Thermal, CA – February 14, 2025 – This Valentine’s Day, the judges loved Full Moon Fever – and with good reason. With Karli Postel in the irons, the gelding put in a standout performance to clinch the win in the $49,900 USHJA International Hunter Derby, sponsored by Cherokee Show Horses and held on February 14, 2025, as part of Desert Circuit 6.
At the end of the first round Postel and Full Moon Fever, owned by Jack Strang, sat in fourth place in the 29-horse field, but their handy round shot them straight to the top of the leaderboard.
“I was very happy with my first round,” said Postel, who earned a first-round total score from the two judging panels of 182. “After last week under the lights, I had an extra lead change, so I was a little hyper-aware of what leads I was landing on. I thought he jumped spectacular. A couple of my changes could have been a little smoother, but I was pretty nervous; I think he was a little nervous too. So, I was happy to have a solid round in my first round, and he really turned it on in the handy!”
The pair returned to the Grand Prix Arena at the Desert International Horse Park to deliver the highest-scoring round of the class. With a handy round score of 195, the duo secured the win with an overall score of 377.
“Because he is so athletic and scopey, I knew if I kept directing him, I was going to get some really good jumps,” said Postel of the 13-year-old Westphalian gelding. “In the handy, the turns that were available were great for us, and I’m even really proud of the way that he jumped up at the trot jump. He was really game on. He was looking through the bridle ready to go at all the fences.”
With Full Moon Fever taking the top spot, second place with a score of 374 went to the leaders of the first round, Michael Dennehy and Hulla-Balou, owned by Dana Vollbracht. Rounding out the top three with a score of 371.5 were Simon Schroeder and L’Con Reyes, owned by Bravado LLC.
“[Full Moon Fever] and I have been developing since last summer, and this was our first international derby win,” said Postel. “It feels very special to me. I’m very, very proud of him. We started over smaller jumps and in the national derbies, getting our feet wet in that. Then this circuit, our goal has been to start jumping a little higher with the idea of targeting these classes and hopefully Week 10’s [$100,000 WCHR West Coast Hunter Spectacular].”
Postel continued, “He’s really stepped up to the plate. Every time, he keeps going in and doing better and better so I can’t ask any more than that. I just want to say thank you to the Strang family and to Archie [Cox] and team Brookway for everything everyone does for me. I’m very grateful to be able to do this.”
For full results of the $49,900 USHJA International Hunter Derby, sponsored by Cherokee Show Horses, click here.
