Alfano wins Hunter on Jersey Boy

Jennifer Alfano of Buffalo rode SBS Farm's Jersey Boy to victory Sunday in the $25,000 Hunter Derby at the Devon Horse Show and Country Fair.

Alfano scored 198 points in the first round of the two-round class and added a 202 in the second round over a Handy course.

Maggie Jayne of Elgin, Ill., rode Pony Lane Farm's Francesca to second with a total score of 396.5. Louise Serio of Kennett Square, aboard Bright Star 158 LLC's Rock Star, took third with 393 points.

"It was nice to have a whole day highlighted for the hunters," Alfano said. "Jersey Boy was really on today. He felt great.

"I thought the first-round course was good. The Handy course was nice; there were some places to make tight turns. The judges said they were going to emphasize the gallop fence, so I really galloped to it."

Serio said, "The class was awesome. How about how many people came out to watch?"

"I love it when the Hunter Derby is a stand-alone class," she added. "Then you're not running around, doing other classes or training students. You can focus on the one class. . . . Rock Star is a rock star. He's 100 percent try. That makes my job more difficult, because if there's a mistake, it's my fault. He's awesome."

Added Alfano: "Jersey Boy is really fun to ride, but he can be difficult. He's like the bad boy in school. He's really smart and very talented, but he can be trouble."