Owned by Katarzyna Roleska, the elegant 5-year-old chestnut stallion by NRHA Million Dollar Sire Colonels Shining Gun out of Tejana Chic (by NRHA Seven Million Dollar Sire Smart Chic Olena) was bred by Brent Loseke. “He’s just an amazing horse, I’m so happy for him, for me, and for the owner. He’s always great with me! Ever since I started riding him, he was cool to train and now he’s cool to show. He's a phenomenally good-minded horse,” said Czechowicz. “He was really good the whole week and I was very quiet with him in the qualifier as I didn't know what to expect in this first show of the season; our last outing was the Italian Futurity in November. He was great there, but after that, I never showed him again so I am really happy.” The Polish Professional also took third place honors by performing to a 225.5 with Roleska’s CSG Kenzo, also by Colonels Shining Gun out of Shiner Brimolena.
NRHA Million Dollar Rider Ann Fonck rode to the L4 IRHA and IRHBA Reserve Championships posting a 226.5. “I’m really happy with him and he was super nice,” said Fonck about her mount, Colonels Whize Gun (Colonels Shining Gun x Alicias Conquistador), a 7-year-old gelding owned by Anneliese & Hermann Meinert and bred by Roel van Dijk. “Managing to make it to the winner's circle is always great for us: It’s a 16-hour drive to get here, you have to do a good job in the qualifier, and for the finals, we all hope that everything comes together. We are super happy and so are the owners with how everything turned out.”
Francesco Barbagli and Steppin To Amarillo, a 5-year-old palomino stallion by Steppin On Sparks out of Frosted Wimped Cream owned by Riccardo Abati, clinched the Euro 12.000-Added IRHA and Euro 12.000-Added IRHBA L3 Championships. “I started riding him around the end of February and we immediately clicked. The horse is physically small but he’s all heart. I just tried to get us connected and give him the wake-up call since one of his characteristics is that he is very calm. The beautiful story behind this victory is that I started reining with Riccardo [Abati] at Filippo Masi's facility. The last horse I rode owned by Riccardo was in 2003…that’s 20 years ago. After so many years, when he called me to ask me if I wanted to try the horse, I immediately accepted. The rest is history.”
Winning the Euro 7.500-Added IRHA and Euro 7.500-Added IRHBA L2 Open as well as claiming Reserve Honors in the L3 division was Italian Professional Max Ruggeri who rode Spook Sunburst (Great Sun Burst x All About Spook), owned by Silvia Garuti, to a 221. The 8-year-old gelding by multiple NRHA Open and Non Pro World Champion Great Sun Burst was bred by Manuel Bonzano. “I am very happy with this result because he’s a very particular horse. He has already given a lot in his career and we came here following a few special events where we made the finals but then we weren't able to express ourselves. This time we succeeded and I'm really super excited for me, the horse, and of course the owners. The day before the show he needs to work a little more to be perfect the day after. I’ve been trying to find the right way to handle the pressure for a while now and this time I can say... mission accomplished!”
Taking home the Euro 5.500-Added IRHA L1 and Euro 5.500-Added IRHBA L1 Open Championships along with the L2 IRHA and IRHBA Reserve honors with a 218 score was Andrea Sanfelici of Italy riding Boomer Little Uno (Mister Little Uno x Make A Boom), a 6-year-old gelding owned by Cristian Gorni and bred by Francesca Zerbi. ““Boomer has been at our barn for two years now and during this period I showed him in reined cow horse events winning several shows in the Open classes. The current owner is Cristian Gorni, and the goal for this season is now for him to compete in the cow horse Novice Riders classes. Two months ago, Gorni suggested entering the horse in this Derby and I obviously supported him because it was a new experience I really wanted to be involved in. The horse is solid in all the maneuvers and has a lot of energy; this for sure helped in managing the whole week of competition. In the last two months, we only worked with the Derby being our goal and I also schooled him once. From now on we will get back to work for the next cow horse event.”
The Reserve Championship in both the IRHA and IRHBA Derby with a 215.5 score was Italian Serena Bertelli riding Mini Cilindro PC (Doc Classic Sire x Senorita Custom), a 7-year-old gelding owned and bred by Soc. Agr. Pietracavalla.
The ELEMENTA Italian Breeder's Award went to the highest scoring stallion in the IRHBA Derby Finals (Open and Non Pro all levels). The Euro 5.000 paycheck went to Honey First Gunny (ridden by Arnaud Girinon and owned by Le Fattorie Di Matilde Srl) and breeder Vittorio Rabboni.
The highest-scoring mare award went to Dance Wimpy Spook (ridden by Nico Sicuro) owned and bred by Quarter Dream. The latter was awarded the ELEMENTA Italian Breeder's Euro 5.000 Award.
The Open Derby Numbers:
Added/Entries
- Euro 42.000-Added IRHA L4 – 77
- Euro 12.000-Added IRHA L3 – 92
- Euro 7.500-Added IRHA L4 – 99
- Euro 5.500-Added IRHA L1 – 54
- Euro 42.000-Added IRHA/IRHBA L4 – 64
- Euro 12.000-Added IRHA/IRHBA L3 – 60
- Euro 7.500-Added IRHA/IRHBA L2 – 57
- Euro 5.500-Added IRHA/IRHBA L1 – 32
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Simona Diale / International Horse Press
