Ocala, Fla.—Feb. 14
Glancing down the start order for the $34,000 Jumper Classic 1.45-meter speed class at HITS Ocala today, Hayley Waters’ name didn’t really stand out. There were a lot of big international guns in town this weekend for yesterday’s Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup, and Waters is just 18.
She was the 10th rider in the ring, and she and Qurint snaked around the course very neatly. In fact, I certainly didn’t think “that was the winner” in my head when I saw her go, not the way you think when you see a rider go all out.
But when the dust settled and 25 other riders had gone—including Olympic gold medalists Beezie Madden and Laura Kraut—Waters was almost 2 whole seconds ahead of the pack on her Qurint.
“I hoped it would hold up!” Waters said. “I felt like I went fast, but there were so many good riders coming after me that I thought it would be lucky if I stayed on top. I added in the first line—I did eight when a lot of people did seven strides. I made a lot of time later in the course and especially to the last jump. I really risked it to the last.”
In the press conference, second-placed Alex Granato revealed that he’d given Waters some hints when he came out of the ring. He’d turned in the standard to beat on Gangsta. “I gave her some tips on where I thought she could be a little bit faster. I might re-think that!” Granato said.
“She took some risks I didn’t. She left a step out in a few places, but she knows her horse well and knew she could do it. I thought her time might hold up. I was just lucky I held on for second,” he continued.
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Venezuelan rider Andres Rodriguez—who jumped in the Nations Cup the day before—came in third on Caballito just fractions of a second slower than Granato. “I’m riding the same horse in the grand prix, so I thought I’d be as slick as possible and try and catch them. I could have been a bit faster, but then I’d have no horse tomorrow,” he said.
Rodriguez, who is based in Wellington, Fla., hadn’t been to the Ocala showgrounds in a few years and was impressed with the new Ocala Horse Properties Stadium. “The venue is amazing and the footing is great,” he said. “It’s very pleasant to come to a show like this, there it feels like the organization is making an effort to make both the horses and riders happy. Everyone who has come here, especially the grooms, like it.”
Ocala is home during the winter for Waters, who is the daughter of trainer Chuck Waters and his amateur rider wife Dana Waters. Hayley watched the Nations Cup intently. “It was so cool. I think it’s great that Ocala is stepping it up and doing these classes. I’m so lucky I had this experience,” she said.
Hayley has ridden Qurint for a little more than a year. The 12-year-old Swedish Warmblood mare had 1.45-meter experience in Europe with Belgian rider Olivier Philippaerts. “She’s fast. She really wants to go to the jumps and wants to do the right thing every time. She’s careful,” Hayley said.
Hayley rode Qurint on the gold medal team in the USEF Junior Jumper National Championships at the Pennsylvania National last fall and spent 2014 showing in the junior jumpers and $25,000 grand prix classes.
In Ocala, Qurint sported an unusual scalloped braid job that Hayley said was the handiwork of her groom, Gerry Aguilar. “He does a great job. She’s the princess so she gets the princess braids. He always posts pictures of his braids on Facebook; he’s proud of it,” she said.
