The $15,000 USHJA International Hunter Derby will be held Saturday, May 12, in the Rolex Stadium, which is the same site for the $100,000 USHJA International Hunter Derby Finals in August during the Bluegrass Festival Horse Show. The derby event will include jumps reminiscent of the hunt field, such as a natural post and rail, a stone wall, a coop, an aiken, hedges, logs, banks, and ditches.
The newest addition to the Kentucky Spring Horse Shows will be the Hallway Feeds USHJA National Hunter Derby Series. This is a new six-part series that will feature a $5,000 Hallway Feeds USHJA National Hunter Derby during each week of the Kentucky Horse Shows throughout the spring and summer.
At the conclusion of the series, the $15,000 Leading Rider Awards for the Series will be presented, and include a $10,000 cash prize to the professional rider accumulating the most points in the six classes that make up the Series. The amateur rider and junior rider accumulating the most points will each receive a $2,500 cash prize. Riders will receive points only on their highest placed horse in each of the classes. The awards will be presented at the conclusion of the Hallway Feeds class at the KHJA show on August 25, 2012.
During Kentucky Spring Classic, riders will have the opportunity to compete for valuable points during the WCHR week of competition. The WCHR is an awards program started by the American Hunter-Jumper Foundation and now carried forward by USHJA. The awards are presented, on both a national and regional level, to Pony, Junior, Amateur, Professional, Adult and Children's hunter riders who accumulate the most points at WCHR designated horse shows throughout the year.
During the two shows $85,000 in prize money will be offered across the Professional, Junior, Amateur-Owner, Children's and Adult Amateur hunter competitions. Special events will include the $1000 Adult Amateur Hunter Classic and the $1,000 Children's Hunter Classic, which are each NAL/WIHS classes.
The main rings for the hunter competition are the Stonelea Ring and the Murphy Ring, which each feature the OTTO Sport footing, as do each ring's respective warm-up areas. The Otto Riding Arena Mat System is a state-of-the-art surface that has been proven all over the world including the 1996 Olympics, the 1998 World Cup, and the 2006 and 2010 World Equestrian Games.
The Kentucky Spring Horse Show and the Kentucky Spring Classic will be held at the beautiful Kentucky Horse Park. Each year, these events attract the nation's best competitors because it offers wonderful venues for some of the nation's best athletes, excellent stabling, plenty of exercise rings and spacious places to ride, miles of trails, and lush cross country fields.
For more information about the Kentucky Spring Horse Shows or to download the prize list, please go to www.kentuckyhorseshows.com.
KENTUCKY SPRING HORSE SHOW CSI3* - May 9-13, 2012
$35,000 Welcome Cup
$50,000 Hagyard Lexington Classic (US Show Jumping Team Observation Event) $75,000 Commonwealth Grand Prix (US Show Jumping Team Observation Event)
$15,000 USHJA International Hunter Derby
$5,000 Hallway Feeds USHJA National Hunter Derby
KENTUCKY SPRING CLASSIC CSI2* - May 16-20, 2012
$32,000 Hagyard Lexington Classic
$75,000 Mary Rena Murphy Grand Prix sponsored by Audi of Lexington
WCHR recognized hunter competition
$5,000 Hallway Feeds USHJA National Hunter Derby
Photo Credit: Jennifer Alfano and Jersey Boy won the $15,000 USHJA International Hunter Derby at 2011 Kentucky Spring Horse Show. Photo By: Shawn McMillen. Photo may only be used in relation to this PMG press release.
