Zechariah and Derek Petersen Fly to the Win in $24,500 Horseflight Jumper Classic
Derek Petersen found a winning stride on the final day of HITS Ocala Winter Circuit’s seventh week of competition. Petersen was one of many on the docket for the day’s feature event: the $24,500 Horseflight Jumper Classic and earned himself a lead in the victory gallop once again in the Grand Prix ring aboard longtime partner, Zechariah. The event is a beloved weekly occurrence throughout the ten weeks of the circuit, which takes place in the equestrian capital of Ocala, Florida and hosts all levels of hunter, jumper, and equitation classes.
In an impressive show of speed, Petersen and the 10-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding (Zirocco Blue VDL) managed to stop the clock almost two seconds faster than the equally-fast combination of Marylisa Leffler and ZaZa Z. Leffler and the Rolling Acres’ 14-year-old Warmblood mare (Zandor Z) punched in a time of 44.05 seconds, compared to Petersen’s 42.49 seconds, and finished out their day in second place. An impressive ten combinations advanced to the jump off out of the original field of 24 that contested Meghan Rawlins (CAN) first-round track, but it was Harold Chopping that rounded out the top three just slightly off the pace after finishing in 45.55 seconds with Deborah Ball’s 11-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding (Etoulon VDL), Ilmee 54.
“I thought the course was good today and the jump off worked in my favor,” Petersen explained. “ You could really open up in between the fences and just keep going, which is what Zechariah does so well.
“I had a rough go at it Thursday,” he continued, “so I wanted to focus on this class specifically to get in a good round and decided to take a step down from the Saturday grand prix. Thankfully we ended up winning and it was great.”
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