Upperville, Va. – June 2, 2026 – The highlight event of the 2026 Upperville Colt & Horse Show on Tuesday afternoon was the inaugural $25,000 Thoroughbred Hunter Derby. The class was held under the oaks in the Parker Ring, and was one of the major initiatives of the newly revived USHJA Thoroughbred Task Force. The event was a huge hit, with over 55 Thoroughbreds showcasing their skills in front of a packed crowd. Sue Lyman claimed the winning title aboard Kenington Court with a score of 173.5, just narrowly edging out second-place finishers Caden Nolt and Gio Lemon, who scored a 173. Madison Barnett rounded out the top three Comin’ Back after earning a score of 164.
Lyman, who is a member of the new Task Force and longtime champion of Thoroughbreds in the show ring, was thrilled about the success of the event and noted that winning was just “icing on the cake.”
“The excitement from all the people that were here, and being able to ride in this ring and show with good footing, good judges at a real horse show is so special,” smiled Lyman after her win. “I just wanted to have fun, have a good class, and have a lot of people show up and have a good time. Kensington Court has been outshone by his stablemate, Ifwhizkycouldtalk, so it was really nice for him to be the winner today. He has shown here at Upperville five times and been reserve champion four times, but he’s never been the winner, so I’m happy for him.”
The competition got underway at 3 pm and also featured a competitor reception sponsored by Aspire Equine LLC and the Take2 Second Career Thoroughbred Program, which has been helping find Thoroughbreds new careers since 2012. A large crowd gathered to watch as 57 entries were narrowed down to 12 to return for the handy. The second course featured a rollback to the first oxer, followed by the first of four high options. There was a trot fence, and the final fence was an oxer rolling back past the gate.
Nolt set the score to beat in the handy, earning an impressive 89 as the crowd whooped when he jumped the final oxer. It was combined with his first round score of 84 for a 173. Barnett was next in the ring with Comin’ Back, and they also executed smooth turns and a good trot fence to earn a total score of 164, which would place third. The only rider that was able to edge out Nolt was Lyman, one of the last to return with Kenington Court. They had a brilliant round that scored an 86, and after earning an 87.5 in the first round they were able to place just ahead of Nolt and lead the lap of honor.
“Kensington Court can jump really high over the trot jump, so my main concern during the handy was going wide to the trot jump and it worked out great,” laughed Lyman. “He’s really good at following my eyes, so I knew the tight turns would be a piece of cake. The only thing that happens to him sometimes late in the day is being an ex-racehorse, and a very good one, is running off after the last jump and looking for the wire. He was stakes placed, and he set a record at Fair Hill in the main hurdle, and he won wire-to-wire at Saratoga, so he always thinks that’s the job. For him to be that soft was really great.”
This event was very special for Lyman, and she was thrilled with the success. “When I was young, I saw Secretariat win the Belmont Stakes in person,” she explained. “My grandfather took me there. I wanted to be a jockey, but I was too tall and it was not in the cards. I got to come to Middleburg and gallop race horses as one of my part-time jobs and I loved it.”
Lyman concluded, “I knew that this class was going to be popular, but I didn’t know it was going to be 55 because last year there were 28 in the Thoroughbred Classic. We wanted to start someplace where they liked Thoroughbreds to have the numbers, so this was amazing, it’s really good for the industry. Tom Brennan told me that everywhere he’s been judging, all over the country, they’ve been talking about it, so it’s nice to be a part of something like that.”
With several shows now adding special events to showcase the Thoroughbreds and offer great prize money, the movement started by the USHJA Thoroughbred Task Force is gaining ground. The 2026 Upperville Colt & Horse Show will continue through Sunday, June 7, featuring the $25,000 USHJA International Hunter Derby on Thursday and international show jumping that will conclude on Sunday with the CSI4* $200,000 Upperville Jumper Classic.
