If there’s a hunter derby at Thunderbird Show Park this summer, Nicole Bourgeois is the one to beat. And this week, she proved it once again.
The Oregon-based professional continued her unparalleled run of form at tbird, capturing the $25,000 tbird USHJA International Hunter Derby aboard Vino Bianco at tbird’s Summer Fort Classic. Bourgeois has won every hunter derby she has entered at tbird this summer, cementing her status as the queen of the derby ring.
Or perhaps co-Queen. Bourgeois and her sister Kendall have now won this week’s USHJA International Derby for three consecutive years.
“We were just talking about that,” Nicole said with a laugh. “Kendall said in 2019 she won it. Last year I won it on Connect the Dots and then the year before she won it on Tic-Tac-Toe. We were joking that wow this is a good derby for us!”
Thursday’s win marked a significant milestone for Vino Bianco, the talented mount owned by Hilary Sosne who delivered a two-round total of 380 to claim top honours. The eight-year-old mare won last week’s Amy Brattebo Real Estate Canadian Hunt and Go Derby at tbird, but had yet to break her international maiden.
Bourgeois revealed, “She has placed in so many international derbies, but that poor girl has been a bridesmaid—second or third—so many times. So, this actually is her first international derby win, believe it or not.”
The tbird USHJA International Hunter Derby featured a two-round format, with competitors first tackling the classic hunter round before the top 12 returned in reverse order for the handy round. Course designer Lynn Mullins set a challenging track, with the nine-fence handy round featuring four high options and a hand gallop to the last.
Bourgeois brought four horses to the class and piloted all of them to top-12 finishes. Vino Bianco took the win with 380, while Mc Queen earned third place with 362. Nantucket Bay finished 10th with 274, and Stout placed 11th on 199.5.
“Bianco is a very seasoned derby horse at this point, and so is McQueen,” Bourgeois said. “The course was a bit tough in the first round, so it was very nice to have my two really seasoned derby horses with me. And then my other two are a little bit greener and still figuring it out. But I was really proud that all four got ribbons.”
Canadian Molly Graham completed the podium, taking second on Cornaidy with a score of 365.
With the summer season winding down, Bourgeois’s stable stars will take a well-deserved break before gearing up for Regional Finals.
“They’ll get a little break. A bit of turn out time and we’ll rest up and get ready for Sunshine Series and the Regional International Derby Finals—that’ll be next for them.”
$25,000 tbird USHJA International Hunter Derby
1. Vino Bianco, Nicole Bourgeois (USA) – 380
2. Cornaidy, Molly Graham (CAN) – 365
3. Mc Queen, Nicole Bourgeois (USA) – 362
4. Chocotoff, Morgan Thomas (USA) – 353
5. Oxo Van De Bien, Georgia Hunt (CAN) – 341
Full results here.
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