Lexington, KY – August 16, 2025 – The grand finalé of the Platinum Performance/USHJA International Hunter Derby Championship took center stage on Saturday evening in the Rolex Arena during the Bluegrass Festival Horse Show at the Kentucky Horse Park. Thirty of the best hunter athletes from all corners of the United States came prepared to showcase their talents and vie for a share of the prize money. In the end, it was Victoria Colvin and Dicoblue PS who defended their early lead to claim the victory, making Colvin the only rider to have won the prestigious title four times on four different horses. Jennifer Hannan and Cellestino were awarded Reserve Champion honors, while John French and Milagro placed third overall.
Colvin was thrilled after her victory, saying, “Dicoblue PS is super special. I’ve been riding him for a couple of years, and I’ve done mainly derbies with him, but he’s still a little green. He has shown once under lights, but he’s not quite used to this atmosphere. I wasn’t completely sure what to expect, but he went out there and was amazing. He didn’t even bat an eye.”
Victoria Colvin & Dicoblue PS
Course designers Ken Krome and Meghan Rawlins set a challenging 12-obstacle track, that included four high-option fences, one of which was a tall wall, a log bounce, and a final test of a horse shoe where riders could jump any of the three sections in any order and in any direction before a final hand gallop to the last wide oxer.
“It was a difficult course – I felt like I was back to my equitation days,” laughed Colvin. “There were a lot of unique options, which was super fun and everybody could take their own route.”
Colvin had another factor to think about while she was on course. The rider was injured in the warm-up after falling off another horse and being struck in the ribs. “It was a bit of a fluke accident,” she commented. “Everything is all right – it was a little painful at first, but it’s okay now. Dicoblue PS took me around beautifully and he’s an incredible horse, so I give it all to him!”
The judges, who included Abby Blankenship, Jeanne Marie Dunford-Miller, Lynn Forgione, Tammy Provost, Mike Rosser, and Scott Williamson, were so impressed with the duo’s effort in the handy ring that they were awarded scores of 92, 95 and 96. Adding in all four high options as well as their leading score from the classic round they had a two-round total of 608. Colvin joins Hunt Tosh as one of only two riders to win this prestigious event four times, but she is the only one to have done it on four different horses, including in 2017 with Cuba, 2018 with Private Practice, and 2019 with El Primero.
Dicoblue PS is an 11-year-old Oldenburg gelding owned by John and Stephanie Ingram that Colvin found in Ocala two years ago. “He was a jumper, and I went and tried him and loved his feeling,” she explained. “He felt like he could become a really nice hunter, and then he ended up being an incredible derby horse. Every time he walks in the ring, he wants to win. He has rarely ever put a foot wrong. I think the worst thing is maybe a rub. He is a very talented horse and always wants to do well.”
Unlike Colvin and Dicoblue PS, Hannan and Cellestino just began their partnership at the end of last year thanks to owner Stephanie Bulger. “We just started doing the derbies at the end of Florida and tonight was his first night class, and really his first big event like this, so we couldn’t be more proud of him,” she smiled. “He was on it and really rose to the occasion. I was lucky to go towards the end and be able to watch some other people’s tracks and what worked best. The goal of tonight was to do what was best for my horse and myself, I think that worked out well!”
Hannan and Cellestino finished the day with a total score of 597, earning handy scores of 91, 92 and 93 to maintain their second place position.
Jennifer Hannan & Cellestino
French reunited with his former mount Milagro, who is now owned by Zoe Wolf, for a top performance in the handy round that earned scores of 90, 93, and 89.5 for a two-round total of 583.5 and the third-place honors.
“He’s been doing the junior hunters for the last two years, so I didn’t really know what to expect,” admitted French. “He hadn’t been doing these kinds of classes or jumping these kinds of jumps for a while, but I knew he was good at night, and it didn’t take long to get back in the swing of things. It’s so nice to be here and ride him out in the field and go up and down and just keep him happy. I did show him in a couple High Performance classes this week, he ended up winning both, so I was like, ‘Okay, he’s good!’”
John French & Milagro
The top 20 riders designated as Tier II, meaning they ranked 41st and lower on the 2024 Rider Money Won list, were eligible for an additional 20 percent of the prize money.
This year’s Tier II Champion was fourth-place finisher Michael Britt-León with Mark Dorfman’s Can’t Touch This HS. “I actually wasn’t aware I was a tier two rider until yesterday, so that was kind of exciting,” said Britt-León. “It gives us a chance to get an extra pot and get some more money earned. It’s only my second derby on both horses, so that was a little bit nerve-racking on what was going to happen. I knew I had to bring it with Can’t Touch This HS because I really wanted to at least win Tier II. I’m ecstatic about that and proud of the horses, grateful to Mark, and excited to be here!”
Michael Britt-Leon & Can’t Touch This HS
Earlier in the day, horse-and-rider combinations that did not make it into the Championship’s Handy Round could compete in the $10,000 Derby Challenge. Daniel Geitner and Walk The Moon, owned by Lynn Seithel, topped the class, collecting a total of $3,000.
Daniel Geitner & Walk The Moon
Additional awards were also presented throughout the evening.
- Rider Style Award: Hannah Isop
- Alberto Ramirez International Derby Groom’s Award: Raul Mara, groom of both Aeronautic and Walk The Moon, ridden by Daniel Geitner and owned by Martin Schlaeppi and Lynn Seithel respectively.
- Top Amateur Owner rider: Savannah Embly, on her own Fine Line with a score of 224 in the Classic Round
- Top Junior Owner and Rider: Aline Ludemann, riding her own Didi Blue to a score of 202.5 in the Classic Round
The Bluegrass Festival comes to a close on Sunday with the $5,000 USHJA National Hunter Derby in the Alltech Arena beginning at 10am. For more information about the Kentucky Horse Shows please visit www.KentuckyHorseShows.com.