Catherine Rinehart admitted a fair amount of luck went into her win in the 2010 $10,000 The Chronicle Of The Horse/USHJA Hunter Derby, held March 5 during the Gulf Coast Magnolia Classic IV in Gulfport, Miss. It was lucky she got the ride on Primera at the beginning of the week, lucky she had an earlier ride in the hunter derby to figure out her plan for the course, and even a little lucky she rode Primera four years ago when he was just a first year green horse so she knew what to expect with him.

But the victory also required quite a bit of skill as Rinehart laid down a forward, seamless second round and clinched first place over Gayle Cox’s Dubari, ridden by Will Roberts.

Allen Rheinheimer and Paul Jewel designed both derby courses. The first round was a traditional, flowing hunter course without too many tricky spots, though a few of the 43 riders had issues with a two-stride line and several horses had rubs over an upright white plank in the shade. Rinehart didn’t have problems in either on those places but the final option did cause her pause.

“I was a little worried about the last line because it had two options going in and two options going out,” Rinehart said. “I did the low option and then the high option, and if you did that it was about seven and a half strides. Primera was very good because I decided to do the eight and I just waited and went slow, and he jumped the last jump really well.”

The top twelve pairs returned for the handy course, which included a trot jump, a gate riders had to open and several options between heights and stride distances. Several teams had problems with the gate, and a few added strides in one of the two bending lines.

“There were some difficulties, for sure, but Primera handled everything really well,” said Rinehart.

Primera, owned by Helen Gilbert, was tied for first with Abercrombie, owned and ridden by Brooke Kennedy, after the first round. His second trip earned him 85 points and 6 bonus points for handiness of round from judging panel 1 (Sue Ashe and Betsy Perry) and 87 points plus 3 bonus points from judging panel 2 (Carl Hansen and Alice Cook). Primera easily galloped down the lines and stood quietly while Rinehart opened the gate. When Abercrombie was excused after problems at the gate, it left Primera and Rinehart standing in the lead of the field.

“We had never done a gate together,” Rinehart said. “In the schooling area, I sort of leaned off either side and pretended I was reaching for something. He didn’t bat an ear, so I thought, ‘Oh, he’ll be fine.’ I wanted to be very careful he didn’t back up, because I wasn’t sure if that was a fault or not.”

Rinehart chose a combination of 3’6” and 4’ options in the handy round because she thought those lines were smoother than jumping either all of the high or all of the low choices. Many other riders did the same.

“I jumped the big white panel because when I showed Primera earlier in the week I had trouble in the handy round with the trot jump,” Rinehart explained. “He was a little more nervous—I just don’t think we were used to each other yet. If thought if I jumped the bigger panel, I could go straight and then turn and trot. He sighted in on it, and I ended up getting deep, but he just jumped up anyway. It came out OK.”

A 10-year-old Holsteiner, Primera is usually ridden in the regular working hunters by Christina Jason, and sometimes does the large junior hunters with Michael Burnett or Ellie Bernstein. When Jason had to go to Ocala, Fla., and show for the week, Gilbert asked Rinehart to take the ride. It was a bit of a reunion—Rinehart competed Primera a few times in 2006. She rode him in the regular working hunter division earlier in the week, taking the championship, and then signed him up for the derby.

“He was an easy horse to get on and ride,” Rinehart said. “I really liked doing the derby. It was only the fourth one I’d ever done. I hope to do more in the future.”

Rinehart, 35, also rode Augustin Walch’s stallion Vasco Da Gama, who usually competes in the Grand Prix ring with Alex Granato, in the derby. The two finished 16th after Rinehart misjudged the distance to the last oxer in the first round and added a stride. However, she learned from that mistake and said it helped her ride with Primera.

“[Vasco Da Gama] is very quiet and scopey,” she said. “If I hadn’t missed at the last jump, he would have had a pretty nice score. It was a really nice opportunity to ride him, and it definitely helped me with the second horse. If I hadn’t had him to ride, I don’t think I would have done as well on Primera.”

Rinehart’s win was even more impressive considering she was coming off a three-month break after having a baby. The baby, Elizabeth, is her second with her husband and trainer Richard Rinehart. The two are based out of Rinehart Farm in Indianapolis, Ind. Their older child, Luke, is 2 and already interested in horses and riding. Though she’s eager for him to follow in her and Richard’s footsteps, she doesn’t want to push him into it too early.

“He was so upset today because he wanted to ride the black stallion with me,” she said. “I want him to ride, but I don’t want him to get scared early and quit. I’ll wait until he can decide if he wants to do it.”

Results:

1. Primera/Catherine Rinehart/Helen Gilbert

2. Dubari/Will Roberts/Gayle Cox

3. Blackstone/Thomas Brennan/Lynn Rice

4. Dolce/Sue Takata/Sue Takata

5. Bruce/Thomas Brennan/Twin Oaks Farm LLC

6. Apparition/Jordan Siegel/Jordan Siegel

7. Fun & Games/Lindsey Roberts/Lindsey Roberts

8. Argentos/Amanda Forte/Jennifer Ruffolo

9. Rex The Wonder Horse/Moral Masuoka/Moral Masuoka

10. Davinci/Lindsey Farrell/Lindsey Farrell

11. Daily Devotion/Colleen Acosta/Moore Valinda

12. Abercrombie/Brooke Kennedy/Brooke Kennedy