PrintAugust 21 Lexington, Ky.
Hunt Tosh and Lone Star picked up a huge victory in the $100,000 The Chronicle of the Horse/USHJA International Hunter Derby Finals. The pair laid down a storybook classic round to give them a commanding lead, then never looked back, nailing every fence in the handy to win the top check for Betsee Parker.
Handy round winners, Summer Place and Scott Stewart, jumped to second overall, with Brunello and Liza Boyd earning third. The youngest rider at the competition, 12-year-old Tori Colvin, was the only junior (or non-professional for that matter) to crack the top 10. She rode World Time to fourth.
“I had enough of a lead after the first round, so instead of making a mistake I stayed conservative,” said Tosh of his handy plan. “I wouldn’t change anything about my ride today.”
Indeed Tosh’s first round elicited a score of 98 from judging Panel 1, Kitty Barker and Danny Robertshaw, and his other scores only dipped as low as 93.
“He’s an amazing horse for me,” said Hunt, Cumming, Ga. “Every time you call on him to do his best he steps up and does.”
The pair's victories include regular working hunter titles at Capital Challenge (Md.), the Pennsylvania National and the Washington International (D.C) last year. But their derby résumé isn't quite as extensive; they just won their first derby blue in June.
A Major Course
The top 25 riders from yesterday’s qualifying round took a turn around the indoor arena at the Kentucky Horse Park, starting with a clean slate. Course designers Bobby Murphy and Patrick Rodes continued the outdoor theme they started in Round 1, incorporating yesterday’s multi-level hedge and several inviting single oxers.
But the circle of hay bales caused the most chatter at the in gate. In the first round the circle was incomplete, and entries rode through the gap to jump the hay once, then loop around and immediately jump back in, take two strides, then jump out. In the handy the circle was closed, and entries had to jump through the obstacle once. Adding to the difficulty, riders approached the circle off a tight turn from the hedge.
The trot jump posed another major worry for riders in the handy. Set with sod underneath, riders feared it resembled a liverpool and would give mounts pause, but all made it through without problems. The handy finished with a hand gallop over an oxer right headed toward the in gate, and the best riders gave the crowd a riding lesson.
Like yesterday, one of the biggest challenges came with remembering the course, as the tracks consisted almost entirely of single jumps and long broken lines, and several fences were jumped more than once.
“Outside you wouldn’t jump the same jumps multiple times, so that takes a lot of mental focus,” said Boyd. “I thought the handy was tough with the tight turns and my horse being a long horse.”
