February 20, 2026, Myakka City, Florida. Amanda Derbyshire (GBR) and Cornwall BH rose to the occasion, stopping the clock in a blazing 57.39 seconds to secure today’s victory in the $32,000 Everglades Equipment Group 1.45m FEI Welcome Speed.
Facing a competitive international field of 26 horse-and-rider combinations in today’s class, Derbyshire relied on Cornwall BH’s experience and a carefully planned track to shave every possible second off the clock.
“Compared to last week’s Welcome Speed class, I’d say the course was a little smaller, but it still took a very fast round to win,” Derbyshire says. “Cornwall is so experienced and very comfortable at this height, so I was able to leave a stride out in a couple of places and stay very tight on both rollbacks. With riders like Samuel, Mia, and Vogel in the class, I knew it wasn’t going to be easy to win, so I just went for it.”
Mia Bagnato (USA) and Cordiamo came in a close second, with a time of 57.99, just fractions of a second off Derbyshire’s time.
Derbyshire also competed in today’s Welcome Speed aboard her other mount, ConBlue, who finished 18th with a clear round in 72.59 seconds. However, she approached the track with a very different strategy tailored to each horse.
“My strategy really depends on which horse I’m on,” Derbyshire says. “With Cornwall, going fast today isn’t going to unravel him for tomorrow’s Grand Prix. He’s the type of horse you can try to win on most days, he’s so careful that you don’t need to do a schooling class to keep him together. The other horse I rode, ConBlue, is different. My goal for him is with him tomorrow’s Grand Prix, so I just aimed to jump a nice, clear round today in preparation for that.”
Looking ahead to tomorrow’s $65,000 Stephex USA FEI 1.45m Grand Prix, Derbyshire welcomes a course that rewards both scope and precision, especially when the time allowed adds an extra layer of pressure.
“I think last week they built the course with a tight time allowed, which made it a really good test,” Derbyshire says. “I’m sure tomorrow will be similar, and I like it when the time is a little tighter. It can cause people to make mistakes when they’re trying to stay within the time allowed. I’m just happy to be here, it’s a beautiful show, and it’s always nice when you can come away with good results.”
Last week, in the $32,000 Howard Leasing 1.45m FEI Welcome Speed, Derbyshire and Cornwall BH finished a close second. The pair delivered a clear round in 60.29 seconds, crossing the timers just fractions behind winners Samuel Parot (CHI) and Tiffany de Olid.
$32,000 Everglades Equipment Group 1.45m FEI Welcome Speed: Order of Finish
| Place | Rider | Horse | Faults | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Amanda Derbyshire (GBR) | Cornwall BH | 0 | 57.39 |
| 2 | Mia Bagnato (USA) | Cordiamo | 0 | 57.99 |
| 3 | Richard Vogel (GER) | Quizas Van ‘t Hulsbos | 0 | 58.03 |
| 4 | Samuel Parot (CHI) | Top Gun Z | 0 | 59.22 |
| 5 | David Blake (IRL) | Gucci des Embruns | 0 | 59.97 |
| 6 | Samuel Parot (CHI) | Gradje O | 0 | 60.11 |
| 7 | Diego Perez Bilbao (ESP) | CMD Scarlet | 0 | 60.13 |
| 8 | Philip McGuane (IRL) | Coronado | 0 | 60.16 |
| 9 | Victoria Birdsall (USA) | Micky-Cara | 0 | 60.21 |
| 10 | Mia Bagnato (USA) | Ballyoskill Big Bucks | 0 | 60.85 |
| 11 | Gracie Allen (USA) | Hadj des Fontaines | 0 | 61.79 |
| 12 | Diego Perez Bilbao (ESP) | Jumper d’Oase | 0 | 62.70 |
| 13 | Callie Schott (USA) | Diamond Touch | 0 | 63.11 |
| 14 | Samuel Parot (CHI) | Chrystal Blue | 0 | 63.75 |
| 15 | Stephanie Gallucci (CAN) | Calle 67 | 0 | 64.23 |
| 16 | Taylor St. Jacques (CAN) | Hopefull Menjoulet | 0 | 65.94 |
| 17 | Cristina Padilla León (PUR) | Kirado | 0 | 72.05 |
| 18 | Amanda Derbyshire (GBR) | ConBlue | 0 | 72.59 |
| 19 | Morgan Ashby (USA) | Paola-Fee de Laubry Z | 4 | 62.62 |
| 20 | Callie Schott (USA) | Popstar | 4 | 64.18 |
| 21 | Christine Carlsen (CAN) | Qilaja van de Helle | 4 | 66.28 |
| 22 | Lucy Matz (USA) | Good Will | 4 | 68.34 |
| 23 | Isabel Coxe (USA) | Happy Time | 4 | 69.08 |
| 24 | Joey Wolffer (GBR) | Pipaline van’t Zomerhof | 8 | 68.87 |
| 25 | Söhnke Theymann (GER) | G&C Caprichosa LS | 8 | 69.99 |
| 26 | Joey Wolffer (GBR) | Rockstar | 15 | 83.15 |
Two-Week Hunter Derby Winning Streak for Cayden Hill and Gaston in the $5,000 USHJA National Hunter Derby presented by Premier Sotheby’s International Realty
Another back-to-back week winner was Cayden Hill and Gaston, claiming today’s $5,000 USHJA National Hunter Derby presented by Premier Sotheby’s International Realty. Returning for a second week of Derby competition, Hill found familiar elements in the course design, along with subtle differences that required strategic adjustments in the ring. “I thought the course was pretty similar from last week to this week,” Hill says. “You could definitely see JP’s course design touches out there again. My horse was actually a little quieter this week, after two weeks of showing, it rode a little more forward at times.”
The pair confidently took on the higher, optional fences in both rounds to earn valuable bonus points, pairing bold decisions with a consistent, scopey effort. With scores tightly packed heading into the second round, Hill knew key elements of the handy track would ultimately determine the winner, making strategic riding, particularly to the trot fence, the defining factor.
“I think that’s what really separates the field in the second round,” Hill says. “I enjoy when courses are designed like that. The last inside turn off the trot jump wasn’t something I originally planned to do, I thought I’d just ride a smooth, handy gallop around. But with the scores as tight as they were, it felt like one of those options you had to take. I really liked how they designed the handy rounds both weeks. The options were there, but they weren’t being given away. If you wanted a truly handy round, you had to commit to it.”
In last week’s $5,000 USHJA National Hunter Derby, sponsored by SWFL Camping, a competitive field of 11 horse-and-rider combinations left no margin for error. With scores from both rounds combined, every point proved crucial, and the victory was ultimately decided by just a single point in favor of Hill and Gaston.
Despite last week being their first hunter derby together, and only six weeks into their partnership, the pair confidently took on the higher, optional fences in both rounds, adding four high-option points each time to solidify their position at the top of the leaderboard. Last week’s Derby win further solidified Hill’s confidence that Gaston would be an exceptional horse for the hunter derby ring.
“Last week’s win gave me even more confidence in him,” Hill says. “I’ve always felt Gaston was going to be a great derby horse. At home, everything we practice centers around derby-style turns and handy work, so I was really excited that today’s handy round gave him the chance to show that off. I said to Kelly when I came out of the ring, ‘That’s his jam’, he absolutely loves the derbies!”
$5,000 USHJA National Hunter Derby: Order of Finish
| Place | Rider | Horse | Round 1 | Round 2 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cayden Hill | Gaston | 88 | 89 | 177 |
| 2 | Keri Lee Guanciale | Quintero | 89 | 86 | 175 |
| 3 | Elle Bassion | Cattrepel | 82.5 | 87 | 169.5 |
| 4 | Audrey Haywood | Game Day | 83 | 84.5 | 167.5 |
| 5 | Keri Lee Guanciale | Blue Harbor | 80 | 83 | 163 |
| 6 | Emily Terry Peterson (USA) | Linden | 77 | 81.5 | 158.5 |
| 7 | Angela Nealer | Chando W | 75 | 81 | 156 |
| 8 | Krista Lynn Hodgkin | Fanlehane Valentino | 78 | 77.5 | 155.5 |
| 9 | Grace Blain | Shi Orion Bellissimo | 84 | 70 | 154 |
| 10 | Magnolia Mendiola | Dipped in Chrome | 73.5 | 76 | 149.5 |
| 11 | Iliana Bonds | Richemont | 73 | 67 | 140 |
