Double Header Derby Day at the Pensacola Winter Circuit!

Tim Maddrix pilots Shutterbug to
the win in the $10,000 USHJA International Hunter Derby

For Immediate Release: January 21, 2017

Pensacola, Florida

It was a double header Derby Day yesterday at the Pensacola
Winter Circuit!

Tim Maddrix of Leeds, Alabama rode three horses in the

$10,000 USHJA International Hunter Derby and
galloped away with the blue on Alina Dumitrescu’s Shutterbug and
then secured the third place with Missy Nolen’s Special and fifth
place with Sarah Digiorgio’s Quarterback
Z at the Escambia County Equestrian Center.

“I was really excited to win the class with Shutterbug,”

commented Maddrix.  “He’s been knocking on the door for the
past year and coming in second and third in the International
Derbies, but this was his first win,” he said.

Maddrix led the pack in the first round after earning a score of 174 with Shutterbug.

Julie Curtin of Woodstock, Georgia and Helen Gilbert’s White Lightning
sat in second position after the first round with a score of 168.
Maddrix and his first ride in the class, Special, earned a Classic score of
164. Evan Colucio of Middleburg, Virginia rode four horses in the
prestigious event and after the first round, sat in fourth position
going into the Handy round with a score of 160 with Ellen Addison’s El Tindo, fifth position with Mary Antonini’s Rocking
the Boat with a score of 158, eleventh and twelfth with
EMC International’s Burlesque and Love Game, respectively, with first round scores of 142 and 138.

Sitting in sixth position after the Classic round was Liddy Strickland’s Valentine, ridden by Sarah Milliren of Jenks, Oklahama with a score of 158.

Maddrix and Shutterbug held their lead after the Handy round, earning a score of 185.5 for a total of 359.5.   “I thought it was a nice Handy course,” said Maddrix.  “When I walked the course, the trot jump to the oxer didn’t look too tough,” he said.

“It turned out riding it was in fact challenging because
if was tight and you really had to line it up to the oxer in order to
make it work,” he added.  “I think that was the
biggest question in the Handy round,” he added.  “I
took the low options with all three of my rides in the Handy round so
I could make the tighter inside turn with them,” he said.
Colucio and Rocking the Boat pulled themselves up from their Classic round
fifth place position to finish in second overall after earning a
Handy score of 190 for a combined 348.

Maddrix and Special’s second round score of 184 and combined 348 secured the third place ribbon and Milliren and Valentine moved up to finish in fourth place after earning a Handy round score of 178 for a total combined score of 336.

Maddrix and Quarterback Z moved up from their first round eighth place standing to finish in fifth with a Handy score of 175 for an overall score of
325.  “That was Quarterback Z’s second Handy round ever and he was really great. We were all really happy with how he went,” he said.

White Lightning and Julie Curtain moved from their initial second place standing after the Classic round to finish insixth place after earning a Handy score of 155 for an overall scoreof 323.

Fabrege, owned by Sara Stephens and ridden by Anna Marie
Mayes of Memphis, Tennessee held their seventh place position after
the Handy round earning a combined score of 316.5.

Colucio and Burlesque moved up from their initial eleventh place standing after the Classic Round to finish in eighth place after posting a second round score of 174 for a combined 316. His other mount, El Tindo, finished in ninth place after earning a second round score of 156 for a combined 316. Mary Lisa Leffler of Brookeville, Maryland in the irons of Cynthia Hallman’s Fig Street’s Duchess finished in tenth place with an overall score of 150. Eleventh place was awarded to Cachas Fumar, owned by Rachel Eubanks and ridden by Ashley Hotz of Eads, Tennessee for their overall score of 359.5 and Coluccio finished the class in  twelfth place with Love Game after earning a combined score of 292.

“I had a great day and I really want to thank Alina [Dumitrescu], Missy [Nolen] and Sarah [Digiorgio] for the opportunity to ride such great horses,” Maddrix said. “And, I think Allen [Rheinheimer] deserves a big thank you too.  I saw him out there on Monday and he and his team were working the hunter rings and redid the footing.  It made a huge difference and we are all really pleased with the improvements,” he added.

“The people here cannot believe what a difference there is in the footing.  The show would have been cancelled today if the ring had not been re-crowned.  The footing was amazing today for all the rain we had,” commented Office Manager Jonathan Rabon.

Cartagena BD Wins the $2,500 USHJA National Hunter Derby

Mary Lisa Leffler of Brookeville, Maryland is having a good Week II at the Pensacola Winter Circuit! After winning the $5,000 Horseflight Open Welcome with Bling Bling, she seamlessly moved to the Hunter Arena yesterday and rode away with the win in the $2,500 USHJA National Hunter Derby with Kirsten Pollin’s Cartagena BD after earning a combined score of 170.

Sarah Milliren piloted Courtenay Billings’ Don’t Tell to second place with score of 168 and returned to pick up the third place honors in the irons of Karen Bailey’s Troubadour with an overall score of 156.

Evan Coluccio rode Jacob Brupbacher’s Capilano to a fourth place after earning a combined score of 149. Charlotte Warren’s Why, ridden by Rebekah Warren, placed fifth with an overall score of 148. Cesium, owned and ridden by Baylee Turner, won sixth place for their overall score of 148 while Leffler returned for seventh place with Tara-Dawn Hazen’s Gold Digger after earning an overall 147.

Primera, owned by Helen Gilbert and ridden by Ashley Shaw, placed eighth and HC San Patrignanon, owned by HC Sport Horses and ridden by Lucy Heaton finished in ninth place. Rebekah Warren’s Enticement, ridden by Julie Curtin finished in tenth place and Larry Antonini’s Six Pack, ridden by Coluccio, took eleventh place.

NINE WEEKS AND ONE CIRCUIT = A PERFECT GULF COAST TEN!

This year marks the Gulf Coast Winter Classic
Pensacola Circuit’s sixth anniversary on the scenic west coast of
Florida and everyone agrees, Pensacola is Perfect! What’s on deck?

Week II:

Week III:

The Gulf Coast Classic Pensacola Circuit is absolutely the best place
to get a leg up on winter competition in a friendly, inviting
environment complete with great prize money, permanent barns and user
friendly facility. The Escambia County Equestrian Center offers RV
sites, indoor wash racks, covered arena and excellent footing in all
competition rings. The Gulf Coast Classic Company provides a show
schedule that features everything from Lead Line to Grand Prix.

Join us on the Emerald Coast and enter
today for the Pensacola Winter Circuit! There are few
stalls available, so if you haven’t sent your entries in yet, call
the office at 843.768.5503 or email jonathan@classiccompany.com
to reserve your stalls now!  Then enter online at horseshowsonline.com and
remove the hassle from filling out entries!

Don’t forget to order your stalls for the Gulf
Coast Winter Classics! Gulfport is just around the corner
and the time is NOW! Click here to order your stalls today.