Schroeders Shine in $15,000 USHJA International Hunter Derby at Blenheim Summer Festival
Simon and Karli Schroeder with Totally (left) and Coastal (right). Photo by McCool Photography
July 21, 2024 – San Juan Capistrano, CA – Germany’s Simon Schroeder has found great success in the jumper ring, and now he’s making his mark in the hunter ring as well, thanks in part to his wife, Karli (Postel) Schroeder, and to Totally, owned by Teddi Mellencamp Arroyave.
On Thursday at the Blenheim Summer Festival, Simon Schroeder piloted Totally to victory in the $15,000 USHJA International Hunter Derby – Hunt & Go, sponsored by PRO Series Equine, while Karli Schroeder made it a family affair, finishing in second place aboard Coastal.
As the eighth of 15 entries to navigate the two-phase course designed by Scott Starnes, Simon Schroeder rode Totally to a classic portion score of 89.5 and a handy section score of 91 for a 180.5 total. That score shot them straight to the top of the leaderboard, while Karli Schroeder and Coastal earned scores of 91 and 89 for a 180 total and a very close second place. Finishing in third place with an overall score of 176 were Jamie Sailor and Salito 13. Karli Schroeder also finished in fourth with Get Rowdy.
Simon Schroeder and Totally. Photo by McCool Photography
With the class held on the Oaks International Grand Prix Field at the Rancho Mission Viejo Riding Park, Simon Schroeder had plenty of opportunities to open the 10-year-old Westphalian gelding’s stride and show him off – but showing on the grass grand prix field also meant that he may have needed a few reminders that it was not a jumper class!
“Karli says every time that I’m too fast!” said Simon Schroeder. “So, every time, I have to start to sing. I get a song in my head and start to sing to try to slow myself a little bit down. The course was really nice to ride. The long lines on this big grass fields are nice to do. It’s fun to have my wife on the side to say, ‘slow down again!’ It’s an amazing feeling when you can ride a hunter in this arena. In this big ring, it’s just like floating.”
Simon and Karli Schroeder. Photo by McCool Photography
Simon Schroeder has been partnered with Totally, or “Toad,” for the past two years, and after working through things at the beginning, the duo has formed a fantastic partnership.
“He was not so easy in the beginning; he was not liking the jumping anymore,” explained Simon Schroeder. “I found a nice way to make him have fun again on the job and show his expression. I started with him with the 0.80m two years ago, and we worked our way up to the 4’ again. He had fun again on the job, and he’s enjoying it. To get his trust back, I made a little bit of a fun thing with a little liverpool and a cavaletti. We’d canter it every day at least five times over it so that he gets used to it again – something spooky to jump. Since then, that’s been our game. Every time we come home we make our little cavaletti with our little liverpool; then we jump it just for fun.”
Simon Schroeder continued, “His rideability, first, is unbelievable. The jump is on a cloud. He has every time the same technique. He’s just a really, really good friend in my life. I really appreciate Teddi that she gave me this opportunity to get me in the hunter ring and make me bigger in the hunter ring. Sometimes I don’t know what I’m doing there, but I’m trying!”
Simon Schroeder and Totally were joined in their winning presentation by Totally’s owner, Teddi Mellencamp Arroyave (pictured center). Photo by McCool Photography
It also helps having Karli Schroeder by his side.
“It is just nice to see that we are actually competing on the same level! We had just 0.50 points there in between [in the International Derby]. For Karli and I, it’s kind of a magic situation. She’s the most accurate – the perfectionist. Everybody knows that about my wife: that she is the most beautiful and precise rider in the hunter ring.”
Together, Simon and Karli Schroeder have their sights set on Kentucky and the USHJA International Hunter Derby Championship in August for Totally and Coastal, and the derby offerings at Blenheim EquiSports have proved to be a good stepping stone toward that goal.
Karli Schroeder and Coastal. Photo by McCool Photography
For Thursday’s victory, Simon Schroeder and Totally received a leather halter and embroidered coolerette from the USHJA and a complimentary one-week pass to the Medal Club from Blenhiem EquiSports. As the winning trainer on record, Karli Schroeder received an embroidered tack room pillow from Nick Byassee of Equestrian Design LLC.
Also earning a derby win on Thursday were Natalie Rae Medlock and her own Sligo. They topped a starting field of 40 entries to win the $5,000 USHJA National Open Hunter Derby – Hunt & Go, sponsored by Pacific Saddlery.
Natalie Rae Medlock and Sligo. Photo by McCool Photography
While it was a close fight for the remaining ribbons, Medlock and Sligo were the far-and-away front runners, as judges Tony Sgarlata and Andrea Wells awarded them scores of 89 and 91 for a 180 total. Second place again went to Karli Schroeder, this time with a score of 174 aboard Won Love, owned by Jack Strang. Rounding out the top three was Alisha Goto who rode Theo For You to a score of 173.75.
For her victory, Medlock received a gift certificate for a custom hunt coat from Pacific Saddlery, a scrim sheet from Equitex and a tack room pillow from Nick Byassee of Equestrian Design LLC.
Natalie Rae Medlock rode Sligo to the win in the $5,000 USHJA National Hunter Derby – Hunt & Go. Photo by McCool Photography
For full results from both hunter derby classes, visit blenheim.showgroundslive.com.