Edited Press Release
It was a stellar derby Sunday for Lauren Mutch, finishing off her week strong with a win in the 2’6”-2’9” Sandhaven Farm Child/Adult Hunt & Go Derby to conclude Desert Circuit III. Mutch piloted the 9-year-old Oldenburg gelding around an accurate hunt phase and a nifty handy phase. It’s safe to say she nailed it, as the judges displayed consistently high scores for her, totaling to 164.
“I recently started leasing [Trending] about two months ago,” Mutch explained. “My trainer’s sister, Brandy Bemoll, owns him. I needed a move-up horse, and I didn’t really know what I wanted. He was already in the barn, so my trainer [paired] me with him.
“At first, we didn’t get along very well, because he was pretty green and I was pretty green,” she continued. “But this is only our second rated show together.”
Mutch had a crystal clear plan in her head, but some quick last minute decisions proved fruitful. “For my hunt phase, I said I was going to go on the rail to the first jump, and get him in my hand to start the round,” Mutch explained. “He still is pretty green, but I decided when I got in the ring that I was going to use the quarter line and go to my…
