Love Game wins International Hunter Derby with Evan Coluccio [with videos]

EMC International’s Love Game ridden by Evan Coluccio won the $10,000 USHJA International Hunter Derby on May 1 at the Virginia Horse Center as part of the Lexington Spring Encore Horse Show.

The Lexington Spring Premiere marked the 6-year-old Dutch Warmblood’s very first horse show in the United States, and the promise of a successful hunter career to come.  

“I’m really excited about him,” Coluccio said. “He came to America about five or six weeks ago. I knew he was going to be really special. I did him in the First Years and the Green Conformation. He had just little tiny green mistakes each day. So I thought, ‘let’s do the derby.’ They moved it inside, and I think with that atmosphere he really rose to the occasion that much more. He was unbelievable.”   

For Coluccio, of Middleburg, Virginia, (who now resides in Wellington, Florida) the victory was not his first taste of success at the Virginia Horse Center. In fact, significant wins at the Virginia Horse Center have marked Coluccio’s career. In 1995, he won the U.S. Pony Finals at the Virginia Horse Center, and in 2006, he clinched Individual Show Jumping Gold medal at the North American Junior-Young Rider Championships (NAYRC), also held at the Horse Center.   

“Lexington has always been a successful show for me. It’s always been a really good facility for me,” Coluccio said. “It’s one of my lucky places.”

Coluccio is the owner/operator of EMC International Stables.

For more results from the Lexington Spring Premiere, visit www.horseshowsonline.com.