In fact, there are six horses, but five riders, because the two scores of 214 that topped L2 were produced by Austrian rider Wolfgang Hammer: one aboard Chicago Lena and the other on Mr Ricochet.
Wolfgang dominated the eighty pairs competing in his level while the leader of the 45 entrants at Level 4 was Carlo Ambrosini with Gunnalittlestep (217.5). Level 3 saw a field of 52 pairs and a top score awarded to Edoardo Bernardelli riding Whiz Wild West, on 216.5. The two pairs heading Level 1 on a 212 were Vanessa Kock for Germany and Italian Gilberto Bonzi, respectively on QT Red Dun and CMP Long Legs Jac, with 82 competing at this level.
Nineteen-year-old Ambrosini, born and raised in Lombardy, has joined his father Pietro Paolo in the management of the family business - specialized in cattle breeding - and with him represents the outstanding Ambrosini QH stables. Carlo was probably one of the foremost Non Pros in the 2018 competition season in European arenas, with victories and top placings in almost all the major Futurities (and more besides) earning him a spot in the world Top 20 and over $76,000 Lifetime Earnings. Accompanying him at the head of the Non Pro Level 4 go-round was the four-year-old Gunnalittlestep (Gunnatrashya per Gay Jays Little Step), that placed third at Level 3 and fourth at Level 4 at the NRHA European Futurity in April between the reins of Pietro Paolo. Bred by Angelika and Markus Gebert, he was started and trained at Ambrosini QH where he is managed by Marco Pettinari; in 2018 he was also shown by Rudi Kronsteiner.
Gunnalittlestep was Carlo's father’s prospect for last year’s Futurity season during which the pair won the titles of IRHA Pre-Futurity/LR Futurity Intermediate Non Pro Champion and Non Pro Reserve Champion, while at the ‘Big Futurity’ in December they reached the level 2 and 3 finals. Pietro Paolo had also entered himself for the Derby on Gunnalittlestep but at the last moment decided to let his son show the horse, even though Carlo had ridden him very little. “I have to thank my dad for this chance; my other mount just missed the final so I would have had to watch it from the stands! Gunnalittle is not a highly-charged horse, so I think I will give him some rest and with the help of Marco, who knows him better than anyone else and has prepared him impeccably, I will try to do my best in this final ... Otherwise, I’ll never hear the end of it from the boss, after he left me the best horses!”
Gina Schumacher, ever-present among the top horses in the rankings and reigning Reserve Champion of the 2018 Non Pro Derby as well as NRHA EuroFuturity Non Pro L4 Champion here in April, was placed just behind Carlo Ambrosini in this early phase of the Derby. Today she rode Dun Escaping BB to within half a point of the go-round leader. This stallion, born in 2013, by Don Quixote Escapes out of Hollywood Balloues, was bred at the Eifel Gold Ranch belonging to the family of Gina's trainer, NRHA Million Dollar Rider Cira Baeck.
With Edoardo Bernardelli, at the top of the Level 3 Non Pro, was the talented gelding Whiz Wild West, nicknamed “Mosè”. Edo, Italian, is 28 years old and lives in Olgiate Molgora in the province of Lecco. Just like Carlo Ambrosini, he is a “non pro professional”, because his day is equally divided between time spent in the saddle at the Camisi QH stables, and the other half working in his parents' company in Milan. Bernardelli, who has been riding since he was a boy, has had several trainers, both Italian and American; helping him prepare for this Derby is Mirko Midili. Edo bought Whiz Wild West (by Spark N Whiz out of West Coast Oak), previously 2017 IRHA/NRHA Futurity 4 yr-old Champion with Guglielmo Fontana, about a year ago from Luga QH, the stable where he was trained after his birth at Mattia Camisi’s stables. “Now the challenge is to manage him as well as possible in the lead up to the final,” Edo said, “and once in the arena to try to gain points with his strongest manoeuvres.Fortunately, he is a very generous horse ...”.
One point less, and second-best score in this level, for the Belgian rider Suzanne Scharroo riding Topsail Wimp BB: a 2014 gelding from Wimpys Little Step and Soft Whizpers, another excellent product from the Baeck breeding programme.
As we said earlier, Wolfgang Hammer completely dominated level 2, placing his NRHA European Futurity L3 and 2 Champion and L4 Reserve Champion Chicago Lena on a par with his Mr Ricochet. Chicago Lena (Chic Olena x Bright Gun City) was bred in Austria by Sabine Schmid and Wolfgang bought him as a yearling. At two, the Czech-born trainer Tomas Martinek then took the horse “into his care”. Wolfgang and his wife, previously non pros with Vern Sapergia and Silvia Rzepka, opened their own stables in 2015, where Tomas started working the following year.
On the other hand, the stallion Mr Ricochet is a son of Ricochet Rooster and Docs Oak Rosy, bred at 23 QH. He is now six years old and Hammer has owned him since he was three. Both he and Tomas Martinek have ridden this horse. He was finalist in the 4-year-old Futurity and Derby events in which he competed in Austria, Italy and Germany, as well as being 2017 Austrian Futurity Intermediate Non Pro Reserve Champion.
There was another tie at Level 1, this time between Vanessa Kock, a rider from Hamburg, and Gilberto Bonzi who lives near Bologna. Vanessa, mother to a one-year-old, rides with her husband Janto (previously coached by Rudy Kronsteiner) in their private stables; since last February the couple has periodically been taking their competition horses to Bernard and Ann Fonck’s centre in Antwerp. In fact, Ann is here to follow Vanessa in this, her very first, Special Event. Vanessa has been riding since she was 6 years but only took up Western riding, specifically reining, in 2015, when she returned to the saddle after a bad accident in which she fractured her second lumbar vertebra and risked losing her ability to walk. For some time, Vanessa wore a fixer with three bars and six screws which was then removed in 2015: “Since then I have been training every day to try to improve and ‘Redneck’ (QT Red Dun) has helped me a lot. He is certainly my “once-in-a-lifetime horse”. QT Red Dun (from Dun It On The QT and Moms Lil Ruffian), a 7-year-old stallion, was bought when he was two from his breeders Katja & Michael Jungfer Schubert then ridden until he was 5 by Janto; Vanessa took over the reins just one year ago.
54-year-old Gilberto Bonzi, on the other hand, has been training since 2015 with Manuel Cortesi and was previously coached by Eugenio Latorre and Christian Dalla Pozza. His CMP Long Legs Jac is a 5-year-old gelding born of Arc Surprising Smart and Leolena Jac and has previously taken part in special events with his owner, placing fifth in the 2018 Austrian 4-yr-olds Intermediate Non Pro Futurity.
That’s all now for the Non Pro Derby: it just remains to look forward to the Finals on Friday afternoon and evening.
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