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One – Two Finish in $10,000 USHJA Hunter Derby is Icing on Cake for Greg Crolick and Top Call Farm at HITS Ocala

Ocala, FL – March 25, 2013- A one – two finish in the $10,000 USHJA Hunter Derby put the perfect final exclamation points on an extremely successful winter show season for Greg Crolick and Top Call Farm. The blue ribbon in the derby earned aboard Carson and the red ribbon won with Grey Street added to the impressive collection of tricolors and top honors that the Bloomfield Hills, MI based hunter/jumper farm has earned throughout HITS Ocala this circuit.

Crolick and Carson, owned by Orchard Lake Farms, LLC, bested a field of 41 top hunter horses over two rounds to claim the top honor in the USHJA Hunter Derby, with Grey Street, owned by Adrienne Marciano, coming in a close second.

Carson came to Crolick in July as a derby horse, but his accomplishments this season have been far from limited to the derby field. In the same week as their derby victory, Carson and Crolick also earned the High Performance Hunter championship. Their consistent success in the division netted them the High Performance Hunter circuit champion title.

Greg Crolick and Carson. Photo By: ESI Photography.

“We’ve had a wonderful circuit, not just these past weeks, but the whole circuit with him has been great,” Crolick shared. “He really rose to the occasion.”

 

“The same thing with Grey Street,” Crolick continued. “He’s a new horse for me. We got him the third week of January this year. He was just imported, and he’s actually quite green as a hunter.”

Greg Crolick and Grey Street. Photo By: ESI Photography.

With his second place finish in the USHJA Hunter Derby and two seamless rounds, one would never guess that it was Grey Street’s first derby appearance. Crolick took Grey Street into the First Year Green Hunters the first week of February, and every week since then he’s continually exceeded expectations. Crolick and Grey Street ended their Ocala run with a reserve championship and the First Year Green Hunter Circuit Championship.

 

Both horses also competed in the $50,000 East Meets West Hunter Challenge, conducted simultaneously at HITS Ocala and HITS Thermal. Carson and Grey Street were two of 39 horses competing in Ocala for a slot in the top 12 that would then face off against the top 12 finishers riding in Thermal. Crolick easily made his way into the top 12 with both horses, and he was a strong representative for the East, finally finishing in fifth aboard Carson.

 

Rounding out Top Call Farm’s success these past few weeks was Imagine, owned by Clover Lane Farm LLC. Imagine added another championship in the Second Year Green Hunters to tricolors in the division earned throughout the season, finishing the time at Ocala with another circuit championship award for Top Call.

 

From Ocala, Top Call Farm will return home to Michigan, but not before competing at the prestigious Tampa Equestrian Series.

 

“I’m never in a hurry to get back to Michigan until it’s warm,” Crolick joked. “We definitely had a good circuit in Ocala and a great season.”

About Top Call Farm:

Located at the beautiful Bloomfield Open Hunt Club, Top Call Farm is a full service riding and training program for horse and rider, owned by Greg and Jessica Crolick. Top Call Farm offers training of the show horse and rider as well as riding instruction for those just starting out. Top Call can also aid in the purchase or sales of your show horse. For more information please visit Top Call Farm on Facebook.