Stella Chernoff is trending in the U25 division.

One week after piloting Lady Cassini 3 to victory in the U25 1.40m Grand Prix, the recent Queen’s University graduate returned to Thunderbird Show Park’s Fort Grand Prix Arena and did it all over again—this time aboard Hippy Boy D’Azur in the U25 1.40m Grand Prix, protected by Western Pacific Emergency Response.

Chernoff and the stallion delivered a double-clear effort, stopping the jump-off timers in 43.58 seconds to claim the top spot. Carly Stevens and ESI Jet Set finished a close second with a double-clear time of 43.79 seconds, while Darby Cook rounded out the podium in third aboard Caya with the fastest four fault time of the first round.

“I was thinking fast but also nice clear,” said the 22-year old of the Olaf Petersen Jr designed jump off. “There was an inside turn to the canoes and I thought about it for a second, but I [decided] just gallop around we’ll be still fast anyway. Then the last line, just give it a really good gallop. He really left it all out there for me.”

For Chernoff, the victory marked her second consecutive win in tbird’s Summer Fort series—and also second win of the week on Hippy Boy D’Azur. The pair also captured Friday’s U25 1.40m jump off class—and discovered a new gear.

“Friday, he was amazing in the jump off. I did not know that he could go that fast,” Chernoff recalled. “I have not done a ton of really going-for-it jump offs with him, so it was kind of fun to test the gears a little bit and try out some turns. He can pick up a really good gallop.”

After that strong showing on Friday, Chernoff entered Sunday’s Grand Prix with confidence—and nerves.

“This morning, I came early, walked the course, and felt a little sick actually,” she admitted. “The course was a lot bigger and more technical than the other two days this week, so I was definitely a little nervous. But he just gives me so much confidence. He feels like he could jump the moon.”

With back-to-back U25 wins yielded the same result, but her two rides couldn’t be more different. While Lady Cassini 3 is a quick, deer-like mare who thrives on speed, Hippy Boy is a bigger mover who demands a different kind of precision.

“My mare, she’s obviously she’s very quick and she has even a bigger stride than him most of the time. So with her it’s that initial little bit of supporting all the time and then making little adjustments [on course],” Chernoff explained. “And then with my stallion, it’s making sure I have my good canter all the way around.”

“It’s actually really easy to switch between the two of them because they are so opposite,” she added.

And while Happy Boy is a fierce competitor in the ring, off it, he’s a gentle giant. “He is actually the sweetest guy ever, he loves pets. But as any stallion does he definitely gets grumpy sometimes—he can bite a little bit—but for the most part he’s very sweet, he loves snuggles, he’s very chill.”

Showcasing the next generation of show jumping talent, the U25 division, protected by Western Pacific Emergency Response, returns to tbird in September for the Finale at the Harvest Festival.  

$15,000 U25 1.40m Grand Prix, protected by Western Pacific Emergency Response Top 10