The third week of the 2025 HITS Ocala Winter Circuit, the Ocala Premiere, continued to showcase top-level hunter competition at HITS Post Time Farm. On Friday, January 31, the $5,000 USHJA National Hunter Derby welcomed junior, amateur, and professional riders, drawing a competitive field of talented horse-and-rider pairs. Professional rider Morgan Ward-Knowlton and her exceptional partner, Comissario, delivered a standout performance, securing the win with an impressive combined score of 179.5.
Thirty-seven horse and rider combinations navigated a thoughtfully designed course by Maja Lindemann and Chris Collman, while judges Gary Duffy and Jimmy Lee evaluated each round. The class featured a classic first round, showcasing rhythm and style, followed by a handy round for the top 12, emphasizing adjustability, boldness, and strategic turns. With riders of all levels competing, the stakes were even higher, making for an exciting and closely contested event.
Ward-Knowlton delivered a solid first-round performance, earning a base score of 81 plus four bonus points for taking the high options, positioning her mid-pack heading into round two. She then achieved a nearly flawless handy round, earning a remarkable base score of 90, plus another four bonus points for the high options, catapulting her to the top of the leaderboard.
“There weren’t a ton of options to be handy,” explained Ward-Knowlton. “I know Comissario can turn on a dime, so that’s the easiest part for me to be handy with him. That’s where he can be a star and raise some bonus points.
“I knew we needed to be in the top 90s for our handy scores, so I was a little nervous,” she continued. “I really gave it all or nothing. I just hoped our handy would hold up for the win, and it did.”
Ward-Knowlton, who trains out of her Morlynn Farm in Ocala, Florida, and Whitehouse Station, New Jersey, needs no introduction when it comes to her partnership with Comissario. Their extensive record dates back to 2014 when they won the USHJA International Hunter Derby Finals Section B. Though Comissario was sold shortly after, Ward-Knowlton’s family repurchased him in 2019, and the duo has been unstoppable ever since.
“He wins almost every week,” said Ward-Knowlton of her 20-year-old gelding by Calido. “I’d say he’s won upwards of 60 derbies.”
Amateur rider Haley Waters Wear guided Genuine, Chuck Waters’s 10-year-old Oldenburg gelding (Diarado x Argentinus), to an impressive second-place finish with a two-round total of 178.25. Meanwhile, professional rider Ashley Worthington secured third-place honors aboard Topgallant, a 14-year-old Warmblood gelding (Cicero Z x Nureyev) owned by Shake The Tree LLC.
Hunter competition rolled on throughout the week, with The League Hunter Derbies keeping the excitement going strong. In the $750 League Bit O’ Straw 2’6” Hunter Derby, Patricia Cleary rode Angelina Dileo’s Hanoverian gelding (Argentinus x Ex Librus), As Good As It’s Get, to an impressive victory, earning top honors. Meanwhile, Bruce Bechtel III and Kate Kocher’s Tootsie Pop outshined the competition to secure first place in The League Bit O’ Straw 2’ Hunter Derby.
While the action during the Ocala Premiere has concluded, the excitement resumes on Wednesday, February 5, with the start of the Ocala Winter Classic.
