With the 2015 USHJA International Hunter Derby Championship only one month away, SBS Farms was heating up with wins across the nation, including the $10,000 USHJA International Hunter Derby, presented by TowSmart, at the Chagrin Valley Hunter Jumper Classic. Jennifer Alfano and Jersey Boy dominated the competition and took home the win, while Alfano also clinched second place aboard Miramar and fourth with Billie Steffee’s Maggie May.
Championship tricolors were abundant during the USEF Premier Week for the team at SBS Farms, Inc. Alfano captured the Green Working Hunter Championship with Me Again, owned by Helen Lenahan, pulling in two first places and one second place finish over fences, the first in the handy and the second in the under saddle. She also rode Candid to top finishes in the division, claiming first in the under saddle, as well as the first place over fences and the second place in the handy behind his barn mate.
The success continued into the High Performance Hunters where Alfano showed Maggie May and Jersey Boy. She posed with both mounts in the winner’s circle, while Maggie May would don the championship award and Jersey Boy the reserve rosette.
The two continued to impress in the $10,000 USHJA International Hunter Derby, where Jersey Boy shined in his usual derby-fashion, finishing in first with Maggie May taking the fourth place award. Alfano also showed Miramar in the High Performance Hunters, earning a triad of second place finishes, and duplicating their earlier efforts once again in the derby where they would finish in second behind Jersey Boy, with Miss Lucy earning seventh place.
Alfano is currently qualified with all four horses for the 2015 USHJA Derby Championships. Jersey Boy is ranked as the No. 1 horse for lifetime earnings with 70 competitions and more than $280,000 to his credit, while Alfano is the No. 2 rider for lifetime earnings.
Alfano also has her eyes set on the USHJA Pre-Green Incentive Championship, which runs concurrently during the week of the Bluegrass Festival Horse Show and 2015 USHJA Derby Championships. Castle, owned by Sharon O’Neill, exemplified why he's qualified for the finals with top showings in the Pre-Green 3’3” Hunter divisions, capturing the championship with a slew of blue ribbons. It was The Exchange that also demonstrated his abilities with Alfano in the irons for the Pre-Green Incentive and the Pre-Green Incentive Challenge, where he took the top call both times, and also earned the Pre-Green 3’ Hunter Reserve Championship.
Alex Trolli and Del Piero and Hey Sailor.
Success only continued for SBS Farms as talented junior rider Alex Trolli captured the championship and reserve championship awards in the Junior 3’3” Hunters. She rode Hey Sailor, owned by the Buffalo Therapeutic Riding Center, to good ribbons with nothing less than a third place to secure the championship. She also rode her own Del Piero to the reserve championship with two blue ribbons over fences and the second place in the handy.
Zoe Schabb and Brightside, owned by the Buffalo Therapeutic Riding Center, finished the Small/Medium Children’s Hunter Pony division as champion. She took the championship with two third place finishes and one second place over fences, as well as the first place in the under saddle.
Based out of Buffalo, New York, SBS Farms' Susie Schoellkopf and Jennifer Alfano run one of the foremost show hunter training operations in the country and travel nationwide to compete in the nation's most prestigious horse shows.
SBS Farms, Inc. continues the proud tradition of the Saddle and Bridle Club as one of the top show stables in the Northeast. Schoellkopf is also the Executive Director of the Buffalo Therapeutic Riding Center, which houses both The Buffalo Equestrian Center as well as SBS Farms. Built in 1922, the 160-stall facility is a historical landmark, with its unique English Tudor and Gothic-style architecture.
For more information on SBS Farms please visit www.sbsfarms.com. For more information on the Buffalo Therapeutic Riding Center, please visit www.thebtrc.org.