Four years ago, Greg Crolick was just getting to know his new partner Chappy when the pair won the USHJA International Hunter Derby on the grass derby field at Wellington International. Flash forward to the 2025 Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF), they duplicated that win on Saturday of WEF 11 in the $50,000 USHJA International Hunter Derby, presented by Perfect Products.
Crolick was six points off the lead in round one. Knowing Chappy as well as he does, he committed to tight turns and stood out with the 14-year-old Mecklenburg gelding’s jumping style to move up.
“He’s really held strong,” Crolick said of Chappy, owned by Carole Chase. “He’s getting better and better. Four years ago, I’d only had him for two months and he was quite green. Obviously he could jump really well, and he’s come such a long way.”
In the handy round, a score of 205.5 from the two panels of judges put them into the lead. Their lead held strong and they finished on a total score of 391.5. In second place was Nick Haness and Golden Road, owned by John and Stephanie Ingram, with a total score of 390. Colin Syquia took third on a score of 388 with Front Page, owned by Cynthia Sulzberger.
“He really steps up to the derbies and likes it when he gets a little more challenged,” Crolick said. “This week we did one 1.15m jumper class and came over here. Yesterday, he was almost too quiet and wasn't quite zoned in. Today, he came out ready to do it.”
Switching up the atmosphere for Chappy has proven to work, as Crolick likes to take the gelding into the jumper divisions to prepare for a course of bigger jumps.
“About 75 percent of the time I’ll do that,” he said of his strategy for early in the week. “If there’s a big class like this later in the week, I won’t show in the hunter ring at all; just to keep him fresher. He gets bored quickly, no matter what the height is. It’s something I can do that gets him in tune a bit.”
From the USHJA International Hunter Derby Championship to championship ribbons at indoor finals, Crolick and Chappy have been there and done that, and the horse has been a career changer for Crolick, who bases out of Clarkston, MI.
“I've had some really nice horses in the past, but this has been the one that is set apart,” he continued about Chappy. “This is one we have kept and watched him grow to move up and up since we started. He’s brought me to newer heights—you’re always a contender when you’re on him.”
To see full results from the $50,000 USHJA International Hunter Derby, presented by Perfect Products, click HERE.
