Tara Metzner (Encinitas, CA) and Next Monday stole the show in the $2,500 USHJA National Hunter Derby – Open, sponsored by Premier Equine Center with scores of 92 and 91. Olivia Brown (Redwood City, CA) and Tami Cabaniss’ Inkwell took reserve with scores of 90.15 and 89.5. In third place was Peter Lombardo (Moorpark, CA) and Kensignton Ask, owned by Yvette Harris, with scores of 88.1 and 90.5.
Next Monday, owned by Davlyn Farms, and Metzner have been paired together for three years. “We’ve just been bringing her along. We did her in the Pre-Greens and she’s doing the First Years right now,” shared Metzner. “This is only her second or third National Derby.”
Metzner came into the handy round sitting on top with a first round score of 92. “I thought she followed me really nicely, she landed all her leads, gave me a really nice trot jump and then cruised right on down to the last jump,” noted Metzner.
Next week, the pair will be in the Grand Prix Stadium for the $30,000 Marshall & Sterling Insurance USHJA International Hunter Derby. “We’ll be here again next week and she will do her first International Derby. So, fingers crossed it goes just as well as it did today,” Metzner commented.
Watch the interview here:
With nearly 1.3 million square feet of competition and riding space, the Desert International Horse Park is one of the largest equestrian facilities in North America. Offering multiple weeks of world-class equestrian competition from October through March, the facility is a destination location for thousands of equestrians, their horses, family and friends for several months annually. Competitors from all over the world travel to Thermal, CA to not only compete but to enjoy everything the desert has to offer.
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