Jennifer Bliss and Flight Land the $2,500 USHJA National Hunter Derby

Jennifer Bliss and Flight ©Anne Gittins Photography.

Wellington, FL – May 7, 2022 – The Spring IV week of the ESP Spring Series saw hunters compete on the grass Derby Annex field of Equestrian Village throughout the week. The week’s feature class for hunter competitors took place on Friday, with Jennifer Bliss of Wellington, FL and Dandelion Farm LLC’s Flight topping a field of 16 competitors to capture their first derby win together thanks to two high-scoring rounds in the $2,500 USHJA National Hunter Derby, presented by Equiline.

As the groom of the winning derby horse, Deywi Rodriguez was the recipient of the Schneiders Groom Award following the $2,500 USHJA National Hunter Derby. As part of the recognition, Rodriguez was presented with a bag of high-quality grooming supplies courtesy of Schneiders Tack.

On Saturday afternoon, competitors jumped for the blue ribbon in the $1,000 2’6″-2’9″ Hunter Derby, presented by Score At The Top. Nabbing the win by more than ten points, Samantha Senft of Wellington, FL and her own La Roux 11 led the victory gallop with a total score of 177 points.

Ava Scharbo of Winnetka, IL and her own Logan impressed in the USHJA 3’ Hunter division, presented by Perfect Products. Though the pair only competed in three of the division’s five classes, they earned first place in all of their showings, which included two over-fences classes and the under saddle, to accrue the most points towards the overall championship honors.

In the 15-17 Equitation, Natalie Groulx of Bloomfield Hills, MI piloted Kate Abajian’s Lambada to a dominating victory in the divisional standings. The partnership was awarded three first-place finishes in three classes to earn the championship tricolors by a wide margin.

For more information and results, please visit www.PBIEC.com.