A 15-year-old from Charlotte, North Carolina took the blue in the Young Rider Freestyle, ending what had seemed non-stop victories for Jocelyn Wiese. Hannah Holland Shook and her partner Cape Town danced to a Salsa beat to earn a score of 70.50 percent and they seemed to have has much fun as spectators.

“Marlene Whitaker did my freestyle and we’ve been working on it for the past month. This is the second time we’ve shown it,” Holland Shook said. “It’s awesome music. It fits him perfectly. We love riding to it.” She didn’t seem surprised by her win. “I think we were just very on today. He nailed the points.”

For much of the Derby weekend, Jocelyn Wiese and Lamborghini were the big winners in the Young Rider classes and while Holland Shook was happy to be the different face in the winner’s circle, she was humble about her win. “I’m so happy for her and she’s done well and I’m sure she’s happy for me.” Wiese took second with a score of 70.35 percent.

Holland Shook, who trains with Monroe, North Carolina-based Diane Ritz, has been spending part of her school year showing in Florida. “My school back home is being very gracious about letting me do this and very supportive.” She’s a successful junior rider who recently made the move up to young riders. “We decided to make the move up and see how it goes and have fun with it and it’s going well,” she said.

Holland Shook and Cape Town, a 13-year-old Dutch gelding by Michelangelo, have only been together for a year and the relationship started off a bit rocky, mostly because the ex-eventer wasn’t experienced in the dressage ring. “It was a difficult beginning. He had been training in dressage for two years before I got him, but he had never shown. So getting him back into the arena was a huge thing for him,” she said. “We definitely hit some troubles, but he has so much potential and he’s such a sweet horse and so loving that we worked through the problems.”

Holland Shook, who started riding at the age of five, went looking for a new horse after her Grand Prix schoolmaster could no longer compete. Ritz found Cape Town for her in Florida and Holland Shook fell in love the first time she rode him. “His gaits are phenomenal, his trot work, his overall personality and tempo. He’s such a loving, sweet horse. And he’s so much fun to ride, He teaches me something new every time I climb on him.”