Lexington, Ky. - Twenty-four contenders made their way to the short track during the Sleepy P Ranch and Deeridge Farms $65,000 Under 25 Championship. It was a race to the finish with the top three finishing only tenths of a second apart, and Kalvin Dobbs led the victory gallop aboard Woodstock O, owned by Treesdale Farm, for his blazing jump off round.

Katherine Strauss set the pace early on in the jump off, clearing the course in 35.85 seconds. Strauss used All In's large stride to shave the seconds, and she took the opportunity to take a shot at the win. Her time proved solid as the other competitors were forced to compensate accuracy for speed.

Strauss noted, "I wasn't very high coming back in the standings so I didn't feel too much pressure. I just wanted to give it as good a shot as I could. I haven't done too many jump offs with my horse, so I really wanted to practice going fast."
  
Dobbs was the first to break the barrier she set. His time of 34.35 seconds proved good enough for the victory. For Dobbs, his partnership with Woodstock O has been short, but with the help of trainer Olympian Laura Kraut, he showed how far they have come. They competed in Europe during the summer months, riding against some of the world's best. He acknowledged that 'Woody' is a "step-up-a-tier horse," very different than any mount he has ridden before.

"I've really had to learn how to make a horse jump clear and how to think about every single detail as I'm going around the course," Dobbs explained. "I'm not just looking for a distance and trying to get around. I've really had to maintain my mentality about what I'm doing. Especially in Europe, I was with Laura, and it forced me to become more aware as an individual, know what my horse is like that day and ride him to how he's going."

Dobbs showed no hesitation during the second round, even though his first course was less than ideal.
"For the first round, I was schooling, and it was going really well. Then I totally missed, and it was unraveling. So I made what I could out of it. I've learned a lot on this horse. I think a couple months ago I wouldn't have been able to pull out a clear round, but I did," Dobbs smiled. "I was a little hesitant going into the jump off knowing I didn't love the first round, but Woody knows exactly what he's doing, so I just let him go and do his thing. Everything kind of came out of stride. I love it when that happens."

A change in the ranks is nothing unfamiliar when it comes to the World Cup format. Tonight it was Michael Hughes and Macarthur, owned by Christina Fried, who topped the positions to lead the Under 25 Championship standings after earning their second consecutive red ribbon of the championship. Hughes currently sits at the pinnacle of the standings with 56 points, while Dobbs follows close behind with 52 points. Wilton Porter, yesterday's leader, now sits in third after an unfortunate dismount during the jump off.

"I'm a little bit nervous going into Saturday, but my horse is usually a lot better the more he jumps, so hopefully that'll work to my advantage. He feels really good this week, so hopefully it'll keep going like that," Hughes said of the pressure now resting on his shoulders.

The Sleepy P Ranch and Deeridge Farms $25,000 Under 25 Championship will conclude on Saturday.