Cornwall BH Captures First Grand Prix Win with Amanda Derbyshire
The wins started coming in May and haven’t slowed down for Amanda Derbyshire (GBR) and Cornwall BH. To end opening week of the Great Lakes Equestrian Festival (GLEF) on Sunday afternoon, the pair sped to the win in the $138,600 Meijer CSI3* Grand Prix.
“I’ve had him since he was eight years old and he’s always been a great horse,” Derbyshire said of the 14-year-old Holsteiner gelding (Con Air x Cambridge) owned by Gochman Sport Horses LLC. “For some reason, in the last six months we’ve gotten fast. The pair has won two grand prix qualifiers in the past two months and capped off the week with the horse’s first grand prix victory.
One of nine to jump clear over Catsy Cruz’s (MEX) first-round course, Derbyshire sped to a time of 38.73 seconds in the tiebreaker to take the win. Just off the pace was Margie Engle (USA) and Dicas, who crossed the timers in 39.63 seconds, and Casall and Ali Wolff (USA) rounded out the podium in 40.12 seconds.
“I’m absolutely thrilled,” Derbyshire continued. “He’s jumped double clear in lots of grand prixs but was always third or fourth. He used to be a little cheeky and could run out so I always tried to play it safe.”
Derbyshire admitted she wanted to stick to her instincts with Cornwall BH and play it safe in Sunday’s class, but changed her mind as it was her turn to jump off. “I actually was a little defeatist before I went in and was going to just go for a medium clear,” she said of her original plan. “I thought Ali [Wolff] was very fast and a couple of the rollbacks didn’t really suit him. When I saw Nick [Dello Joio ] go, I was like, ‘I’m going to give it a go.’ I think I was a little faster to the in-and-out. He’s so careful that I didn’t really have to slow down for the double of verticals.”
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Cornwall BH Captures First Grand Prix Win with Amanda Derbyshire – Traverse City Horse Shows
