Katie Dinan and Sandro (Spruce Meadows Media Services)

Calgary, Alberta -The $10,000 CN 'Fast Track' Junior/Amateur 1.40m Derby had 34 entries attempt a long derby course, and there were 18 that proceeded on to the jump-off. There were eight double clear in the lengthy jump-off course, but the fastest of those were Katie Dinan and Sandro, a 14-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding by Larino x Casimir owned by Grant Road Partners. They finished in 50.89 seconds.

Second place went to Wilton Porter (USA) on Neolisto van het Mierenhof, who stopped the timers in 51.38 seconds. Clementine Goutal (USA) and Kelline Fonroy were third in 51.86 seconds.

Dinan agreed that the “longer than normal” course for a derby along with a jump-off “played a factor.” She continued, “Sandro has a pretty good engine and is always ready to go, but even for him in the jump-off I felt like I wasn't really at my fastest. You have to stay focused and ready to jump. It wasn't that there was one difficult jump, it's just that there were a lot of jumps and horses were getting a little tired at the end. I went seventh and I was really happy that my time held up.”

In her jump-off ride, she described, “He was so good in the first round to the grob that I knew I could make good time there. I turned very quickly down to that. I tried to be very prompt in the beginning. I did nine (strides) in the last line, but it worked out for me because Sandro has a very fast canter, so even if I'm not doing the most extreme leave-outs, I can be pretty fast.”

Dinan said that Sandro is very happy in his role as a 1.40m amateur horse, and he has helped her improve her riding on all of her horses. “He's been a great horse for me. It's great to have a horse in the barn that can come out on any given day and you know if you ride well, you have a good chance of winning. That's great as a confidence builder,” she said. “In the last year and a half as I've moved up with other horses into bigger classes, (and) things get more difficult and your results aren't as consistent as you'd like, it's really nice to have a horse that maybe isn't doing the biggest class at the horse show, but is always there.”

She added, “From a riding perspective, you try to learn how to go faster and be a more competitive speed rider. He's been a great horse for me to learn that on. I feel comfortable on him and I feel like I can take risks on him that I might not necessarily take on other horses. He's 14 and I want him to stay happy. I want to keep his energy level up. Maybe he could jump a little bit bigger, but he feels great at that height.”

Final Results: $10,000 CN 'Fast Track' Junior/Amateur Derby

1. SANDRO: 1999 Dutch Warmblood gelding by Larino x Casimir
KATIE DINAN (USA), Grant Road Partners: 0/0/50.89

2. NEOLISTO VAN HET MIERENHOF: 1997 Holsteiner gelding by Landwind
WILTON PORTER (USA), Sleepy P Ranch LLC: 0/0/51.38

3. KELLINE FONROY: 1998 Selle Francais mare by Clown du Chesnay x Ulin
CLEMENTINE FONROY (USA), Cloverleaf Farms: 0/0/51.86

4. CAPACITY: 2003 Holsteiner gelding by Cassini I x Corrado II
KATHERINE STRAUSS (USA), Katherine Strauss: 0/0/51.87

5. EVEREST DU MUZE: 2004 Belgian Warmblood gelding by For Pleasure
TAYLOR ALEXANDER (USA), Alexander LLC: 0/0/52.47

6. ACORADUS: 2004 Danish Warmblood gelding by Acorado I x Solos Candtinus
ALEC LAWLER (USA), Alec Lawler: 0/0/54.11

7. CARUSCHKA: 2004 Warmblood gelding by Careful x Cento
RICARDO NIZRI (MEX), Tailormade Caruschka: 0/0/54.59

8. ZAMIRA: 2004 Dutch Warmblood mare
PORTER ALLEN (USA), Porter Allen: 0/0/55.80

9. VIPER P: 2002 Dutch Warmblood gelding by Numero Uno x Darco
GREER HINDLE (USA), Greer Hindle: 0/4/51.09

10. LALIQUE: 2001 Oldenburg gelding
FRANCESCA BOLFO (USA), Francesca Bolfo: 0/4/54.47