SBS Farm's professional rider Jennifer Alfano is still on the mend after a fall and subsequent injury; however, she led the team at SBS Farms, Inc., to the top of the leader boards during HITS-on-the-Hudson VI in Saugerties, New York. From Aug. 3-7, SBS Farms competed against the nation's top horse-and-rider combinations, capping off the week with three top-12 finishes in the $100,000 USHJA International Hunter Derby.
Kristy Herrera rode Miramar, owned by Alfano, to seventh place and also piloted Miss Lucy, owned by Helen Lenahan, to the ninth. She put in another fantastic two rounds aboard Billie Steffee's Maggie May, clinching 10th place overall.
"We want to thank Tom [Struzzieri], Brian [Morris] and the entire HITS team for a great show, and for putting on a fantastic USHJA International Hunter Derby," Susan Schoellkopf of SBS Farms, Inc. said. "We had a wonderful week, and we're so thankful to Kristy Herrera for filling in for Jen, which was a very tall order, and she handled it beautifully. Also, a major thank you to Jen for leading the group!"
Herrera continued her winning streak aboard Girl Crush, owned by Lenahan, sweeping the High Pre-Green Hunters to take home the championship. Herrera duplicated her efforts aboard Alfano's Candid, riding him to the championship rosette with a clean sweep in the Conformation Hunters. She concluded her rides with The Exchange, owned by SBS Farms, Inc., earning the reserve championship.
Jessica Sciarra and Caspian won the Low Children's Jumper Reserve Championship with first- and fourth-placed finishes in the section. Paige Koumanis and Lexus took first and second places in two classes and were champions in the High Adult, 18-35, Jumpers, then returned to take sixth in the $2,500 M&S/NAL Adult Jumper Classic.
Jessica Sciarra and Caspian
SBS Farms' Alicia Heberle had a fantastic show with Gunsmoke RHF, jumping a clear round with the 5-year-old. The team also celebrated Joan Burke's mare, Habanera, who proved to have quite the aptitude for the show ring, even though she only faced the competition arena for the second time. Barbara Britt's Transcendent, ridden by Heberle, also finished with good results in the Pre-Green Hunters. Zoe Schaab and Lucky Charm were in the top ribbons in the Children's Pony Hunters.
The SBS Farms team now has their sights set on the Kentucky Summer Series, where they will compete during the Bluegrass Festival Horse Show and the USHJA International Hunter Derby Championships.
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 about the Buffalo Therapeutic Riding Center, please visit www.thebtrc.org.
Special thanks to Phelps Media Group for the press release.