Osvaldo Ornia Pacher and Provenance
From the starting field of 20 horse and rider combinations that entered the ring to tackle the derby, Pacher and Provenance earned the win with a total high score of 172 points.
"He's a machine," Pacher said of Provenance, a 9-year-old homebred gelding who is generally ridden by Pacher's wife, Gretchen. "He's super honest, a quick learner and very steady all the time. It's only his third derby, but he always catches ribbons. Yesterday, he was reserve in the 3'3" Performance Working Hunters, but today was his day to win."
At the end of the first round, Pacher and Provenance sat in fourth with a score of 86, but they shot to the top of the list following the handy round, as they were the only pair able to similarly duplicate their efforts the second time around.
"The second course was great; it really gave the horses a chance to show off their handiness. Even with all the rain, the footing and the rings were fantastic, and the course was just really nice," Pacher said.
Pacher put in strong performances on multiple mounts, as he achieved three out of the top four scores in the classic round, right beneath Nicole Moran and her ride Fiyero, who topped the classic round with a score of 88 points. Moran and Fiyero rode away with third place overall, after putting in another successful effort that landed them a score of 79.5 in the handy round for a 167.5 total.
Just ahead of Moran and Fiyero to take the second place spot were Katie Cooper and Cherry Knoll Farm's Sandlot. The pair navigated the handy round with ease, achieving a score of 83 points; the third highest score overall. Cooper was able to wow the judges and secure the second place ribbon in the derby upon her gelding, Sandlot, with a cumulative score of 168.
In addition to the top competition offered at the Swan Lake Summer Kick-Off Classic, exhibitors and spectators also enjoyed ringside hospitality and a 50s themed barbecue during the $5,000 USHJA National Hunter Derby event. Special prizes were awarded in conjunction with the class and the barbecue, including the manager's award, the best-dressed derby rider award and the most awesome groom honor.
The hospitality continues Friday at Swan Lake with a ringside cocktail party at 4 p.m. and competition resumes at 7:30 a.m.
$5,000 USHJA National Hunter Derby Results
Rank Horse Rider Prize S1 S2
1st 212 - PROVENANCE OSVALDO ORNIA PACHER $1,500 86 86 Total: 172
2nd 384 - SANDLOT KATIE COOPER $1,100 85 83 Total: 168
3rd 411 - FIYERO NICOLE MORAN $650 88 79.5 Total: 167.5
4th 432 - CHEVAL BRONZE VF ANN GERRARD-DUNN $400 82 84 Total: 166
5th 211 - ALIVIO OSVALDO ORNIA PACHER $300 87 76.5 Total: 163.5
6th 417 - ALLFORIT TIFFANY CATLEDGE $250 84 78 Total: 162
7th 217 - UPCOUNTRY COCO OSVALDO ORNIA PACHER $200 87.5 74 Total: 161.5
8th 233 - MARLON IAN SILITCH $150 79 79 Total: 158
9th 227 - CITY SMARTS DELOISE NOBLE-STRONG $150 75 76 Total: 151
10th 269 - SHARKIRA D ANN GERRARD-DUNN $100 68 77 Total: 145
11th 209 - A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM SOFIA ANTICO $100 72 70 Total: 142
12th 275 - MEATBALL ALI DAVIDSON $100 69 64 Total: 133
Cassandra Kahle Claims Kick-Off Classic $7,500 Welcome Stake Victory at Swan Lake
Cassandra Kahle and Zaza were the final pair to enter the Grand Prix Ring on Thursday afternoon at the Swan Lake Summer Kick-Off Classic, and they showed that the best was saved for last. Kahle and the 11-year-old Dutch Warmblood mare produced a double clear effort to win the $7,500 Kick-Off Classic Welcome Stake.
Mary Lisa Leffler took the early lead in the class as the only other rider to go double clear over the Oscar Soberon designed tracks. She and Carlot, owned by Rolling Acres Farm, set the time to beat in the jump-off at 42.811 seconds.
Kahle immediately followed Leffler aboard her first mount in the class, Redfield Farm's Wall Street. The duo turned in a faultless first round ride to qualify them to go right into the jump-off, but a total of nine faults in the second round would relegate them to the third place finish.
Kahle returned four trips later to give it another go, this time aboard Zaza, and this time with rounds that would shoot her straight to the top of the leader board to clinch the victory. The pair tripped the jump-off timers in a time of 40.194 seconds to take the day's top honor.
"She gives you a great feeling. You feel like you can jump anything on her," Kahle smiled following her victory. "She definitely loves her job. She is feisty enough and wants to take you there. She's definitely a fighter. You get in a little too deep to those combinations, she's going to fight her way out."
Kahle continued, "She's a good one. She's got a great heart, and she was really good today. I didn't do any warm up classes. We just got here last night so this was her first class. She was maybe a little bit more feisty than normal, but it paid off."
Originally from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, Kahle currently resides in New Jersey where she began riding and working for Redfield Farm about two years ago. Since beginning to ride with Redfield, Kahle is a frequent competitor at the Swan Lake Horse Shows, and always enjoy riding and showing at the top-rate facility and events.
"I love that it's a very laidback horse show. Everyone here is super friendly," Kahle said. "The courses are always great. For me, I just started doing the jumpers, so this is always a great place for me to get more comfortable in them. It's always been a great show for me every time I've come. I always enjoy it."
Prior to Kahle's turn in the winners' circle on Thursday, Ginny Gale continued the winning streak she started on Wednesday, this time claiming the top two spots in the $1,000 1.30 Jumpers. Gale took the top call in the power and speed class aboard her own Evensong, and she finished in second aboard her winner yesterday, River Jordan.
Jumpers return to the Grand Prix Ring at Swan Lake on Friday beginning at 9 a.m. with the 1.10m Jumpers. Jumper highlights heading into the weekend include Friday night's $5,000 Speed Derby and Saturday's $25,000 Kick-Off Classic Grand Prix.
To learn more about the Swan Lake Summer Kick-Off Classic and all of the Swan Lake Horse Shows, please visit www.swanlakehorseshows.com.
$7,500 Welcome Stake Results
Rank Horse Rider Prize Round 1 Jump Off
F|T F|T
1st 436 - ZAZA CASSANDRA KAHLE $1,800 0 | 79.242 0 | 40.194
2nd 363 - CARLOT MARYLISA LEFFLER $1,250 0 | 74.222 0 | 42.811
3rd 437 - WALL STREET CASSANDRA KAHLE $950 0 | 79.245 9 | 50.709
4th 504 - ANABELLA MANUEL TORRES $800 4 | 72.407 -
5th 503 - VICTORIA ANDREA TORRES GUERREIRO $625 4 | 72.574 -
6th 243 - CHOPPER 5 DANNY MAHON $450 4 | 72.976 -
7th 232 - CORDOVO IAN SILITCH $325 4 | 74.279 -
8th 505 - FIFTY SHADES ANDREA TORRES GUERREIRO $275 4 | 75.69 -