May 6—Lexington, Va.
Kelley Farmer couldn’t have had a much better trip to the Lexington Spring Encore. She rode the top three horses in the $10,000 USHJA International Hunter Derby, claiming first with Larry Glefke and Selma Garber’s Praise, second with Bases Loaded for Madison Free and third with Taken for Nancy Amling.
J. Blake Alder built the tracks in the Wiley Arena of the Virginia Horse Center for the 37 competitors who challenged the round. The ring was covered in green, between the hedge and brush Aiken and the greenery that decorated the entire ring. The courses included mostly single fences, with a two-stride in-and-out of oxers, set with a high and low option. The highest options on course—one of those oxers in the in-and-out and another natural oxer set as the out of the broken line—stretched up to 4’3”, and the rest of the course was set at 3’9” to 4’.
The classic round included mostly single fences, with a few broken lines and the in-and-out. Farmer set the bar high in that round on Taken, scoring the highest marks of 89 and 92—plus credit for jumping all four options fences. Jason Berry came closest, riding his half-Thoroughbred, Stetson, to second in that round.
When it came down for the handy, Farmer knew she had a great shot to show off on Praise, who just came to the derby ring from the jumper side of the showgrounds. The course started out with two roll backs in a row and included a trot jump then a turn back to a 4’3” oxer. Farmer found the tightest tracks through the turns, and Praise cleared all the fences right out of stride.
“He can turn right on a dime and jump the next fence beautifully,” said Farmer, Keswick, Va. “I was able to turn right back on two and then again on the next jump. It’s so easy for him.”
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Many riders opted not to jump the high side of the in-and-out in both rounds, but Farmer chose it on three of the four horses she brought back in the second round.
“I’m very lucky to have so many great derby horses,” said Farmer, who currently leads the USHJA Rider Money Won standings by a solid $18,000. “The one thing they all have in common is scope. That really helps in a situation like that in-and-out.”
Praise has been knocking on the derby door for a win photo since Glefke bought him during Week 10 of the FTI Winter Equestrian Festival (Fla.). He’d been earning ribbons in the jumper ring with Wendy Ritter Peralta, but Peralta had a nagging suspicion that the horse would have a great career as a hunter with Farmer in the irons. Sure enough he jumped to fifth in the first round of the $50,000 USHJA International Hunter Derby in Wellington, Fla., two weeks later, and second at the $10,000 edition at the Aiken Spring Classic Masters in Aiken, S.C., two weeks ago.
The Dutch Warmblood stallion (Now Or Never M—Escaranda) will take a week off, then head to Keswick (Va.) for his next derby challenge.
For full results, visit Horse Shows Online.
