Old Salem, N.Y. - Jennifer Alfano and Jersey Boy made it their 27th win in an international hunter derby at Old Salem Farm, taking the top spot in the $10,000 USHJA International Hunter Derby. They scored 179 in the first round and sat in second place going into the handy round. With a dominating, 200-point performance in the handy, they easily took the win by 22 points.

Watch an interview with Jennifer Alfano

Second place went to Amanda Steege on Loxley, owned by Finale Partners LLC. They scored 166 in the first round and had a strong score of 191 in the handy to move up. Jimmy Torano and HH Himself, owned by Double H Farm, won the first round with a 180 and scored 175 in the second round for third place.

Alfano and Jersey Boy, a 12-year-old Hanoverian gelding by White Star owned by SBS Farms Inc., are the most successful pair and one of the most recognizable in the hunter derby classes. While Alfano occasionally competes in the High Performance Working Hunter division, his specialty is the derby.

She remarked, “You never have to worry about an option being too high, or a turn being too tight, or an oxer being too wide. You don't have to give any of that a second thought with him, which is pretty comforting.”

Alfano felt that Jersey Boy liked the “beautiful atmosphere” at Old Salem Farm. While she sat in second place after the first round, she knew she could go for it in the second round. “With him in the handy, I always take any option. He is known for being extremely handy, so I always feel like I can make up some ground in the handy, if I need to, with him,” she said.

It's never just another win for Alfano. She expressed, “I'm so lucky to have a horse like him. He's once in a lifetime, and he's such a special animal. The funny thing is, he has a lot of years ahead of him. He's only 12 years old. He's just getting fun to ride now!”

Final Results: $10,000 USHJA International Hunter Derby
1 828 JERSEY BOY JENNIFER ALFANO SBS FARMS INC.
85 86 8 179.00
88 88 24 200.00
379.00
2 1081 LOXLEY AMANDA STEEGE FINALE PARTNERS LLC
80 80 6 166.00
83 87 21 191.00
357.00
3 1005 HH HIMSELF JIMMY TORANO DOUBLE H FARM
86 88 6 180.00
79 73 23 175.00
355.00
4 818 POKER FACE JENNIFER BLISS HARRIS HILL FARM LLC
82 83 2 167.00
77 82 14 173.00
340.00
5 864 CINDERELLA MAN STACIE S SHEPSKI LISA LONGO
79 70 6 155.00
75 82 19 176.00
331.00
6 342 SERAFINO MELISSA FELLER ELISABETH MCFADDEN
76 84 2 162.00
81 73 12 166.00
328.00
7 814 KNOCKOUT JENNIFER BLISS JULIE DE VAULX
74 79 2 155.00
82 75 13 170.00
325.00
8 827 MAGGIE MAY JENNIFER ALFANO BILLIE STEFFEE
71 76 2 149.00
76 81 17 174.00
323.00
9 1085 ZIDANE AMANDA STEEGE SUSAN DARRAGH
75.5 67 6 148.50
78 76 19 173.00
321.50
10 720 ELOQUENCE ALI TRITSCHLER TAYLOR WILLEVER
73 74 147.00
80 78 13 171.00
318.00
11 376 REVELSTOKE HANNAH ISOP CHRISTINE WATKINS
75 75 6 156.00
45 42 13 100.00
256.00
12 77 CRYSTAL CLEAR COCO FATH HILLSIDE FARM LLC
68 77 145.00
43 45 8 96.00
241.00