Horse_amp_amp_Hound__06_February_2018

SHOWJUMPING
INTERNATIONAL
HIGHLIGHTS
31 January-4 February
Amanda Derbyshire lands the WEF
Challenge Cup on the ‘adjustable’
Luibanta H, by Luidam
Cita
Daniel Coyle and
Ben Maher post
some impressive
wins for this side
of the Atlantic
CSI4* CP Palm Beach Masters,
Deeridge Farms, Wellington, USA
Derbyshire
banks a win
British rider
Amanda
Derbyshire takes
the spoils on
American soil
CSI4* Winter Equestrian
Festival week 4, Palm Beach
International EC, Florida, USA
GREAT BRITAIN’S Amanda
Derbyshire, fresh from a return
to home soil to compete at
Olympia and Liverpool, notched
up a superb victory in the
$70,000 (£62,000) Equinimity
WEF Challenge Cup riding
Luibanta BH.
Jumping on the venue’s turf
arena, Amanda and the 10-yearold
Irish sport horse (Luidam x
Abantos), who was bought from
Ellen Whitaker, held off nine
jump-off rivals for victory, but
there was a nerve-racking run
to the finish.
“I planned seven strides to
the last and I turned really tight
into the double, which made her
land a little shallow coming out,”
Amanda said. “I decided still to try
to do seven, so I was just telling
her we could do it!”
Ireland’s Kevin Babington took
the runner-up spot with another
Irish-bred, Super Chilled, by
Gelvin Clover, while Amber Harte
(USA) and Cafino came third.
“At the end of last summer
Luibanta really stepped up to
doing whatever grands prix
we have asked of her,” said
30-year-old Amanda, who hopes
‘Even if you
really let her
go, she will
always come
back to you’
AMANDA DERBYSHIRE
to represent Great Britain in
the Nations Cup at WEF at the
beginning of March. “We’re going
to save her, and hopefully she’ll
last a long time.
“She’s really fast because she’s
so easy to turn and so athletic and
adjustable; even if you really let
her go, she’ll always come back to
you, which is a huge advantage so
I can open her up and then ask her
to turn tightly.”
IN BRIEF
BIG WINS AND A
NEWBORN BABY
IN Europe, the penultimate leg
of the World Cup series went
to Belgium’s Pieter Devos
(Espoir). In Sunday’s grand
prix, Harrie Smolders took top
spot with Emerald NOP, while
Robert Whitaker and Catwalk
IV collected fourth, just 1.5
seconds off the pace, after
JUST down the road from WEF,
US-based Irishman Daniel
Coyle secured victory in the
$220,000 (£195,000) Longines
FEI World Cup qualifier at the
CSI3* in Deerridge, Wellington,
with the 12-year-old mare Cita
(Casall x Pik Ramiro).
The 23-year-old collected the
$72,600 (£64,300) top prize —
his first World Cup — by 0.35sec
from USA’s last drawn Laura
Kraut (Confu) and Margie
Goldstein-Engle (Royce) in a
five-way jump-off over a track
designed by Irishman Alan Wade.
“It’s an amazing feeling to
beat any one of these two women,
and everybody in that jump-off,”
he said. “I saw Margie’s round
and thought that was going to be
tough to beat, let alone McLain
[Ward] and Laura, [who were
jumping] after me.
“I did one less stride [than
Laura] in the first line and I think
that’s only the real place that I got
her,” he said. “I was really tight
back to the third jump, and then
I just tried to smooth out the
finish instead of trying to do
something crazy.”
British number two rider
Ben Maher teamed up with his
own and Jane Clark’s 15-year-old
stallion Tic Tac for victory in the
1.60m qualifier, snatching an
$11,550 paycheque, just days after
his 35th birthday.
a 14-strong jump-off.
Mark McAuley took just
four days to record his first win
since becoming a first-time
dad. His new wife Charlotte
gave birth on Wednesday and,
having soared into the lead on
Sunday’s accumulator with her
nine-year-old Valentino Tuiliere,
Mark jumped on a plane home,
leaving his team-mate Bertram
Allen to attend the prizegiving
on his behalf. A week to
remember for Mark!
Pictures by Thierry Billet and Kathy Russell Photography
58 Horse & Hound 8 February 2018