Quincy Hayes and Follow Suit Top the Podium in the $5,000 USHJA National Hunter Derby

Quincy Hayes and Follow Suit were victorious in the $5,000 USHJA National Hunter Derby, sponsored by Herm Sprenger, on Friday, July 14, 2023, during World Championship Hunter Rider (WCHR) competition at the Saratoga Women In Business (WIB) Spectacular at White Hollow Farm in Stillwater, NY.

The class was held in a hunt-and-go format, which consolidates the classic round and handy round into one course with both portions being scored separately. Hayes of Aurora, ON, and Follow Suit, owned by Tania Burrows, received impressive scores of 86 with two bonus points added to each in the classic and handy round for an overall score of 176.

“I really liked the classic round,” described Hayes. “I wanted to be a little bit conservative with him because he hasn’t done a ton of derbies. I just wanted to give him a really confident ride today. I thought the course rode beautifully.

“For the handy, I wanted to ride the horse I had,” continued Hayes. “He naturally goes a little bit like an equitation horse and looks to where the jumps are. My plan was to go around in a few places but after the trot jump, I saw the inside turn so I chose that option, and he followed my hand beautifully there. It was all I could ask for.”

Hayes originally got the ride on the seven-year-old Warmblood gelding two years ago when he was sent to her as a sales horse, and she immediately clicked with him.

“I ended up loving him so much that I sold him to a customer in the barn,” explained Hayes. “He not only does the derbies and the First Year Green Hunters with me, but he also does the Rusty Stirrup division with his owner. He is a very special horse in the barn and one of the happiest horses you’ll ever meet.”

This is Hayes’ first time competing at Saratoga Horse Shows and the young professional definitely made it a show to remember. 

“We are pretty happy with how our first week ever at Saratoga is going,” commented Hayes. “It’s a great show to help us gear up for the USHJA Green Hunter Incentive Championships in Kentucky in August. I think the footing here is absolutely incredible. It’s a beautiful venue, and we love the nice open landscape. The town is adorable. We are really happy we came here.”

Second place was awarded to Keirstin Scott of Newburgh, NY, and MTM Promises Fulfilled, owned by Denise DiNozzi, with an overall score of 172.5. Anna Donavon of Greenwich, CT, rode Merando, owned by Kathryn Fletcher, to third place after receiving an overall score of 172.

Holly Orlando and Kalvarie Capture Victory in the $10,000 USHJA International Hunter Derby

Holly Orlando of Wellington, FL, and Kalvarie, owned by the Kalvarie Group, were crowned winners of the $10,000 USHJA International Hunter Derby. The pair held the lead through both rounds of competition to secure the blue ribbon.

Orlando and the 12-year-old Belgian Sport Horse sired by Aganix du Seigneur produced a smooth and stylish first round to earn high scores of 88 and 86 with four high option bonus points added to each for a total score of 182. Last to return for the handy round, the duo executed a second impressive trip to earn scores of 86 and 85 with two high option points added to each for an overall score of 357 to top the leaderboard.

“I loved our first round,” shared Orlando. “He was soft and went around really nicely. I wanted to be smart in the handy round and give him a chance to take a breath in the middle of the course. I did the first high option and then did the second low option so I could make a better turn to the birch fence. I thought, ‘No guts, no glory,’ to the last fence and did the high option which he jumped great. He is just learning to be soft and smooth in the handy rounds since he was a jumper. He’s really starting to get it, and the feeling is amazing.”

Orlando and Kalvarie have been showing together for exactly one year and this class was Kalvarie’s first time competing in a derby.

“We brought him here last year and it was his first horse show as a hunter,” explained Orlando. “We have just been slowly bringing him along since then in the First Year Green Hunter division. Cara and Donald Cheska and Axel Verlooy had him and sent him to us as a jumper. I rode him around one day and loved the jump and feel. We asked them if we could spend a little time producing him as a hunter. We were then able to put a very fun group of people together to make up the Kalvarie Group. He is incredible, and he tries his hardest every time he goes in the ring.”

Quincy Hayes of Aurora, ON, and Waterfront, owned by Tania Burrows, and Kaitlyn Linck of Clinton Corners, NY, and BG Touchdown, owned by Linda Bammann, tied for second place with an overall score of 337.

Cady Ryan and Aristot Can’t Be Caught in the 1.10m Jumpers

Cady Ryan of New York, NY, piloted Aristot, owned by Town Line Equestrian LLC, to the top prize in the 1.10m Jumpers. The pair managed a fault-free round over the challenging course set by Hailey Rogge in a quick time of 68.153 seconds for the victory.

“I’ve had Aristot for almost a year now,” said Ryan of the 13-year-old Selle Français sired by C Indoctro II. “He is so perfect and is always there for me when I make a mistake. He is such a great horse. I had a lot of fun with the course today. We got to work on technical things like our turns. We were hoping to have a smooth and solid round today, and it turned out really nice.”

Leann Kelly of Valatie, NY, and Coolio, owned by Kesley Ware, claimed second place with a time of 68.300 seconds. Jessica Rose and her own Blue Boy received third place.

The Saratoga WIB Spectacular will continue to showcase top hunter, jumper, and equitation competition on Saturday, July 15. The feature events will be the $15,000 WIB Jumper Classic and the $1,000 Non-Pro 2’3”/2’6” Hunter Derby.