February 11, 2022 
It was a postcard moment.
Watching Katie Taylor-Davidson and L’Con Reyes, the first of 27 combinations to set hoof in the spectacular grass field at Desert International Horse Park in Thermal, CA on Saturday, you’d be forgiven for thinking the course in the $50,000 Butet USHJA International Hunter Derby rode easy.
With four high options, the last a 4’5” oxer, a hay bale wall, and a veritable English garden of flowers set against a cloudless sky and the rocky face of the Santa Rosa mountains, the veteran pair executed a mistake-free Classic Hunter round, showing beauty and brilliance over the high options to set an early score to beat at 176.
“For me, it’s less pressure going at the beginning because you’re not just sitting here like, ‘OK, I’ve got to do this and this.’ You just go in and do it. I prefer an early draw, actually,” shared Taylor Davidson.
But if the round looked deceptively easy, the illusion didn’t hold. As the afternoon advanced, one accomplished pair after another fell victim to the challenging course and impressive atmosphere.
The most shocking upset of the day: favorite Big Shot. The reigning USEF National Horse of the Year spooked on landing from fence two and again at fence three before the pair missed their line to fence four, forcing a circle. Rider Jenny Karazississ schooled the rest of the round before electing to retire at the final fence.
Veteran derby campaigners Sami Milo and Lulavani met a similar fate, retiring after the mare stopped twice at the stacked stones (fence six), an obstacle that caught out several other combinations.
But among the surprise endings were moments brilliance.
Nick Haness, the rider tasked with the most entries, qualified all four of his mounts for the Handy Round, claiming three of the top four positions on the leaderboard after the Classic Round. He was sitting in the lead with Jenkins, after taking three high options for a total score of 179 and in second with Dalmore (177.50 with three high options). Haness and Caldiano tied with Taylor Davidson and L’Con Reyes for third on 176 points while Jamie Sailor and Get Rowdy rounded out the top five on 174.50 respectively.
Alas, the Handy Round proved just as fickle as the first round and with the top 12 returning, Haness’s luck turned.
His first mount, Inkwell, refused the third obstacle in the Handy Round, putting paid to their podium hopes. The wind worked against him on Caldiano, blowing over the flowers (again at fence three). The judges pulled the pair up and permitted them to restart to the round, but a swap into the double and pair of canter strides into the trot jump ultimately relegated them to sixth. Haness regained the lead on his third mount, Dalmore, only to lose it when Taylor-Davidson and L’Con Reyes added 196 points to their original 176 for a total of 372.
Last to return with Jenkins, Haness made one final effort to take the win. Hopes ran out when his horse did at fence three, handing the win to Taylor-Davidson.
“This is his fourth derby win with me,” smiled Taylor-Davidson of her long-time if sporadic partner.
“I actually don’t work at the barn where he is now, so I don’t get to ride him as much anymore. I used to ride him a lot. But they’ve kept him going fantastically and he showed up to the show this week and I go and jump in once in a while.”
The secret to their derby success, she says, is a supportive ride.
“He’s funny, he makes you work for it, but he’ll give you his all, all the time. He really wants you to dig in and ride and get it done. And that’s what he’s so good about the derbies because you can kind of ride like that a bit, and he’s always trying his heart out for me.
“I think we just know each other really well.”
International Derby competition returns to DIHP Week VII of the 2022 Desert Circuit.
