Colvin Adds a Third Major Victory During Week Two of the Traverse City Spring Series, Presented by Turtle Creek Casino & Hotel
Victoria Colvin had already had a winning week ahead of Sunday’s $25,000 Platinum Performance/USHJA International Hunter Derby North Central Regional Championship, but she knew she wanted to end the second week of the Traverse City Spring Series with one more major victory, topping the prestigious class with Golden Road. With her vision narrowing towards USHJA International Hunter Derby Championships later this summer, the victory was another important step for the pair.
Earning the high score of 196 in round one, Colvin and Golden Road were in a solid position coming back for the handy round, knowing they’d be last to return. Colvin didn’t want to take any serious risks knowing anything could happen, but she relied on the 10-year-old Selle Francais gelding’s handy abilities to retain their lead.
“He’s pretty handy so turning is his favorite thing to do,” Colvin said of Golden Road, owned by John and Stephanie Ingram, LLC. “The handy had a lot of turns so it was a nice handy for him. We tried to be as handy as possible.”
Their handy-round score of 195.5 brought their total to 391.5 and secured the victory. Behind them in second place was Courtney Lenkart with Allegretto, and Augusta Iwasaki placed third with Small Fortune.
Colvin has already accomplished a great deal with Golden Road, but some of the horse’s biggest competitive goals still lie ahead, including — Colvin hopes — International Derby Championships.
“I’ve been riding him for about a year and a half,” she said of the horse. “He’s a character; he’s very playful when he goes around the ring but he has an explosive jump. He likes to bring his knees up very high. He gives a very good effort over every jump and he’s very pretty across the ground.”
Course designer Meghan Rawlins incorporated a forest-inspired theme into the track, giving riders multiple options throughout the course.
“I want to create great beautiful jumping,” Rawlins commented. “I love the forest feel [in Traverse City], and I always try to do something different every time I come. I thought trees would look beautiful in the ring if I could find a way to tie that in. My course just evolved from there, where I created some interesting track options, where they could turn left or right. That gives the riders an opportunity to show whichever or lead the horse jumps better off of.”
Colvin has plans to stay in Traverse City for most of the summer, so Golden Road may make more appearances in the major derby events. For his win in Sunday’s class, he was named the Platinum Performance Horse of the Week.
“It’s been beautiful,” she said of her week in Northern Michigan. “I’m from Florida so the cooler weather is really fun. The facility is beautiful. I haven’t been here for several years now so it was nice to be back. All the horses went beautifully this week so it was a really fun week.”
Competition resumes Wednesday as the Traverse City Spring Series, presented by Turtle Creek Casino & Hotel, enters its third week at Flintfields Horse Park. Fans and competitors can view full schedules, results, and live updates through the Traverse City Horse Shows Mobile App.
