After a week-long action at the Pferdesportzentrum Ostbayern in Kreuth, Germany, 69 non pro riders met to compete in the 2022 NRHA Germany Breeders Derby Non Pro Finals on Friday.
It was Adrienne Speidel, who took the top honors in Level (L) 4 and L3 aboard her stallion CDC Cromed Resolve (Custom Del Cielo x Kaysolve). Speidel was coming to the Finals as the Level 4 leader, which put her in the last draw in Section 2 of the Finals.
“The good thing about going last was that I was the only one in the warm up arena. I was nervous, but I knew I could handle pressure, so it actually made me ready,” said Speidel about her preparation before the run. “I knew I had a really good horse to win with,” she continued, “so I wanted to do my best. My plan was not to think about the other scores before going in. My horse was at his best today.”
Speidel bought her stallion as a 4-year-old and didn’t make the NRHA Germany Breeders Futurity and Derby Finals with him before, so she was really happy to now finally make up for it.
Level 4 Reserve Championship went to Nina Zinsli rising her stallion TR Reinman (NRHA Million Dollar Sire Shine Chic Shine x KR Ima Gunner) scoring 215. Zinsli and TR Reinman also finished Reserve Champions in Level 2.
It was a long day for the young Italian Rebecca Folcia, who competed at the end of Section 1 and then waited till the very end of the Non Pro Finals to hear the exciting results: Level 3 Reserve Champion, L2 Champion, L1 Champion and Youth Derby Champion!
Folcia rode her gelding LS Dun Blue Berry (Spat A Blue x Hollywood Greatberry) to a score of 215.5 to reach the titles.
Folcia was thrilled about her horse and their victory: “It took us 13 hours to get here, so my horse was little tired, when we arrived, but he did really well in the first go. I was so happy, because he was with me in all the maneuvers; he is an amazing horse.” She added: “In the finals, I went little faster in the circles, because I knew I had to push harder since it was the final round. And I am really proud of the results we got today.”
The pair that has only been together for a year plans to compete next at the NRHA European Derby in Lyon, France and then prepare for the next show season.
Three riders shared the Reserve Championship in Level 1, all scoring 213 points. Sara Galimberti rode Late Little Whiz (NRHA Three Million Dollar Sire Walla Walla Whiz x Late Little Jaba), Maria Otten was aboard The Spook Coop (Best Spook x Kaliz Golden Happily), and Cornelia Milchram performed with Starlit Spook (NRHA Seven Million Dollar Sire Smart Spook x Gay Light Star).
Youth Derby saw 22 Finalists in action today, which was the highest number in the history of the NRHA Germany Breeders Derby. In the Youth Derby, scores are calculated by adding the go round score and Finals score for each competitor. Rebecca Folcia and LS Dun Blue Berry received a 215.5 in the Finals in addition to the 213 in the go round. With a composite of 428.5, the duo topped the Youth Derby class.
Reserve Youth Championship went to Vladimir Cejka aboard his gelding Remy Rooster SG (Remin Whiz x Tea Rooster), who scored 211.5 in the go round and added 211 in the Finals, combining for the second highest score of 422.5.
Tomorrow the Pferdesportzentrum Ostbayern will welcome the Open riders, who will be competing in the 2022 NRHA Germany Breeders Derby Open Finals starting at 11:00 with Section 1 and followed by Section 2 at 17:30.
By International Horse Press
