February 23, 2025, Myakka City, Florida. Hailing perfect conditions for one final day of equestrian sport, the last day of competition at the second week of the TerraNova Winter Series saw athletes at the national level taking center stage in the Lakeside Arena. Kicking off the day was the $20,000 Blalock Walters TerraNova Prix, before junior and amateur riders prepared for an afternoon of classics. Featuring competition from the beginner level to the international level, the series hosts five weeks of top hunter, jumper, and equitation classes in its idyllic backdrop of Myakka City, Florida. Setting the tone for a successful day of show jumping, Great Britain’s Amanda Derbyshire dominated the morning’s opening class where she took the win with a tidy time of 30.786 seconds aboard Vogue TW.
After the venue’s inspiring Sunday Service and the start of Family Breakfast, the Lakeside Arena saw 11 entries for Manuel Esparza Perez’s (MEX) debut track which featured an immediate jump off format. Derbyshire piloted three of the entries in the class and managed to produce fault-free efforts aboard all mounts, earning herself multiple spots on the podium at the class’s completion. Taking on the track first with David Blake’s nine-year-old Oldenburg mare by Vivant, Derbyshire ultimately proved that her first effort was her best as she held tight to the leading position through the final effort.
“The track was really nice today, especially nice for younger horses,” Derbyshire commented. “The jump off didn’t have a lot of options so I think that’s why the times were so close. I really just went for nice rounds on all three of my horses and they all jumped beautifully, and I’m lucky I won it on one of them.”
“She’s naturally a really quick mare and on all of the rollbacks you can always go for one less stride because she’s always looking where she’s going,” she continued. “She’s very economical in her jump and always game to win, so she’s fun to ride in the jump offs.”
Also bringing three mounts to the class, Catherine Kubiak (USA) split the difference between Derbyshire’s efforts towards the bottom of the start list for a second place finish with the Over Fences Farm LLC’s nine-year-old KWPN gelding by Tangelo van de Zuuthoeve, Leaudissey. Tacking just under half a second onto Kubiak’s time of 31.700 seconds, Derbyshire’s performance with the Pine Hollow Farms’ nine-year-old Warmblood mare by Stakkato Gold, Sade de Rialfo Z, earned the third place position after stopping the clock in 32.103 seconds.
Junior/Amateur Jumper Classics Round Out Week II
Directly following the main event, Perez set to the task of designing for the afternoon’s junior and amateur classics.
“Coming to TerraNova is always a really good experience,” Perez stated. “It’s a place everyone wants to build at because the footing is amazing, the jumps are amazing and there’s nice people around.”
“For the junior/amateur classics, I always try to build very safe for everybody,” he continued. “I am very aware of the good horses that they have, but at the same time they are amateurs as well so I keep that in mind and try to ask fair questions. Today we had some really nice jump offs, so I think everyone had a good experience.”
Besting three other double-clear efforts, Sara Cloud found success in the $3,500 Marsh & McLennan Agency NAL/WIHS 1.10m Junior/Amateur Jumper Classic. With a time over two seconds faster than the runner up, Cloud piloted Kelly McIntosh Minturn’s 17-year-old Belgian Warmblood mare by Zurich, Inne van de Plataan to the top of the podium in 35.178 seconds.
Returning to the podium one final time for the day, Kubiak found a first place finish in the $5,000 Reitenright Equestrian Footing NAL 1.20m/1.30m Junior/Amateur Jumper Classic. Posting two flawless performances and stopping the clock in 34.029 seconds, Kubiak expertly navigated the track with the Over Fences Farm LLC’s 14-year-old Belgian Warmblood mare by Emerald van’t Ruytershof, Labelle vd Middelstede.