by Nancy Jaffer | Apr 27, 2026
The big winners at last weekend’s Defender Kentucky 5-Star appropriately dominated headlines about the historic three-day event, but it’s important to recognize there are many other under-the-radar feel-good stories that also deserve your attention.
One of the most inspiring is the tale of Corvett, better known as Barry, who took his final bow at the level with an impressive ninth-place finish on 40.9 penalties, up from twenty-first in dressage.
Barry enjoys the distinction of having completed a 5-star at every venue in the Northern Hemisphere. Pretty special for a horse that couldn’t get sold, who no one but Emily Hamel could ride properly when the Holsteiner first came on the scene.
The Kentucky Horse Park is where the unicorn started his 5-star career, in 2021. His best 5-Star finish was a very respectable seventh place at Maryland in 2024.
He earned his final 5-star ribbon on his nineteenth birthday at the Horse Park’s biggest competition. While you won’t see him in any more three-days, perhaps he’ll be coming out as a show jumper or in arena eventing. After all, he demonstrated he’s still very fit.
Emily Hamel and Corvett at the Owl Hole. (USEA Photo)
His devoted rider said before cross-country (where he collected only four time penalties) “I really want his last one to be good” — and it was.
Afterwards, she noted, “I did hear some people cheering us on. I know you’re supposed to be focused, but I did hear some cheers, which helps,” Emily said.
Her feisty mount also was free of jumping faults in the final phase, collecting just 0.4 penalties for going slightly over the time allowed.
The Kentucky competition, presented by MARS Equestrian, was the 5-Star debut for another grey gelding and 21-year-old Braden Speck, the youngest rider in the competition. He finished a proud twentieth on his Connemara cross, BSF Liam, moving up from twenty-seventh in dressage.
Braden Speck and HSF Liam. (USEA Photo)
“We made a couple of mistakes along the way, but you know what? We persevered, we got through and that’s what matters.,” he said.
After he lost three horses – one to an aneurysm, another to colic and the third to a tendon injury — Braden became inspired by the veterinarians who cared for them and decided to become a veterinarian himself. He will attend vet school at the University of Pennsylvania.
He got his horse through Annie Goodwin, who died in 2021 after a cross-country schooling accident, yet another tragedy he endured in his short life.
Asked how Annie would have reacted to him finishing in the top 20 with Liam, Braden said, “I think she’d be laughing right now. It means so much that she’s looking out for me. I’m sure she’d be loving every second of watching us go around. I’m glad we were able to do it for her.”
The Wofford award, given to an up-and-coming rider in memory of the late, great Jimmy Wofford, went to Alexander Conrad who rode the thoroughbred Malibu Preacher to nineteenth place, moving up from twenty-eighth after a very lively dressage test.
As always at a big competition, Alexander was wearing his grandfather’s World War II dog tags. The rider believes they have kept him safe, just as they kept his grandfather safe. His grandfather, with whom he was very close, passed away when Alexander was in college. But prior to that, he helped his grandson buy “MP” six years ago.
The dog tags also keep Alexander’s grandfather with the rider during competition, and after finishing cross-country with no jumping penalties, Alexander said, “I bet he’s pretty happy.”
Caroline Martin Pamukcu, second in the 5-Star on HSH Blake, revealed her interesting backstory while discussing her decision to make horses her career, even before she had finished high school. Her parents had put down a non-refundable deposit for her junior year at boarding school ,just before she made a life-changing trip to the North American Young Riders Championships in 2013.
Caroline Martin Pamukcu and HSH Blake. (USEA Photo)
After winning team and individual gold, “I was enjoying it so much,” she said, that she decided not to go back to school but take classes on line instead.
“I remember my dad was absolutely furious,” she mentioned.
“But I told him,`I promise you I’ll do horses and be good at it and make your money back.’”
Instead, the 2024 Olympian noted cheerfully, she has just spent money, whether it belongs to her father, the owners of her horses or her husband. However, she has a successful sales business, so she is paying her way.
She called Young Riders a “turning point” after learning there that “Eventing was such a team sport…it’s bigger than just me, it’s representing your country. That was the day I decided to do this as a career. Thank God it kind of worked out.”
Five-Star winner Will Coleman took a different role on the ground during the dressage competition, having been “suckered” into working with the dedicated Pony Clubbers who march in synchronized style to open and close the white gate to the ring.
Will Coleman in gate-closing mode.
“Give those Pony Club girls credit; that job is not easy,” Will revealed.
“It’s a lot of choreography and really carrying yourselves well out there,” he continued, citing the need for “military precision” in the process.
“I was pretty impressed. That was kind of fun. The girls were great coaches, they knew their jobs. They were able to cover up for my, uh…I think I felt more nervous about moving the board out of the entrance than I did about actually riding my tests. It was fun, they were cute kids.”
And their leader “was not afraid to tell me what to do.”
Liz Halliday watching the action at the Kentucky Horse Park.
One of the most feel-good stories was the return of Liz Halliday to the arena. While she did it on foot, rather than on a horse, everyone was so happy to see her on the scene once more.
“I am overjoyed and so grateful to finally be back in the sport I love,’ she stated.
Liz, you’ll remember, suffered a traumatic brain injury in a cross-country fall at the Kentucky Horse Park a month after riding on the U.S. team in the Olympics. She has spent the time since then in hospitals and rehab facilities.
Liz, who just sold her Ocala farm, has others riding her horses as she continues working at getting stronger, with an eye on competing in Para Dressage.
At Kentucky, she watched Boyd Martin guide her Olympic mount, Cooley Nutcracker, to eleventh place, finishing with a double-clear in show jumping.
All our coverage of Defender Kentucky is on this website. Find stories on the main page and in the On the Rail section, or go to the Previous Columns link on the front page to find others.
Click here for the 5-star results
by Nancy Jaffer | Apr 8, 2026
I’ve been to all 11 FEI World Cup show jumping finals held in the U.S. since 1980, and look forward to adding number 12 this week in Fort Worth, Texas. And I also attended the first FEI World Cup Dressage Finals staged Stateside in 1995, when it was in Los Angeles (which will be the scene of the Olympics in two years.)
This website will be covering competition every day in both the dressage and show jumping Cup finals, which begin on Thursday.
Fort Worth, the eleventh-largest city in the country, will make a special mark with its own style on those attending the Longines FEI Show Jumping World Cup and Zen Elite FEI Dressage World Cup April 8-12. From the stockyards and the twice-daily Longhorn cattle drives, to the famous honky tonk, Billy Bob’s, it’s easy to be impressed. And that’s without even mentioning all the down-home barbeque you can eat.
The Texas debut of the Cups will offer a new look for competitors and spectators while imbuing the occasion with the spirit of the true west. It will be a special treat for those coming from overseas. Bet they’ll buy lots of cowboy boots.
My anticipation, however, is not just because it’s a unique location. It’s always great competition, and a chance for fans in the U.S. to see their international favorites in person without leaving the country. On Wednesday, both the dressage riders and show jumpers had a chance to get in the arena so their horses could get a look-see when there isn’t a crowd.
Spectators arrive on Thursday, and the home side will have more to cheer for with another American added to the lineup for the dressage finals, bringing the total number of U.S. competitors in that championship to three.
Ben Ebeling and Bellena, who did not qualify on points for a slot in the competition, are replacing a drop-out and will be joining Christian Simonson, the top-ranked U.S. dressage rider, twelfth in the world with Indian Rock, and Kevin Kohmann with Dünensee.
Christian Simonson and Indian Rock getting familiar with the arena at the World Cup Wednesday.
The other North American representative, Canadian Brittany Fraser-Beaulieu, won’t be coming due to a mishap involving her horse, Jaccardo.
“Unfortunately, Jaccardo got cast in his stall earlier this week and isn’t quite comfortable enough to perform at his best, so we’ve made the decision to withdraw from the World Cup Final.
“While it’s disappointing to miss such a special event, his health and long term well-being always come first,” Brittany said. She would have been the first Canadian in 13 years to have competed in the Cup final.
Carina Cassøe Kruth of Denmark also won’t be coming with Heiline’s Danciera because of an issue with travel documentation.
Key riders who chose not to aim for the dressage final include world number one Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour of Denmark; number two, Justin Verboomen of Belgium, Germany’s Isabell Werth, number three and the defending champion, Lottie Fry of Great Britain. Charlotte Dujardin, also of Great Britain, dropped out after getting a spot but did not give a reason.
With the world championships in both dressage and show jumping set for August in Germany, that is a priority for riders who want to save their horses and not run the risk of crossing the Atlantic while focusing on another show before the biggest competition of the year.
Show jumping’s indoor championship always has been an international high-point in the season. The far-flung venues that hosted the competition in the years following its 1979 inception in Sweden have been located in Asia and the Middle East, as well as Europe and the U.S.
The line-up from abroad for the jumping includes European Champion Richie Vogel of Germany, world number three; Switzerland’s Steve Guerdat, the 2012 Olympic individual gold medalist, and his countryman Martin Fuchs, a former Cup winner, as well as Germany’s Daniel Deusser, another former Cup champion.
It isn’t called the World Cup for nothing–competitors come from a wide range of countries, such as Turkey, the home Necmi Eren riding PSS Levilensky.
The USA’s McLain Ward, who took the title in 2014, 2017 and 2022, told me last year that the 2026 Cup is a priority for him. But after a fall last month that forced him to sit out the Rolex US Open in Wellington, he won’t be competing. His place has been taken by his protege, Lillie Keenan, with Kick On.
In addition to the usual countries fielding riders, the Cup has an eclectic mix of nations not as frequently seen in show jumping. They include Uzbekistan, Georgia (the country, not the state) and Turkey.
No U.S. city has been named as a possible site for the Cup going forward, so the country’s hosting reputation hangs on Fort Worth for the foreseeable future.
In addition to Richie, the show jumpers in the top 10 who are in Fort Worth are world number two Kent Farrington and Laura Kraut, number 10, both of the USA. Other U.S. riders besides those two and Lillie are Aaron Vale; Katie Dinan, the top-placed American in the 2025 Cup, and Kaitlin Campbell, another regular on the U.S. team.
Fresh off his $1 million grand prix win, Kent Farrington brought Toulayna (seen here during the ring familiarization) and Greya to try winning his first World Cup finals.
The younger generation on the U.S. side will be represented by Mimi Gochman, Skylar Wireman and Jacob Pope.
Single-session tickets are available starting at $35, but there are special pricing and package opportunities available for groups of nine or more. To purchase, contact Sydney at GroupSales@DickiesArena.com. Full ticket information is available online at https://www.fortworth2026.com/tickets, For more information, click here.
by Nancy Jaffer | Jun 21, 2024
All the major league action was overseas Friday, with a storybook American winner at an Olympic dressage observation competition in Germany, and a less happy ending for the U.S. show jumping team at the League of Nations in Rotterdam.
Marcus Orlob, who began riding Alice Tarjan’s Jane only in February, won the Grand Prix for the Special at the Schafhofs Dressage Festival with a lovely test between good halts, featuring smooth transitions, classic pirouettes and a tension-free performance throughout. He finished on a personal best of 73.913 percent ahead of Adrienne Lyle and Helix (72.739), another new combination owned by Zen Elite Equestrian. A third new U.S. pairing, Endel Ots and Zen Elite’s Bohemian, tied for fourth on 72.587. All three are contenders for a spot on the Olympic team.
Marcus Orlob and Jane.
“That was a phenomenal ride today,” said Adrienne of the performance by Marcus.
“It was so exciting to see. It’s been fun watching them develop that mare throughout the season, how smart and slowly they’ve brought her along. Today she was in the right place to be able to turn it up. That’s really exciting for our country.”
For her part, Adrienne was delighted with Helix.
“It’s definitely our best test,” noted the Olympic veteran, who will ride Helix in the Special on Saturday, and her other Zen Elite mount, Lars van de Hoenderheide, in the Grand Prix for the Freestyle.
Adrienne Lyle and Helix.
According to Adrienne, Helix, “was the most trusting and the most sensitive. I was able to ride him with really quiet aids, which I really like, and the balance stayed good throughout.
“I couldn’t ask for more. There’s still so much more power in there, so much more in the tank, but we’re just sticking with our plan as being very methodical in developing him mentally and physically, step by step. The more judges see him go like that, the more the scores will go up, even with him going the same (type of) ride,” she continued.
In Rotterdam, the U.S. team’s two highest-ranked show jumping riders, Laura Kraut (Baloutinue) and McLain Ward (Callas) each had a rail, which kept the squad out of the second round, limited to eight of the 10 countries participating. The U.S. finished last, as the American dressage team had on Thursday in that discipline’s Nations Cup at the Dutch venue. Germany also did not qualify for the second round in the Rotterdam show jumping contest.
However, the U.S. did make the cut on overall points earned during the League’s three-show series to qualify for October’s final in Barcelona. Callie Schott, the least experienced rider on the squad, was fault-free on Garant in the first round, as was Jessica Springsteen with Don Juan van de Donkehoeve.
Click here to see final League of Nations standings
The winning French contingent, guided by Chef D’Equipe Henk Nooren, had seven clear rounds in seven tries (only three riders compete in the second round under the League of Nations format.) Henk indicated that the Rotterdam team–Julien Epaillard, Simon Delestre, Kevin Staut and Olivier Perreaux, will be France’s Olympic team.
“Our biggest goal is the Olympics, especially because it is a home Olympics, but we also wanted to qualify for Barcelona Final at the same time,” Henk said.
Kevin Staut, who had been injured in April 2023, hadn’t jumped in a Nations Cup since 2022, unquestionably proved his worth.Henk pointed out Kevin was under “enormous pressure to prove himself again, that he has a horse to go perhaps to Paris with in a couple of weeks.”
Kevin said, “it’s been a really long way to come back to this level, so it’s really emotional. Some clears don’t have the same value as others for this reason. We have had tough days, tough weeks, tough shows and a few weeks ago I was not really sure that we could come here and be ready — but here we are! I’m proud of my horse and all the team around us.”
Julien Epaillard and Donatello D’Auge clinched victory for the French. (FEI photo)
Robert Ridland, the U.S. chef d’equipe, felt the course designed by Quintin Maertens, Louis Konickx and Peter Grant, was too easy. He cited the fact that there were 37 trips without jumping faults across two rounds among a total of 63 trips for the two rounds. Four rounds that otherwise would have been fault-free involved penalties for exceeding the 73-second time allowed.
The League of Nations course in Rotterdam.
“The course didn’t do its job. It appeared too easy when we walked the course,” Robert contended.
But he noted, “All of our team horses jumped very well, and it was a very competitive class today, so while we had wanted to finish higher in the standings, I’m still pleased with how our horses jumped, especially Callie and Garant and Jessie and Don delivering the ever-important clear rounds for the team.”
The winning French team: Kevin Staut, Julien Epaillard, Chef d’Equipe Henk Nooren, Simon Delestre, Olivier Perreau.
For Schfhofs results, cllick here.
For Rotterdam League of Nations results, click on this link.
by Nancy Jaffer | Jan 14, 2024
A U.S. Equestrian Federation clinic for 11 up-and-coming young riders set off a storm of heated comment on social media Saturday, after some who viewed the session criticized comments by clinician Katie Monahan Prudent, while others supported her approach.
A member of the gold medal 1986 World Championships show jumping team, the always-outspoken Prudent was an equitation champion as a junior and won many hunter and jumper championships over the decades. She last competed internationally in 2015.
USEF issued a statement on Sunday saying, “We are aware of concerns regarding the recent clinic and are conducting a review of the matter.”
The federation added, “The safety and well-being of both horse and rider are of the utmost priority to U.S. Equestrian. Effective communication between trainer, horse and athlete is critical to safety and success in equestrian sport. At times, direct words are needed to get this across when coaching; however, under no circumstances does U.S. Equestrian condone training techniques that do not put horse and rider well-being first.”
Katie Monahan Prudent competing on V in 2013. (Photo © 2013 by Nancy Jaffer)
The video of the segment with the controversial remarks was not available on the USEF network in the wake of the furor. The listing bore the message: “The recording unfortunately is not working. We will fix the problem shortly.” An edited version appeared subsequently.
There were those on social media objecting to the way the 69-year-old Prudent addressed some of the students, who were between the ages of 16 and 21, calling it “bullying.” Others were incensed when she mentioned flipping a horse over backwards, suggesting one rider should “crash him into a fence rather than letting him turn” and saying that horses “need a good licking sometimes.” Prudent also criticized “animal rights activists who know nothing about training horses.”
She was critical of the fact that riders didn’t even know how to safely shorten their stirrups when mounted, and suggested to U.S. Show Jumping Developing Chef D’Equipe Anne Kursinski that doing it properly should be the subject of another lesson.
“As a group, you guys lack discipline,” Prudent informed the riders. She told them, “either you don’t listen or you’re just birdbrained.”
The clinic took place in Wellington, Florida, while the USEF’s annual meeting was being held in Kentucky, ironically with an emphasis on “social license to operate” for the sport, so it has public acceptance.
Kaylee Monserrate, who called Prudent’s coaching “incredible for me,” said “her fast corrections for any mistakes I made kept me safe during the 1.45m schooling we were typically doing.”
She did, however, suggest some of Prudent’s comments, “could have been done so a little more tactfully, such as insinuating flipping a horse, etc., which is not okay.”
Kaylee noted, “The most learning here needs to be the industry as a whole, including the trainers in it. How students in a horsemanship clinic such as this one have never saddled a horse or properly changed their stirrup length is incredible and mind-blowing.”
She suggested many of Prudent’s remarks “came from what seems as an area of frustration,” and contended the industry itself is broken.
U.S. eventing world championships individual silver medalist Dorothy Trapp Crowell reacted this way, “I understand I am old school, but I actually agree with everything she’s saying. God forbid any of my lessons or clinics from the past were put out on Facebook now. Pull up your big girl britches and do what she says. She is actually trying to keep these kids safe by giving them the tools they need to ride safely. Which in the end keeps the horses safe.”
Hope Glynn, whose daughter, Avery, was in the clinic, called it “great,” citing the instruction of not only Katie, but also Anne Kursinski and Beezie Madden.
“Katie set a tough gymnastics and if you answered the test, she praised you and if you didn’t, she taught you what to do…I am far more offended by trainers who say, `Yes, good job’ to everything. I encourage you to watch the whole clinic, the positives, the negatives, and spend your time learning instead of attacking someone online.”
Dutch Olympic show jumping individual silver medalist Albert Voorn, on the other hand, was outraged, stating it was unbelievable “that the USA equestrian federation allows this on their showgrounds. The world is totally lost.” (It isn’t U.S. Equestrian’s showgrounds, actually, but licensed shows are held there.)
Eventer Halley Anne commented, “What I learned from this is that if someone tells me to flip my horse over, I will leave the lesson. Hyperbole or not. If that’s the best way an instructor can think of to explain what they want me to do, then that is not the lesson for me or my horse. That being said, I liked her tough teaching style.”
Jeremy Steinberg, former. U.S youth. dressage coach, observed, “If it is in fact the case that `under no circumstances, does US Equestrian condone training techniques that do not put horse and rider well being first,’ you would clearly see that both horse and rider, on many occasions, were being over-faced, horses being incorrectly punished for lack of education as well as riders. If it was in fact the case that those horse and rider combinations were not up for the task, it should’ve been US Equestrian or Katie’s responsibility to then educate as opposed to berate and rough up.”
Meanwhile, Alice Debany Clero, the country’s leading junior jumper rider in 1986, declared that “Katie was the best trainer I ever had. Of course, she didn’t really mean she would flip the horse over. She was just trying to make a point to the riders that the ability of stopping in a straight line is very important.
“Please don’t let her blunt expressions soil her reputation,” added Alice, who coaches the Dubai show jumping team.
And here’s one more viewpoint, from Susan Bright: “When I was in college,” I was in a clinic with a top clinician/judge from Virginia Beach. I was winning equitation classes and felt like I knew quite a bit. During the mounted discussion, he threw his clipboard at me and said, `Riding isn’t about looking pretty, it’s about being a thinking rider.’
“He took off my stirrups and had me ride cross-country jumps until I fell off. (Then) said to get out of the way of the other riders. That lesson blazed a mark in my mind. But it made me a better thinking rider.”
by Nancy Jaffer | Jan 7, 2024
Sagacious HF, a genuine warrior of a dressage horse who won medals for the U.S., died this weekend. He was less than three months short of his 25th birthday.
The Dutch warmblood (Welt Hit II/Judith X Cocktail) competed until the age of 23. He began at First Level in 2004, and took his final step into the arena in 2022.
Although several riders did well with him, he enjoyed his greatest success with Lauren Sammis, who earned individual silver with the gelding at the 2007 Pan American Games, where the combination contributed to team gold.
Sammis, who thanked owner Al Guden and his late wife, Judith, for the opportunity to compete Sagacious, trained him from First Level to the Games in Rio de Janeiro at Small Tour and then to Grand Prix. He won six Grands Prix and Freestyles in a row in 2009.
Sagacious and Lauren Sammis at the 2009 national champoinships. (Photo © 2009 by Nancy Jaffer)
While his Pan Am results with Sammis were the most memorable of his career, Sagacious also went on to perform with a variety of women in the saddle. They included Caroline Roffman in 2013, when she rode him in the U-25 at Aachen; from 2014-2018 Chase Hickok, top U.S. U-25 rider in 2015 who also competed in 5-stars abroad. In 2018, Allessandra Ferrucci took up the ride, followed by Jordan Lockwood.
Judge Natalie Lamping said of Sagacious on Lauren Sammis’ social media page, “He was a heart horse for so many riders. He taught so many after your training, Lauren.”
When asked what made the horse special, Lauren believes, “The thing about Sagacious is he was so smart. When you didn’t use his intelligence, he found ways to use his intelligence to entertain himself. That horse was exceptional and he was ready to learn.”
She added, “He changed dressage. Through my career, I’ve had international judges come up to me and say at that time we were the best pair in the world. In my youth, I had no idea the journey that we were on. I’m grateful to him. I was just riding.”
She pointed out, “The way he moved in his prime was memorable. He had such carriage, such swing, such ease; it was a beautiful picture. Everything happened out of a balance and an ease, not pressure.”
The ground-breaking aspect, in Lauren’s view, was that “He had more scope than any of the horses at that time. He was the beginning of what the new face of dressage looked like. You could say that Totilas then became the face of dressage. Those horses changed the trajectory of the sport.”
by Nancy Jaffer | Jun 1, 2023
The professional hunter divisions at the Devon Horse Show have drama enough, but the $25,000 USHJA Hunter Derby a day later always takes it up a couple of notches, as star performers meet in a demanding two-round format.
The field of 38 for Thursday’s class included a line-up of major talent, including High Performance Working Hunter Champion Cannon Creek, 3-foot, 9-inch Green Hunter champ Front Page, High Performance Working Hunter Stake winner Lafite de Muze and last year’s Derby victor, Autograph.
Cannon Creek, Autograph’s stablemate, led with a score of 96 in the Classic round, but the tables were turned in the Handy round for which 12 qualified. Autograph, his sleek black coat setting off his supple frame, jumped with the same type of authority that won him the class in 2022.
“He’s so scopey. You can’t build jumps too big for him,” his rider, Hunt Tosh, bragged. Autograph, a son of Balou, earned a 94 in the Handy, the same score as in his first round, but this time it carried the day. His total of 188 brought him the $7,500 first prize.
Hunt Tosh and Autograph. (Photo © 2023 by Nancy Jaffer)
Analyzing the route for the Handy, Hunt agreed there weren’t many options in terms of approaching the fences, as is sometimes the case.
“You had to follow the same path and be tidy,” he commented.
“I think it truly was a jumping contest today. There wasn’t a place that you had to do anything crazy tricky. It was nice for the quality hunters that went in and jumped solid good rounds.”
The course designed by Alan Lohman included a tribute to Philadelphia, just a few miles from Devon. Among the fences was a model of Independence Hall, while renditions of the Liberty Bell were markers on the route.
Hunt was leading in the first round on Cannon Creek with a 96. But the 2022 USHJA International Hunter Derby winner tripped in the Handy to wind up with a score of 80 and finish 10th.
Cannon Creek and Autograph, owned by the Wheeler family (after whom the showgrounds’ second ring is named) are both imports who came from Emil Spadone’s Redfields Farm in Califon, N.J.
Colin Syquia, who rode Front Page to second place, noted “in the first round, he answered every question.” In the Handy, he was maybe a little bit late to the first jump on the left turn, but after that, he was awesome.”
Colin Syquia and Front Page. (Photo © 2023 by Nancy Jaffer)
That may be what brought him down to a 90 from a 95.5 in the first round. The horse belongs to Cynthia Sulzberger, whose family publishes the New York Times, hence his name.
Hunt and Colin are respected professionals who have been on the scene for years, but the Derby’s third-place finisher, Ariana Marnell, is just 17. She finished ahead of her trainer, John French, ninth on Milagro.
Ariana rode in junior classes at Devon last week before stepping up to the biggest test of all with Ocean Road.
She was “just trying to have fun” by competing in the Derby.
Arianna, who will be going to Auburn University when she finishes high school, noted that Hunt is someone “I’ve been watching since I was six or seven years old,” adding at the post-derby press conference, “it’s exciting to be sitting up here.”
Hunt noted the fact that it is only her first derby at Devon makes him nervous, observing, “Colin and I have been sitting side by side for a while now; she’s sneaking up really fast.”
Ariana didn’t have high expectations for what the class would bring.
Ariana Marnell and Ocean Road. (Photo © 2023 by Nancy Jaffer)
“I was just excited to do another round,” she said, referring to making the cut for the top 12. She is, however, no stranger to Devon. Her first national title with Ocean Road was the Junior Hunter Finals at the showgrounds in 2021.
“He really likes Devon,” said Ariana, who moved up from ninth place in the first round to score a 93 in the Handy, the second-highest score in that round.
Colin Syquia, Hunt Tosh and Ariana Marnell. (Photo © 2023 by Nancy Jaffer)
“He’s super easy,” Ariana commented.
“He’s always really good. If there’s a mistake, it’s definitely mine, always.”
Hunt understandably is fond of Devon, but not just because he’s so often a winner here.
I had heard people say the Derby should offer more than $25,000 in prize money, but as Hunt noted, you have to wonder where it would come from. And while more money would be nice, of course, just being able to compete in a derby at Devon is enough.
“Devon to me is one of the most special ones, a show you look forward to every year, even the fact that we’re still able to come here with the development around it,” Hunt observed.
“I’m so lucky to have the owners I do behind me, who stand behind Devon as well. As long as we have Devon, I’ll take whatever they can do. As many times as the gate at the Dixon Oval opens, we want to go in.”
Click here for derby results
