Carson City, NV – July 20, 2011 – The 2011 $25,000 Franktown Meadows USHJA International Hunter Derby graciously thanks generous donors, Diane Carney and Rush Weeden for donating the jumps for this year’s event. The prestigious derby will take place on September 5, 2011, at the Franktown Meadows Equestrian Facility in Carson City, Nevada, and will benefit ALS of Nevada. The event will showcase the best horse and rider combinations in the country as they compete for the winning title over the beautiful derby course in front of an eager crowd.
This is the second year that Diane Carney and Rush Weeden have donated jumps for the Franktown Meadows Hunter Derby. For Carney, the donation starts from her support of the entire hunter derby series and horses competing nationally. She enjoys giving as much help as she can to the West Coast, and that includes the Franktown Meadows Hunter Derby.
“My connection comes from Rush Weeden,” said Carney. “He has acquaintances on the West Coast and my jumps are part of the jumps that go out there with his jumps, so I am really supporting his effort to support Franktown Meadows Hunter Derby. It is great that they are trying as hard as they know how to get the best jumps, and we are making it as easy as we can to help them do an exceptional job.”
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Rush Weeden has several friends and acquaintances on the West Coast that he enjoys supporting and helping. “We really like to see the program keep expanding and Franktown Meadows Hunter Derby tries hard to make it a great event,” said Weeden. “It is a beautiful farm to have a derby with a beautiful field and mountains in front and behind. They are all nice people and they are trying to do it for a good cause. We are excited to go back out there this year and be a part of such a wonderful series.”
The jumps that were donated and will make up the hunter derby course for the Franktown Meadows Hunter Derby are a variety of four different styles of jumps in accordance with the USEF rulebook. The variety of jumps included are interesting gates, birch rails, hedge boxes in various different sizes, logs in various sizes, which can be used as beautiful rails over an achen or even a log for the trot jump. There will be split rails to simulate the fencing you would see if you were out on a fox-hunting field. There will also be bigger standards that are wider and more inviting for the horses. All of the jumps will be appealing and allow the horses to gallop and jump well over the fences set by course designer Phil DeVita Jr.
Diane Carney will be attending the event and is looking forward to the course and the competition. “I am a mechanic at heart in regards to courses,” noted Carney. “I love to see how the course designer has gone about inviting the horses to get their confidence up for the harder tests or harder elements in the course. I love watching that horsemanship be delivered in the way the course is built. I always enjoy watching spectacular hunters, and the sport of hunters. The derby allows that to be every aspect, the way the riders ride, the way the horses compete, and the way the judges get to judge. I think it is also exciting to watch the judges get excited about great athletic effort and watch the scores go into the 90’s. That is exciting, that is the sport of hunters.”
The Franktown Meadows Hunter Derby promises to be an exceptional high performance hunter event. The jumps are just one of many properties that make this a memorable experience for everyone involved. To find out more information about the Franktown Meadows Hunter Derby please visit www.fmhunterderby.com. For more information and questions please contact FMHunterDerby@gmail.com or Lynne Garnett at (775) 722-4261.
