Kelley Farmer & Mindful Win the $100,000 USHJA International Hunter Derby

[@kimbrachampagne9337]

Mindful is a awesome horse and has perfect rhythm made to Hunt.. and Kelly is a lovely rider.

[@FingersCrossedBeauty]

I'm sorry but I don't understand how she won, I've seen 10 year olds who are much better riders. She just looked really sloppy and all over the place and it looked like she was just constantly using the horse's mouth as balance and not her legs/seat. it also seemed she had no idea what to do before the jumps and just kinda threw the horse away. It looked like the horse wasn't even moving in a forward motion, like it's back end was just dragging. I felt like I was watching an intermediate rider at a local show, not someone who claims to be a pro. There are far too many talented riders who competed against her in this show that actually deserved to win

[@nickpongracz2410]

Have you ridden a horse before? She keeps connection with the horses mouth. Not "balancing herself on the mouth"

[@ajfjajdfaajfjajdfa9776]

A lot of pros can make up for less than conventional equitation by having exceptional balance, timing and feel. Her equitation doesn't matter as long as she is still able to produce a beautiful ride out of her horse. She definitely doesn't "throw the horse away" before the jumps; if you watch carefully, you can see that she's actually a very thoughtful, supportive rider. And this horse's back end never once looked like it was "dragging".

[@fitchery9315]

I won't say she didn't deserve to win but I admit that I think he is on the forehand and his hind end is out behind him frequently. There are moments when it's much better but that's how it goes. The hunt ring has some interesting ideas on beauty sometimes. In my area you'd think toe flicking was some just totally stellar and desirable thing lol. Flop yourself on that neck and just toss em away is like the norm around here. She's much much better than that. I'm certainly not gonna call her incompetent.

[@Casper5567f]

thats hunt seat for ya. its based on the horse. youre comparing hunt seat to equitation. they are completely different.