Amanda Derbyshire & Lady Maria BH. ph: The Book LLC
The 2017 Hampton Classic is currently underway in Bridgehampton, NY. In the opening day on Sunday, August 27, Great Britain’s Amanda Derbyshire and the 11-year-old Holsteiner mare Lady Maria BH (Cartani x Corrado I) brought their “A” game to the competition to win the $30,000 Boar’s Head Open Jumper Challenge presented by Dan’s Papers.
In the 1.42m speed class, Derbyshire was joined by 59 competitors, 15 of which were able to produce faultless, clear rounds. Piloting her partner of two years, the duo left out strides to shave seconds off their time, finishing in a speedy 58.467s.
“I had the advantage of going quite late in the order, so I was able to watch a lot of the class,” said Derbyshire. “There were a lot of options to leave strides out down the lines, and Lady Maria has such a large stride. That’s always an advantage. She’s a fast horse, and she’s very versatile. I can take her in a speed class, and she will try her heart out, or I can take her in a bigger class and she never tries to not jump the jumps. You can turn up and you know she’s going to try and make it to the other side.”
It’s been a successful summer season for Derbyshire and Lady Maria, who racked up several top three finishes at the Devon Horse Show earlier on in June. Within a matter of days, the duo finished 2nd in both the $40,000 Devon International Speed Stake CSI4* and the June 1st, $225,000 Sapphire Grand Prix Of Devon CSI4*. To close out the week, they finished 1st in the $35,000 Devon Speed Challenge CSI4* on Friday, June 3rd.
In 2nd place, USA’s Brianne Goutal piloted the 21-year-old KWPN gelding Onira (Nimmedor x G.Ramiro Z) to a time of 59.121 s. Their performance garnered well wishes from the crowd, as it was announced that the event would be Onira’s final competition before retirement.
“I guess it is bitter sweet,” said Goutal. “He’s done so many big classes and everything I did first I did with him; the equitation finals, my first grand prix, and my first World Cup Finals. I’m really proud. He has really been an honor to have.”
Finishing in 3rd with a time of 59.246s was Ireland’s Richie Moloney and the 15-year-old Irish Sport Horse mare Slieveanorra (Voltaire x Flagmount Diamond).
For the full results, visit this link.