Las Vegas – November 10, 2026 – For Jamie Sailor, the Marshall+Sterling/USHJA National Championships in Las Vegas is a show she looks forward to all year, and with good reason. Sailor has seen great success inside the event’s South Point Arena & Equestrian Center, and that success continued on Tuesday evening, November 10. This time, Sailor piloted Love Story to victory in the $25,000 USHJA National Hunt and Go Derby – Open to kick off the 2026 National Championships, which continue through Sunday, November 15.
“I’m so proud of [Love Story]!” said Sailor of the Oldenburg gelding, owned by KHC Farms, Inc. “He’s only 8, and we’ve had a pretty good year. But for him to come out here and win this is a big deal for him. I’m really, really proud of him.”
On their way to the win, Sailor and Love Story were one of 31 entries to compete over the Skip Bailey-designed Hunt and Go course. Love Story’s performance earned the gelding scores of 90 in the Classic phase and 92 in the Handy phase from judges Chance Arakelian and Mark Jungherr. That total score of 182 held up atop the leaderboard by a large margin, giving “Romeo” and Sailor the win. Second place with a score of 173 (89+84) went to Nicole Bourgois and Stout, owned by Hilary Sosne. Rounding out the top three with a 172.5 (87+85.5) total score were Alex Heimann and Krista Blew’s Ideal.
For the win, Sailor was also named the Leading Professional National Hunter Derby Rider.
“Being a hunt and go format, I knew I just wanted to keep him calm and relaxed,” said Sailor, who hails from Moorpark, California, in Zone 10. “He’s very handy. So, the first [phase] I really wanted to show off just a nice smooth pace because he has a beautiful canter. I tried to be just a little more conservative and just show off the big stride but not really put a lot of pressure on him. Then when I got to the handy part, I was able to kind of turn and burn with the slow canter, and he just followed me so beautifully.”
For Sailor, the win only adds to her already great experience at a horse show that she says she looks forward to each year.
“Las Vegas is my favorite show!” said Sailor, who has now earned numerous wins in both the hunter and jumper rings at the South Point Arena & Equestrian Center. “I think it’s just such a different atmosphere. It’s indoors, which we don’t really get to experience in the West Coast at all really. The footing has always been amazing, and the jumps are beautiful. I think it’s really important to come here and see where you’re at in your riding and see where these horses are. So, like I said, for him to come out here and shine is a huge deal for me.”
The $25,000 USHJA National Hunt and Go Derby – Open marks the first of three $25,000 National Hunt and Go Derby classes offered throughout the week including the $25,000 National Hunt and Go Derby – Junior/Amateur and the $25,000 2’6” Hunt and Go Derby – Junior/Amateur. For a complete competition schedule and results from Tuesday’s derby, head to dihp.showgroundslive.com.
The Marshall+Sterling/USHJA National Championships are proudly hosted by Desert International Horse Park. To learn more about all DIHP events, visit deserthorsepark.com.