Conrad Wins Non-Pro Derby to Close Out Saratoga Classic I Competition

The final day of competition for the 2024 Saratoga Classic I Horse Show was on Sunday, June 16, and featured a host of feature classes and awards. In the $1,000 Non-Pro 2’3”-2’6” Hunter Derby, Andrea Conrad of Manchester, VT, took the top prize with Done Bobbin Rising Agenda, owned by Jill Soderquist, over 28 other entries. Competition returns to White Hollow Farm in Stillwater, NY, for the Saratoga Classic II Horse Show on June 19-23.

Highlights for the Saratoga Classic II on June 19-23 include the $15,000 Platinum Performance/USHJA International Hunter Derby Regional Championship (new for 2024), plus the $10,000 USHJA National Hunter Derby, President’s Cup Junior Equitation Challenge, and $25,000 Saratoga Grand Prix.

The $1,000 Non-Pro Hunter Derby was held in the “Hunt and Go” format, where the first half of the course is a classic derby style, and the second half includes handy hunter elements. Conrad and Done Bobbin Rising Agenda scored an 86 to lead the victory gallop. Second place with a score of 85 went to Gronk 87, ridden and owned by Hannah Guskie. With a score of 84, Olivia Ferro rode Firatostha R for Avery Jansen to third place.

Done Bobbin Rising Agenda is a 10-year-old American-bred Oldenburg mare by Silvio that was bred in Florida at the barn where Carl Bessette, a well-known horseman and teacher, trained. Bessette passed away in 2019 at the age of 85. Conrad’s mother, Doni Tifft, was one of Bessette’s students and a trainer herself in Vermont. The horse found her way to Conrad, who feels it’s a “nostalgic connection” that brought them together in April 2024.

“They thought it would be a perfect match for me and put that connection together,” said Conrad of the horse’s owner. “I was a ‘Carl descendent,’ so it keeps it feeling in house. I didn’t know the horse at all, except we had the history from my childhood.”

Conrad was “literally raised in a bassinet in the tack room” and was a self-proclaimed “horse show brat” who graduated from the University of Massachussetts, Amherst with an Equine Business degree. While she turned professional after graduating college, she has been riding as an amateur for nearly 15 years. Conrad and her husband own a bed and breakfast in Manchester as well as a construction company, so she has limited time to ride and compete now.

“I’m strapped for time with businesses and a family of four,” she explained. “She was fun; I needed something that would help me and carry me around a little bit more. The less you tell her, the happier she is. She is really willing, and she loves to jump. Most of the time she is great for an amateur brain.

“It's a great feeling to win this class,” she continued. “I’ve always had young horses that I’ve brought along and sold before they could get to where they could really put a round like this together. It was fun to go on a horse that knows her job and do it for fun and not wonder what green mistakes might come up. I personally am competitive, but the horse is predictably good most of the time.”

Conrad trains with Oakley Clark and competes regularly at Saratoga Horse Shows when her schedule permits. She commutes an hour each way every day from Vermont so that she can still be home to watch over the business.

“I love how exhibitor-friendly this show is, from the shaded areas and complimentary water at the rings, to the location, the owner of the show is wonderful, and everything about it is very horse friendly,” she said.

Conrad plans to compete next week as well – although not on Saturday due to a wedding at the bed and breakfast – and will contest the Non-Pro Derby again.

Mark Your Calendar!

The Saratoga Women In Business Spectacular is at White Hollow Farm on July 10-14 and includes World Championship Hunter Rider qualifying, the $10,000 USHJA Green Hunter 3/3’3” Incentive Regional Championship, $5,000 USHJA Green Hunter 3’6”/3’9” Incentive Regional Championship, plus $10,000 USHJA International Hunter Derby, $5,000 USHJA National Hunter Derby, and $25,000 Grand Prix.

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About Saratoga Horse Shows

Now in its 26th year, Saratoga Horse Shows will offer nine USEF-rated competitions on the 2024 show calendar, along with an additional seven schooling show dates. Managed by Southbound Saratoga Management Group and held at White Hollow Farm in Stillwater, New York, Saratoga Horse Shows is situated on more than 100 acres and located eight miles from downtown Saratoga Springs. With eight large arenas featuring state-of-the-art drainage and all-weather performance footing, permanent and tented stabling, and turnout paddocks, it is the ideal place to show during the spring and summer months. Visit www.saratogahorseshows.com to learn more.