Amanda Derbyshire and Cornwall BH Dash to $25,000 SmartPak Grand Prix Win at HITS-on-the-Hudson V

Saugerties, NY – July 29, 2022 – The fifth week of HITS-on-the-Hudson is in full swing, with the Grand Prix Stadium hosting national and international riders during Friday’s $25,000 SmartPak Grand Prix. Great Britain’s Amanda Derbyshire dashed to an unbeatable jump-off time with her veteran partner Cornwall BH to claim the winning title as she aims the talented gelding towards September’s HITS Championship and the $400,000 Grand Prix FEI CSI5*.

“I’m aiming him at the big grand prix in September,” she noted after her win. “I’ve had a lot of success in that event. He’s very careful, he’s good in this ring and it’s a big money class, so that’s what we are focusing on.”


Amanda Derbyshire and Cornwall BH

Thirty-seven athletes contested Friday’s main event, where Florencio Hernandez used the expansive ring to test riders during both rounds. Twelve combinations advanced to the tiebreaker, where they began over a tall vertical before rolling back to a vertical-vertical double combination. The remainder of the jump-off featured four new fences, including a new line and a rollback to the final delicate vertical going past the in-gate. Only five were able to master the second round without error.

Seth Vallhonrat and Electrico were the first pair to advance to the short course and once again left all the fences intact, but opted for a conservative pace of 51.522 seconds, which would be good enough for fifth. Derbyshire was the next to go double clear, and although she was still very early in the order, a quick pace, quick turns and once less stride set the Great American time to beat at an uncatchable 40.103 seconds.


Francois Lamontagne and Chanel Du Calvaire. Photo by: ESI

Francois Lamontagne and Chanel Du Calvaire were the next pair to produce a double clear, clocking in at 42.863, which would hold up for third place. Steven Bluman and Biblou Du Perron slipped into the fourth-place position with a clear time of 49.158. One of the final pairs to jump-off, Carly Anthony and Heavenly W came the closest to catching Derbyshire with a fault-free time of 42.098 for second place.

Carly Anthony and Heavenly W

“My plan was to go neat and fast,” said Derbyshire. “He’s a naturally quick horse, and he’s been on a bit of a winning streak lately, so I trusted him. I left out [a stride] in one of the lines, and I got a good turn back to the last, so I think that’s maybe where I got it. I thought I would have been beaten, but I held the lead through the whole class, so it was really fun!

Derbyshire was happy to be back competing in the Grand Prix Stadium at HITS Saugerties, concluding, “I love a big ring, and this is one of the biggest. We always have a nice show here. It’s very laid back and we’re enjoying that.”

On Thursday, Derbyshire finished second with Wonder If in the $10,000 HITS 1.40m Jumper Classic, just one second shy of the winning combination of Laura Chapot and Calafornia. Delaney Flynn and Cassinnia earned the third-place prize as the next fastest pair.


Laura Chapot and Calafornia

On Wednesday, Stephen Moore and Mefisto Il Mondo scored the winning title in the $5,000 HITS Open Welcome as the fastest of four double-clears in a time of 46.433 seconds. Leann Kelly and Equinox HS set the original time to beat of 46.504 seconds, which would hold up for second place, while Flynn and Loughnavatta Indigo rounded out the top three.


Stephen Moore and Mefisto Il Mondo. Photo by: ESI

Jumper action at HITS Saugerties will continue throughout the weekend at HITS-on-the-Hudson, including the $100,000 Grand Prix on Sunday. The final rounds of the Markel/USHJA Zone 1 and 2 Team Jumper Championship close out the week, in addition to the Junior/Amateur, High, Low and Modified Jumper Classics, which are qualifiers for the Marshall & Sterling Insurance League Finals.