March 17, 2023, Myakka City, Florida. With a field of 50 horses, the TerraNova Hunter/Jumper Week 3 $10,000 FEI 1.40m Welcome Speed class was the largest to date. The 1.40m track was designed by FEI Level 3 course designer Mauricio Garcia (PUR). Garcia is an accomplished international grand prix rider. He has assisted at the World Cup Finals in Las Vegas (2005, 2007, 2016), Pan American Games (2003, 2007, 2011), the Olympic Games (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 2016) and has built at numerous world-class venues such as Hickstead, Spruce Meadows, Kentucky Horse Park, the Winter Equestrian Festival, The Oaks and Tryon.
“I want everybody to get acclimated to the ring and the jumps and to my way of taking them one jump to another,” Garcia shared. All but one of the fences were built to the maximum height. He said that lowering the obstacles would not be fair going into the grand prix height of 1.45m on Saturday. The vertical at fence three was slightly lower to encourage the riders to turn inside on the way to fence four. “I want the winner to take out strides and the young horses to be able to do normal strides a little bit wide without penalizing them,” Garcia said.
With 14 jumping efforts and a time allowed of 80 seconds, 16 horse-and-rider combinations jumped clear. As the ninth pair in the ring, Israeli Olympian Daniel Bluman and the 2012 Selle Francais gelding Cachemire de Braize (Quality Touch x Pashmina De Braize/Jaguar Mail), owned by Over the Top Stables LLC, breezed around the track in 66.550 seconds. Bluman asked his mount to gallop forward on the bending line between fences eight and nine and Cachemire responded by leaving a stride out.
Bluman said the gelding has been home relaxing since his win in the $77,300 FEI CSI2* 1.45m Grand Prix presented by Arthramid Vet during TerraNova Hunter/Jumper Week 1 in February. “He’s fast and he’s careful. He tries to be very competitive,” he said. “Today’s course was a good course, a very nice, flowing course for the horses to get a nice round before tomorrow’s grand prix, which for sure will be much more technical and bigger. I think he does a great job and we’re very happy to be here again.
“I’ve gotten an A for attendance, I’ve been here every week of competition and I will be here next week also. Clearly, I like it and I enjoy being here. Facilities are great, management is great and it’s really fun to be here,” Bluman said.
By also taking the inside turn between the oxer at fence three and the vertical at four, Tanimara Macari (MEX) and the Macari Sporthorse LLC-owned Cordelia GP Z (Cero I x Sweethaert Van Het Boldershof/Heartbreaker) zipped across the finish line at 66.770 seconds, tucking them into second, right behind Bluman. Individual Olympic gold medalist Rodrigo Pessoa (BRA) and Quick Step (Quintender 2 x Carmaniola/Calido I), owned by Paseo Farms LLC, crossed the timers at 69.150 seconds, earning the pair third.
$10,000 FEI 1.40m Welcome Speed: Order of Finish
| Place | Horse | Rider | Owner | Faults | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cachemire de Braize | Daniel Bluman (ISR) | Over the Top Stables LLC | 0 | 66.55 |
| 2 | Cordelia GP Z | Tanimara Macari (MEX) | Macari Sporthorses LLC | 0 | 66.77 |
| 3 | Quick Step | Rodrigo Pessoa (BRA) | Paseo Farms LLC | 0 | 69.150 |
| 4 | The Gray Man | Caelinn Leahy (USA) | Steve Schaefer | 0 | 69.430 |
| 4 | Edonna D’Udine | Marie Hecart (FRA) | Marie Hecart | 0 | 69.430 |
| 6 | Isla de Muze | Tanimara Macari (MEX) | Tanimara Macari | 0 | 69.760 |
| 7 | Acajou | Ilan Bluman (COL) | Ilan Bluman | 0 | 69.880 |
| 8 | Dialuna | Diego Perez Bilbao (ESP) | Over Fences Farm LLC | 0 | 69.910 |
| 9 | Noortje VD Windheuvel | Mark Bluman (COL) | Over the Top Stables LLC | 0 | 71.060 |
| 10 | Cartouche VD Cumel Z | Marie Hecart (FRA) | Marie Hecart | 0 | 71.310 |
Matthew Piccolo and Constellation Awarded the Blue in the $5,000 USHJA National Hunter Derby
Matthew Piccolo and Constellation, a 10-year-old KWPN gelding by Cellestial owned by Anna Schierholz Wilhelm, took home top honors in the TerraNova Hunter/Jumper Week 3 $5,000 USHJA National Hunter Derby. Demonstrating one of his many talents, Mike Belisle of Helm Limited designed the derby course. Belisle is also a managing consultant who has worked with TerraNova leadership to help bring their dream venue to fruition. “It’s always a pleasure to have the opportunity to build a derby course,” Belisle said. “It allows me the opportunity to get creative. With TerraNova’s park-like setting to work with, I was really trying to create a natural and flowing track that allows the horse and rider to showcase their ability.”
The first-round derby course consisted of a two-stride combination and two long bending lines, with the remaining four fences as singles. There were four high options, including a natural-looking hedge in front of the VIP pavilion. Piccolo and Constellation earned a first-round score of 85, leading the six horse-and-rider combinations headed into the handy round. “Constellation is really more Anna’s horse than he is mine. I’ve just borrowed him a couple times now. He’s great fun to ride,” Piccolo said.
In the handy round, Belisle kept the four high options in the ring. The horse-and-rider pairs jumped the hedge toward the ingate and a trot fence away from the gate. Piccolo and Constellation handily floated around the course and jumped all four high options, earning an extra four points for their handy score and received an 86, for a two-round total of 171. “He’s my personal horse. We imported him as a 4 year old and have just brought him up through the ranks. The derbies are definitely his favorite classes. He very much prefers a handy than any other class. He’s super game, very fun to ride. Big personality, very cocky,” Anna Schierholz Wilhelm shared.
$5,000 USHJA National Hunter Derby: Order of Finish
| Place | Horse | Rider | Owner | Round 1 | Round 2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Constellation | Matthew Piccolo | Anna Schierholz | 85 | 86 |
| 2 | Markut | Jamie Reinheimer | Cricket Hill Farm LLC | 82 | 86 |
| 3 | Quarterletto | Mary Cunningham | River Mountain Farm | 78 | 74 |
| 4 | Brighton | Mackenzie Suffy | Lee Ann Ingram | 80 | 42 |
| 5 | Captain Jack | Matthew Piccolo | Madeline Brooks | 48 | 44 |
| 6 | Calvano | Brennan Brady | Tricia Brady | 30 | 40 |