Green Cove Springs, Fla., Jan. 22
Rosalynn and Kelley Farmer added another long ribbon to their collection tonight when they topped the $20,000 USHJA International Hunter Derby at Jacksonville National. They moved up to the top from third with lovely jumping and tight turns in the handy round.
“It was always my plan to go inside and jump the higher fences—she does those so easily,” said Farmer, Keswick, Va. “After I saw Liza [Boyd] and Jen [Alfano] go, I knew what I had to do. Their horses both jumped beautifully, and those two never back down.”
Indeed Alfano bounced from fifth to second with her veteran derby partner Jersey Boy after the second trip. And Boyd went for broke with a mean hand gallop to the last oxer aboard Sara Ward’s amateur ride Onassis, moving up from the middle of the pack to third.
Trailers started arriving from all over Florida earlier in the week as 37 top derby mounts migrated to Green Cove Springs, Fla., for one of only two U.S. Hunter Jumper Association derbies held in Florida during the 2011 winter circuit season. Many of the horses were clearly feeling frisky thanks to temperatures dipping into the low 30s, with plenty enjoying an extra afternoon workout to make sure they were ready for tonight’s class.
Riders faced a beautiful lushly decorated course in the covered arena at the Clay County Fairgrounds that included a snake fence of natural rails and several seriously big oxers as options. Felled rails marred half a dozen lovely rounds, mainly coming at the second-last fence on course, a vertical. Boyd’s regular derby winner Brunello had that fence down, as did one of Maggie Jayne’s four mounts, Red Sky.
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“I think they saw the green and didn’t focus on the natural rail above,” said Farmer. “Rosalynn had a rub there, which is very unusual for her. But she’s the type who’s careful without ever getting nervous. I knew she wouldn’t touch anything in the second round.”
Rosalynn came back third from the end, scoring raw marks of 91 and 92 with handy bonuses of 6 and 8 and height bonuses of 4 apiece. Second after Round 1, Katie Dinan’s Allejandro jumped beautifully for Amanda Steege, but he failed to get his eye on fence 3 during a tight roll back, digging in his heels and sending Steege to the dirt. The high scorer from the first round, Daniel Geitner and Robin Hughes’ Living Color, had a hesitation before the trot fence to open the door for Rosalynn.
The win tasted especially sweet to Farmer and fellow Lane Change Farm trainer Larry Glefke. Farmer’s had the ride on the Oldenburg, by Lanciano, on and off since 2008, and Glefke just bought the horse from Mr. and Mrs. Ernest Oare at the start of the season.
“Since I’ve owned her she’s won every class,” said Glefke, who has campaigned her in the high performance hunters for the last two weeks at the FTI Winter Equestrian Festival (Fla.). “Now I know what Zenyatta’s owners feel like.”
Farmer will make a stop in Ocala, Fla., for tomorrow’s $10,000 HITS Devoucoux Hunter Derby to campaign two up-and-coming mounts before she heads back to the Wellington. She’s got her eye on the $500,000 Diamond Mills Hunter Prix Finals, taking place this September in Saugerties, N.Y. Should she qualify, she plans to campaign Rosalynn there.
For full results visit www.horseshowsonline.com.
