JUMPING
USA Zone One won the Young Riders’ Team Jumping Gold Medal at the 2006 CN North American Junior and Young Riders’ Championships (NAJYRC) at the Virginia Horse Center in Lexington, VA (USA). The Team Gold in the Junior division went to the combined Zone Two and Zone Five team.
In the Young Riders’ division, Zone One had seven fault-free scores for the two rounds where each team counts its three best scores. Maggie McAlary of Amherst, New Hampshire, had double clear rounds on Pedro; Julie Welles of West Simsbury, Connecticut, was clear both rounds on Felix Des Noues; Natalie Johnson of Greenwich, Connecticut on Crocket 16 was double clear, and Cody Auer of Fairfield, Connecticut, had one rail in the second round for a dropped score of four penalties on Okido.
Maggie McAlary was first in the order to ride in both rounds, "I had to ride first and I really didn't want to let the team down," she said. "We had a lot of motivation to win."
"It was so nice to finally pull it off," said Cody Auer, a first-time rider at the NAYRC. "We have been teammates a few times for other competitions, and we are always second. This was great!"
Coach John Brennan was pleased for his team. "These are great riders. They have been riding on teams together now the last couple of years and they have been consistent. I told them all we needed was a little luck today. Let's fight for this and they did."
A rare exciting battle for silver saw a jump-off between the team from Zone Two and the team from Mexico North, tied with four faults. Three clear jump-off rounds by Zone Two riders Hillary Dobbs of Sussex, NJ, riding VDL Lotus Excel, Carolyn Kelly from New York, NY on Omona A.W., and Miasha Fisher of New York, NY riding Kitty 41 clenched the silver medal, so fourth rider Addison Phillips of New York, NY did not need to jump-off on Flight.
Putting up tough competition was the team from Mexico North. Team riders Alfredo Miguel was clear in the jump-off on Accolino, Jose Alberto Martinez had four faults in the jump-off on Leonard, and Miguel Torres Hernandez had four faults on Libero. Fourth rider Javier Berganza on HBC Haume Des Malais did not jump-off.
The Team Championship for the Junior division was won by a combination of riders from Zone Two and Zone Five. The team of Nicole Lakin of Reading, PA on Alaska, Clementine Goutal of New York, NY on Rastalla, Hilary Vijan of Westerville, OH on Gandalf, and Catie Boone of Lexington, KY on Naleida, finished with a two-round total of four faults to claim the win. Zone Ten placed second with eight faults and the combined team from Ontario and Quebec was third with 16 faults.
DRESSAGE
The Canada West Dressage team claimed the Gold medal in the Young Riders Championship on August 2. The team finished with a total score of 202.489, in spite of the extreme heat and was composed of Pia Fortmuller, Alexandra Duncan, Gabrielle Anderson, and Tara Dougans. Claiming Silver with a team score of 201.866 was USA Region 2, while Bronze went to USA Region 3 with a score of 201.644.
As far as the Junior Rider’s Dressage team competition is concerned, USA Region 1 claimed the Gold medal with a score of 195.6, while Canada claimed Silver, and Bronze went to Region 8 USA.
EVENTING
The Gold Medal CCI 2-star team of Area I & III was the only team to have every member go clear in both Cross Country and Jumping. The team of Dana Widstrand of Richmond, MA, on Relentless Pursuit, Rebecca Barron of Monticello, FL, on Oberon IV, and Kate Luce of Mobile, AL, on Fox in Flight, was also the only team without a fourth member, so each team member's score counted toward the team total of 159.2 penalties. The Silver Medal went to the team from Area II, Stephanie Boyer of West Grove, PA, on Macloud, Ashley Adams of Southern Pines, NC, on Vaunted, Emilee Libby of Sussex, NJ, on Golden Malt and Alexandra Zavoyna of Unionville, PA on Merloch with a team total of 171.2. Canada's team from Ontario/Alberta won the Bronze with riders Waylan Roberts of Port Perry, Ontario, on Pale Face, Kelly List of Bracebridge, Ontario, on Minstral, Laura Thompson of Red Deer, Alberta, on Quinn, and John Thier of Lexington, KY, on Everest with a final score of 175.0.
The CCI one-star Junior Team Championship winner was Area IV. Riders Meaghan Marinovich of Edina, MI on Ahlerich, Callie Judy of Columbia, MO, on Kilkenny Castle, Cassidy Lundmark of Barrington Hills, IL, on What's Shakin and Katlyn McMorris of Barrington Hills, IL, on Clifton Peekachu held their lead from the start, finishing on a team score of 159.6. The team had advice for aspiring young riders hoping to qualify for the championships. "Don't give up," the girls said in unison, "We have learned so much and had so much fun meeting each other and becoming a team". The Silver Medal went to the Area VI&VIII team with a score of 168.2 and Area II won the Bronze with a score of 170.4.
The NAJYRC is the premier equestrian competition in North America for junior and Young Riders. Young equestrians come from the United States, Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and the Caribbean Islands to vie for team and individual medals in the three Olympic equestrian disciplines of Jumping, Dressage, and Eventing. This year marks the first time that fully-recognized Championships for Junior riders (age 14-18) are being held along with those for Young Riders (age 16-21).
For full results and further information on the 2006 CN North American Young Riders’ Championships, please visit www.youngriders.org.
Campus
