Amanda Derbyshire and Otto BH Gallop to the Win in $32,000 The Estates at TerraNova FEI 1.45m Welcome Speed
Amanda Derbyshire and Otto BH Gallop to the Win in $32,000 The Estates at TerraNova FEI 1.45m Welcome Speed
Amanda Derbyshire (GBR) and Otto BH won the $32,000 The Estates at TerraNova FEI 1.45m Welcome Speed. Photo by EQ Media
Myakka City, Fla. – Feb. 16, 2024 – The TerraNova Winter Series features four weeks of hunter/jumper competition at TerraNova Equestrian Center, Southwest Florida’s premier equestrian venue, minutes from Lakewood Ranch.
Each week showcases all levels of hunter/jumper competition, from elite international show jumpers and top national hunters to cross rails and children’s classes. Winter Series I highlights include:
$32,000 The Estates at TerraNova FEI 1.45m Welcome Speed
$5,000 USHJA National Hunter Derby, presented by Laughlin Tanner Group at Premier Sotheby's International Realty
$65,000 Galati Yacht Sales FEI 1.45m Grand Prix
$20,000 Michael Saunders & Company 1.35m National Prix
The $32,000 The Estates at TerraNova FEI 1.45m Welcome Speed class had 28 entries who contested Bernardo Cabral’s Welcome course. Cabral is an FEI Level 4 Course Designer and is no stranger to building in TerraNova’s Lakeside Arena. He built courses during Week I in 2023.
With 14 jumping efforts, including two in-and-out combinations, and a time allowed of 86 seconds, the Welcome course tested the entries ahead of the $65,000 Galati Yacht Sales FEI 1.45m Grand Prix coming up on Saturday.
Amanda Derbyshire (GBR) and Otto BH (Norton d’Eole x D-Armel Van’t Kamerveld) flew around the course in 67.94 seconds. Derbyshire sliced between the in and out at 6a-b on her way to fence three. She left strides out on the rollback to the line along the VIP Pavilion and in the last bending line. At fourteenth in the order, no one from the second half of the class could catch her time.
Watch Amanda Derbyshire's winning round!
Derbyshire has ridden Otto BH, a 12-year-old Zangersheide stallion owned by Gochman Sport Horse, LLC, for about a year. “I know he's very fast and careful, so I just went as fast as I could today, and he left them all up,” Derbyshire said. “He always tries his best.
“The course rode just how it walked. It was a very twisty, turning course with a few options. I thought it was a beautiful course for day one, for the horses doing their first class. It was a nice track.”
This is Derbyshire’s first visit to TerraNova. “We actually came a little earlier in the week and brought some young horses,” she said. “It was very beneficial because we had plenty of time and beautiful space to work them. The courses have been nice all week, and everything's just really beautiful.”
Rupert Winkelmann (GER) and Duverie came in second in the $32,000 The Estates at TerraNova FEI 1.45 Welcome Speed. Photo by EQ Media
Rupert Winkelmann (GER) and Duverie (Diamant de Semilly x Phenixe Duverie), an 11-year-old Selle Francais gelding owned by Eickendorf Horses GMBH & Co, were a mere nine-tenths of a second from catching Derbyshire and Otto BH.
Rowan Willis (AUS) and Wellington Grey Goose (Corlensky G x Grandira), his own homebred 13-year-old warmblood mare, left all the poles in the cups and stopped the clock at 71.71.
Rowan Willis (AUS) and Wellington Grey Goose placed third in the $32,000 The Estates at TerraNova FEI 1.45m Welcome Speed. Photo by EQ Media
Emily Smith and Vera Vita Earn the Win in the $5,000 USHJA National Hunter Derby.
Presented by Laughlin Tanner Group at Premier Sotheby’s International Realty
Emily Smith and Vera Vita won the $5,000 USHJA National Hunter Derby. Photo by EQ Media
The morning’s feature class in the Magnolia Arena was the $5,000 USHJA National Hunter Derby, presented by Laughlin Tanner Group at Premier Sotheby's International Realty. The first Derby course included 11 jumping efforts and had four high options, with the successful completion of a high option adding one point to the score.
William Robertson, the derby course designer, has previously built courses at TerraNova’s hunter/jumper shows.
“Mike [Belisle] and I collaborated on the courses to come up with something that keeps to the classic hunter-type feel,” Robertson said. “[We kept] everything very natural, allowing them to keep on a normal stride.”
Fence one of the first round was a single diagonal vertical headed away from the ingate. Horse-and-rider pairs cantered left around the far end of the arena and jumped a five-stride diagonal line. Fences four and five, an 11-stride line in front of the VIP Pavilion, were the first two high options on the course. The third high option came at fence seven, the TerraNova brush, a large steeplechase-style brush, flanked by wagon wheels. The fourth high option was the second-to-last vertical set on a bending line to the final fence of the course.
Watch Emily Smith's winning Derby handy round!
In the first round, Emily Smith (Aiken, South Carolina) and Vera Vita (Larino x Vita Wiwa), a 9-year-old warmblood mare owned by Lorian Peralta-Ramos, earned a 91 after jumping all of the high options. Brooke Cudmore (Bennington, Nebraska) and So They Say (Breitling LS x Kiki), an 11-year-old KWPN owned by Kathleen Rose, were the only other pair to jump the four high options, earning a first-round score of 89.
For the handy course, Robertson added a new trot fence and several rollback turns, including a tight left-handed rollback to the brush fence by the ingate at the second to last. The course included the same four high options as the first round.
Smith and Vera Vita stepped into the ring for their handy round following Cudmore and So They Say. Cudmore scored a 92, ending on a total score of 181.
“Brooke had an amazing handy round before me, so I knew I would have to try to do every turn that was out there and stay as tidy as I could,” Smith said. Smith and Vera Vita’s handy round earned them a 91, including the four points for all high options. With two points in hand after the first round, Smith pulled off the win by one point.
Brooke Cudmore and So They Say placed second in the $5,000 USHJA National Hunter Derby.
Photo by EQ Media
Robertson designed courses at TerraNova in 2023 and said he is pleased to return to the venue. “I love coming down here, it’s a nice feel,” Robertson said. “You can see the horses like it, the rings are a great size, the footing is always quite great, the jumps and materials are always fun to work with.”
This is Smith’s first time competing at TerraNova. “I've absolutely loved it,” Smith said. “It's really beautiful here and it's been great for the horses; the footing, the stabling, the arenas – the horses really seem to love it here.”
TerraNova Winter Series
What: Exciting four weeks of hunter/jumper competition in a family-friendly, country setting with boutique shopping, food truck fare and VIP experiences.
Where: TerraNova Equestrian Center
31625 Clay Gully Rd
Myakka City, FL 34251
When: Week I: Feb. 14-18. Week II: Feb. 21-25. Week III: March 13-17. Week IV: March 20-24.
Time: Daily from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Feature Event: Saturday, Feb. 17- 10 a.m.- $65,000 Galati Yacht Sales 1.45m FEI Grand Prix
Admission and Parking: Free to the public. VIP experience is available for purchase- link below.
Other information: This is an outdoor event. Wear comfortable shoes or boots and dress for the weather. Bleacher seating.
TerraNova Media Contact: Carrie Wirth | Carrie@EQMedia.agency | (612) 209-0310
Join us in the VIP Pavilion for preferred seating and a catered brunch Saturday, February 17 and 24 at 9:30 a.m.
Book your accommodations with our hotel partners and save big on room rates. Hotels become booked quickly this time of year, and we recommend making reservations as soon as possible.