelding owned by Daniel Geitner, to a well-earned victory.
Geitner returned to WEC – Ocala for the 2025 Summer season Collection following a profitable run of 5 derby victories throughout the 2025 Winter Spectacular Present. “I hoped I might have the identical outcomes this circuit as I did over the winter—and I did—simply because he’s a tremendous horse and he loves his job,” shared Geitner.
Heading into the basic spherical, Geitner deliberate to make use of the flowing tracks to her benefit. “I believed the course was good. I all the time love when the derbies are within the Stadium as a result of the strains are good and lengthy, so you may get on a very good gallop and simply go round.”
The pair earned a stable first-round rating of 85, inserting them in a powerful place heading into the useful.
Returning for her second spherical, Geitner caught to her plan. “I knew I wished to go inside to the vertical earlier than the two-stride. That was the one flip I knew for positive I wanted to do, and he simply adopted me proper there.”
Their seamless efforts earned the very best useful rating of 91, bringing their total complete to 176 to safe the win.
$10,000 USHJA Nationwide 3’ Jr/Am Hunter Derby Outcomes
Discover the every day class schedule, orders of go, class counts, and remaining outcomes on HorseShowing.com. For real-time scoring, take a look at Ryegate.Dwell.
Pictures courtesy of Andrew Ryback Pictures.Movies accessible at ClipMyHorse.TV
