After a relaxing Off Week, the second half of the circuit kicked off with a smaller number of in barn horses showing, and some new faces joining us in the desert. We were especially pleased to once again be able to work with Tory and Vicky of Montgomery Show Stables.The hard work that Tory had put in over the winter months created favorable results in the ring. Several of Tory’s greener mounts showed well in the Level 1 and 2 Jumpers with many clear round ribbons to show for it.
Joining them in his quest to gain experience towards an ultimate career in the Equitation ring was Annie Bennett’s Understood. His brave and amiable nature was once again evident as he cantered right around the Jumper ring as if he had been doing it all along! True to his versatile nature, he walked right back into the Hunter ring on Friday to compete in the Adequan Open’s. Another horse that was gaining exposure in the Jumper ring was Jessica Zlotnick’s young mare On The Rocks. She also handled the Level classes in stride, and her increased maturity was evident later in the week in the competitive Equitation ranks with a 7th place finish in the always huge USEF adult Medal, and a 6th place finish in the equally competitive Marshall and Sterling Adult Medal.
Dakota Gruener was unable to attend this week, and graciously allowed Adrienne Dixon to borrow her horse, Korbel for the Adult Equitation Division. The pair ribboned in every class, including 3 top three finishes. Vanessa piloted the lovely Fenwick in the Regular Conformation with some excellent placings including a 2nd place over fences day one. Derby Hill’s Demitasse was a good sport and jumped around the Small Juniors with her under the weather pilot on Friday before an executive decision was made that Mallory needed to try to focus on being healthy enough to complete her duties to her own mounts.
Week 5 started with a wind storm to rival all others. Gusts up to 70 miles per hour made Tuesday a very unproductive day, and the schedules of the horses were altered to fit the fact that most of them only hand walked Tuesday, and spent a very restless night! In the Hunter rings, Fenwick showed the Adequan Open Division with Vanessa in the irons, and a 2nd, 7th, and a win in the 27 horse division secured Reserve Championship honors for the pair. The Jumper ring again showed multiple clear round efforts in the Level classes. Susan Meadows returned to the Desert and got ribbons in the enormous Modified Amateur division and Adrienne Dixon piloted her own Alize to 3rd place in a difficult Level 6 class. We were also proud to hear that Jessie Zlotnick and On The Rocks were big winners at The Tucson HITS circuit. The pair went there for the final weeks of showing so Jessie could visit her family, friends, and give Roxy a little more exposure to different show grounds.
The last week of the circuit gave us beautiful weather with very warm temperatures. All the horses and riders rose to the occasion, and were able to finish the circuit well. Fenwick contested the Adequan Open Division with Vanessa again, and was 2nd over fences, and the winner of the hack. Also competing in the division was Derby Hill’s Demitasse who showed consistency with a 3rd, 4th over fences and a 5th in the hack. Both horses narrowly missed tricolor honors. Later in the week, Dakota Gruener competed with Fenwick in the Children’s 14- 17 division. The pair garnered two 2nd place honors and a 7th over fences, and a 3rd in the under saddle to ultimately become the Reserve Champions of the division. Congratulations to this pair on their first tricolor together!
Dakota Gruener, Vanessa Brown and Fenwick, Desert Circuit Champion Adequan Open Hunters Photo: Flying Horse Photography
Also in the Hunter ring winner’s circle was Adrienne Dixon with her own Declan. The pair competed in the Adult Amateur 18-35 section with a 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th over fences to ultimately end up the Reserve Champion.
In Jumper land, Understood continued to show amazing maturity and progress to easily secure more clear rounds in the Level 1 and 2 classes, and handily move up to the Level 3’s. It has been so much fun to be a part of this horse’s development! Buddy won a Level 5 class early on in the week with Susan Meadows’ fabulous gelding, Topper, and Susan herself took the reins over later in the week for a blistering 2nd place finish in a highly competitive Modified Amatuer Jumper class. Congratulations are in order for Betty Meyer’s Santana, who finished 2nd in the Jimmy William’s Futures Class with Benson Carroll aboard. As always, we felt privileged to have had this horse in our care for the first half of circuit, and thank Benson and Betty for their continued faith in our program. Congratulations are also extended to Fenwick who ended up Grand Circuit Champion in the Adequan Open Hunter division. Vanessa would like to thank the Gruener’s for the opportunity to show this lovely horse, and the owner, Amy Brubaker for leasing Fenwick into our program for the year.
Reflecting on the circuit we once again realize how lucky we are to be surrounded by such great people. We thank our staff for all their hard work, our clients for their dedication to the sport and their horses, and all those professionals who work with us to keep the animals at Derby Hill in top condition, physically and mentally. We are continually impressed by the support that all the clients give to each other as obvious by Cindi Perez, and daughter Annie Bennett coming down the last weekend just to cheer on their fellow barn mates, and help us get organized for the trip home (thank you also to Annie’s friend Courtney Schmidt)! We are looking forward to some rest and relaxation before we gear up for the rest of the year. Stay tuned for news on some of our new clients, and horses that we can’t wait to get to work with for the coming show season. Our next stop this year will be at the Pickwick show April 11th throughthe 15th at Brookside.
