Smooth Sailing for Shipman in $5,000 USHJA National Hunter Derby

Grace Shipman and Calamanzo. All photos by SEL Photography

A two-month lease has turned into a beautiful four-year partnership for Grace Shipman and Calamanzo.

After winning a derby last week in New York, the duo triumphed again in the $5,000 USHJA National Hunter Derby Friday at the Fairfield June Horse Show.

Shipman and her 18-year-old gelding finished on a winning total of 180, leading from start to finish. Colin Syquia and Harlow finished second (168.5), with Isabel Jo and HCH Dubai third (168).

"I've never met another horse like [Calamanzo]...He delivers every time," Shipman said. "After winning the class at Saratoga, I gave him four days off. Yesterday I hacked him around, and today we went from stall to ring, and he was perfect. He's really unbelievable."

Shipman and Calamanzo's smooth, stylish Classic round earned them a 90 from the judges, which put them to the top of the leaderboard. With the pressure then on in the Handy, Shipman didn't set out to be conservative. She took every risk, navigating all of the high option fences and and inside turns she could. The reward: another 90.

"I knew that I probably could play it safer, but I wanted to show my horse off and jump all the high options and do all the inside turns. He definitely spooked a little bit at the first two turns off of the standards, but he held it together, and so I was very, very happy with how he jumped," Shipman shared. "I think when he's paying more attention, he produces a better effort, so I think it went according to plan."

Grace Shipman and Calamanzo stand for presentation. As part of her winnings, Shipman received a pair of ready-to-wear boots from Vogel.

A rising junior at Texas A&M University, Shipman was first paired with Calamanzo when she was 16, taking the grey gelding on a two-month lease. Four years later, the horse is hers outright; among their long list of accolades is a win in the 2023 USHJA Jumping Seat Medal Finals - East.

"I was very lucky when I was 16 to lease him for two months from a friend, and it ended up working out that I got to keep him, and it has just been an incredible four years," Shipman gushed. "He's my horse of a lifetime. I do everything with him. We mostly trail ride now as he's getting older, but he's just always there for me and always delivers in the show ring."

Shipman also has a special relationship with Fairfield. A Ridgefield, CT, native, she's attended the show for nearly a decade.

"I started coming here in 2017. I was probably doing the 2' hunters on a Quarter Horse," she said. "I really try to come back here every year. It's such a special horse show and I love showing on the grass."

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