Ocala, Fla.—March 22

As she walked the course for the Golden Ocala WEC 3’6”/3’9” Hunter Derby, Amanda Steege thought very hard about a turn inside of a two-stride to the third fence—a high option vertical—in the handy. While several of her fellow competitors were considering it, she turned to her sister, Casey Hunter, and said “That turn is not a good turn for ‘Lafitte.’ ”

Not only was it an awkward turn to a careful vertical in a dark corner, but her mount, Lafitte De Muze, carries some baggage about that spot in the ring. One year when she was last to go in the first round, the jump crew came into the ring just after she’d landed off her final fence, and the experience unsettled the gelding.

“I don’t know how long horses remember things, but I felt like he held onto that—and not in every class that I would doout here, but definitely the next couple times that I had to do a night class—and I just felt like he would be looking for them a little bit.”

Armed with the knowledge that making that turn wasn’t her best option, Steege told her sister at the end of their walk, “Whatever happens, do not let me get talked into doing that turn to jump 3 because I think I can make it look just as nice by going around and carrying a little pace.”

But when it came time for the handy round, and she watched a couple riders negotiate it well—including Dorrie Douglas who moved up from 12^th to third with MTM Lolah LOL—her decision-making wavered slightly.

“It was very close, the scores for the top four, but I was in fourth after the first round, and you see a couple people do it and do it well and you start to think, ‘Oh should I do the turn? Shouldn’t I do the turn?’

“I’m sure that I could’ve done it, but in the end I went back to the last thing that you told your sister when you walked the course was, ‘Do not let me get talked in to doing that approach to jump 3,’ so I made the conscious decision to go just around the oxer which was still a very efficient turn and try to show a little pace there, which I think I did well.”

With inside turns everywhere else, performing her down transition closer to the trot fence and carrying pace where she could, Steege took the win with Cheryl Olsten’s 13-year-old Belgian Warmbood (Darco—Everlychin De La Pomme).

“I’m thrilled because we haven’t gotten to win this class on him,” she said. “Which, you know, there’s a very short list now of classes that he hasn’t won. He’s won the Hunter Spectacular [Florida]; he’s won the Pro Challenge at Capital Challenge [Maryland]; he’s won the big class at the National Horse Show; he won the $500,000 [hunter class in Saugerties (New York)]. You start to feel like there’s just a couple classes here or there—derby finals is the big one that I would like to win—but this was a class that he has not won yet so I was happy for him to win the class.”

‘Nothing But Perfect’

Cerano has been on a bit of a hot streak this winter. He’s won all three of the USHJA National Hunter Derbies he’s entered, culminating in the $37,500 class for juniors during the final week of the winter circuit.

“He is the most easy-going horse I think we have in our barn,” said rider Maddie Tosh. “He’s so sweet, so easy. Just from the day we got him he’s been nothing but perfect. He’s definitely on the quieter side which is super nice because you can just pick up a gallop and go with it, and he really he tries to be a winner. I don’t think he’s put a foot out of place since we’ve had him and I couldn’t ask for him to be better.”

Tosh only started riding the 13-year-old Mecklenburg gelding of unrecorded breeding when Ceil and Kenny Wheeler purchased him in February. They first spotted the gelding competing in the equitation with riders from Findlay’s Ridge, and they thought his attractive jump would make him well-suited for derbies.

Style with an equitation background has been a successful combination for both Cerano and Tosh’s other mount, Ulysses, who finished fourth.

“My horse I went first on [in the handy, Ulysses,] is more of an equitation horse, so he definitely did the track really well but this horse also has a lot of equitation experience so that was definitely in my favor, and I knew I could call on him. He’s been so good and so consistent all winter.”

Harbour Seals The Deal

Two years ago Isabel Harbour had a gut feeling about Agave. The gelding was new to the hunters, but she liked what she saw. However, her first ride wasn’t the smoothest.

“He was fresh and took me down all the lines, and I actually rode pretty terribly and then was like, ‘Oh I’m buying him,’ and my dad was like, ‘Are you sure?’ I was like, ‘Absolutely.’ I’m very happy with my decision. He’s a good boy.”

IMH Equine LLC’s 10-year-old warmblood (El Salvador—Balerina) showed off his “good boy” tendencies during the $37,500 USHJA National Derby for amateurs, where he took top call.

“It was a little bit unfortunate with the weather since yesterday was summer and today was, you know, March [weather]. That made it a little bit difficult, but he doesn’t spook at anything, so I trusted him the whole time,” she said. “Jumped really great, felt really good. He was moving off my leg everywhere. He was keeping a good pace. I was really happy with him. Came back for the handy, and I luckily got to go first on my other horse [Fitz], so I kind of got to ride it [once]. I could not be happier with him. He’s getting those turns down. He’s really doing a great job. I think he might be like Fitz one day. He’s got some shoes to fill, but he’s getting there.”

Harbour has been riding in the WEC derbies throughout the winter circuit, but this was her first derby win with Agave this season. Not only was winning the final week satisfying, but she’s also enjoyed the excitement that’s come with the show hosting the Longines League of Nations this week.

“It is like the Super Bowl for us, and I feel like a little kid again seeing all my celebrities walking around,” she said. “I got to walk past the schooling ring yesterday with this just crazy amount of talent equine and human in there, and it is really spectacular.”

No Worries With Not To Worry

When Tiffany Cambria saw the weather forecast, she seriously considered scratching Not To Worry from the $75,000 open USHJA National Hunter Derby.

“It’s a little puddle-ly, but I was like let’s see how he handles, and if he was really upset about the water [we’ll scratch], but he just cantered around like it was no big deal, so we decided to show in the rain. I kind of went out there to have fun and enjoy it, and that’s what we did.”

That mentality paid off with a win in the class of 34 entries.

“I really truly love it,” she said of riding in the class. “I think it really gives you a chance to kind of see your horse in action on a big track like this. A wonderful, beautiful course against some very talented, great riders and kind of just see where you stack up and what you’ve got to work on, what you need to improve on or what you’re doing right.”

Cambria has been riding Sabrina and Sarah Hellman’s 16-year-old Holsteiner (Casall—Flora VI) for just over a year. Sarah used to show “Oakley” in the high performance division, but when she decided to take a break, they sent the gelding to Cambria to compete in national derbies.

“He’s very much one that you kind of just pick a canter and let him kind of do his job, and when you need to intercede, you can tell him what to do, but he’s very much one of those that just does his job,” she said. “He’s a great horse. He’s a great partner to have, and he’s a pleasure to ride. He’s one of my favorite horses to ride.”

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