JUNE 2023 THE RIDER /43


Five former champions among the line-up for this year’s Al Shira’aa Derby Plenty of other riders


Five winners of the


Hickstead Derby are among the entrants for this year’s class, which takes place on Sunday 25 June at the All England Jumping Course at Hickstead, West Sussex. Reigning champion


Shane Breen returns with his 2022 winner Can Ya Makan, in the hope of secur- ing a back-to-back victory. He also brings rising star Scarteen, who impressed in Hamburg when finishing second in one of their Derby qualifiers. His brother Trevor


Breen is another who knows exactly what it takes to win Hickstead’s most


iconic


class, having been victori- ous in 2014 (Adventure De Kannan) and 2015 (Lough- natousa WB). He brings Gonzalo, who finished fourth in last year’s Longines King George V Gold Cup. William Funnell is in


with a shout of making his-


tory if he can secure a fifth Derby win. Five riders share the record with four wins apiece, and Funnell has an excellent chance of better- ing this, having already won in 2006, 2008, 2009 and 2018. His ride Equine America Billy Diamo made his Hickstead Derby debut last summer, winning Fri- day’s Derby Trial before going on to finish in 11th place in the Al Shira’aa Derby. Guy Williams last won


the Derby in 2010, but he’s consistently been in the placings in the years since. His Puissance specialist Mr Blue Sky UK would cer- tainly be a popular winner with the Derby crowd, and he’s another who has jumped well round the chal- lenging track on a number of occasions. In 2016 William


Whitaker became the third member of his famous fam- ily to lift the Boomerang


on the entries list have come close to winning the Al Shi- ra’aa Derby. Dermott Lennon has been placed many times, and last year he finished joint second with Gelvins Touch following a great round for four faults. Brazil’s Carlos Mota Ribas had a great show at last year’s Al Shira’aa Hickstead Derby Meeting, finishing runner up in both the Speed Derby and the Derby itself. His rides Trix and Night Se- cret Z were both on good form in Hamburg, and it would be no surprise to see Carlos feature in the prize- money again at Hickstead. Olympic rider Holly


Shane Breen and Can Ya Makan winning the Al Shira’aa Derby in 2022 (c) Elli Birch/Boots and Hooves Photography


Trophy, following in the footsteps of his uncles John and Michael. He finished


sixth with Flamboyant III in 2022, in what was the horse’s first attempt at the


class, so they could well be ones to watch in this year’s renewal.


Smith has had a number of good rounds in the Al Shira’aa Derby, including finishing runner-up to William Funnell in 2018, and sixth equal in both 2019 and 2022. Alongside Holly in joint-sixth last summer were Irish talents Michael


Duffy and Jordan Coyle, and both could be in the reckoning once more in this year’s class. Other names to look


out for include Ireland’s David Simpson, and British riders Robert Whitaker and Graham Gillespie, all of whom have been placed in the Derby. Riders have to qualify


for the Al Shira’aa Derby in Friday’s Agria Derby Trial. A world ranking class in its own right, it often highlights some new contenders each year for Sunday’s showcase class.


now


Tickets are on sale from


www.hickstead.co.uk. The action from the Al Shira’aa Hickstead Derby Meeting (22-25 June) will be livestreamed on ClipMy- Horse.TV


and Hickstead.TV.


Nicole Haunert and My Lady Lavista Reign Victorious in $30,000 June Classic I Grand Prix


June 17, 2023 – San Juan Capistrano, CA – The last to go was the best to go in Sat- urday’s $30,000 June Clas- sic I Grand Prix, with Nicole Haunert and My Lady Lavista flying over the final vertical to take the win at the Blenheim June Clas- sic I in San Juan Capistrano, CA.


Out of the original


starting field, Haunert and My Lady Lavista were one of six to jump the first- round, Oscar Soberon-de- signed course without fault. Then, as the last to return to the Grand Looke Arena for


the jump-off, they stopped the clock in a winning 41.203 seconds. Second place with a double clear time of 42.514 seconds went to Skylar Wireman and Crunch K, owned by MJ Kaplan, and McKenna Nor- ris and her own Nirvana Van T Akkerhof took third with a time of 43.503 seconds. “I’m thrilled!” said


Haunert of My Lady Lav- ista’s winning performance. “We are just over the moon about her.” Haunert has been part-


nered with the 15.3-hand, 9- year-old Holsteiner mare,


owned by Jill Hunter-Hens- ley of Cherokee Show Horses, for the past three years, and Haunert and the team at TriStar Farms have been slowly producing the mare up the ranks since then. Patience has been a key to Lavista’s success thus far, and Haunert remained patient in her plan for Satur- day’s jump-off. “She’s nowhere near


ready to go all out and go crazy,” said Haunert. “I def- initely wanted to go double clean because there were only two other double cleans, but I didn’t want to


push it. [My Lady Lavista] is so naturally fast, and she gets very mad if you go slow – very mad! I’ve tried. It’s a bad idea with her, but she’s nowhere near as sea- soned as the rest of the class.”


Haunert continued, Haunert


“She’s wicked careful. We have a huge year ahead of us, so I thought, ‘Let’s just go double clean.’ When she’s confident, she’s every- thing. If I was second or third and double clean and she stayed as confident as she did, it’s a win for me be- cause this is just the begin- ning for us! I’m still a tad nervous to go too fast on Lavista, because right now, I think there’s nothing that she can’t do; for that mare, I think it needs to always stay that way.” For Saturday’s win, received


a Nicole Haunert and My Lady Lavista. Photo by McCool Photography


Blenheim EquiSports pic- ture frame and coolerette and a gift certificate from Riderzon. She also kicked off the PRO Series Equine Leading National Grand Prix Rider Award standings atop the leaderboard. Fol- lowing the conclusion of the Blenheim International Jumping Festival in Septem- ber, the rider with the most points accumulated in na- tional grand prix competi- tion will be awarded a PRO Series Equine sponsorship.


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Nicole Haunert and My Lady Lavista racing to the win in the $30,000 June Classic I Grand Prix. Photo by McCool Photography


Nicole Haunert and My Lady Lavista were presented as the winners of the $30,000 June Classic I Grand Prix. Photo by McCool Photography


Competition at the


Blenheim June Classic I continues through Sunday, June 18, with the conclusion


of the Zone 10 Selection Trials for the North Ameri- can Youth Championships (NAYC). Blenheim EquiS-


ports is the place to jump all season long; to learn more, visit www.ThePlaceTo- Jump.com.


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