Ontario Junior/Young Rider Team Claims Silver Medal

Hannah Anderson and Papillon led Ontario to the Team Silver Medal in the Young Rider/Junior Division of the 2005 North American Young Riders’ Championship. Photo © Anthony Trollope, EWBNews.com

The Ontario Team brought home the Silver Medal for the second year in a row in the Junior/Young Rider Division. Led by Hannah Anderson of Caledon East, ON, who posted one of only three double clear rounds seen all day, the Ontario Team placed behind Gold Medal winner USA Zone 2 and ahead of Team Bronze Medalists, USA Zone 10.

“My horse tried so hard for me, he knew it was important to win,” laughed Anderson, who was riding Papillon, her eight-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding. “There is so much team spirit among us, and I could hear my teammates cheering from the stands.”

Anderson, at the age of 15, had never before competed at an international event, and said that winning a medal was, “inexplicable. This was my first time here, and three of our four Team members are new, and yet we won the Silver Medal!”

Anderson now sits in sixth position individually heading into Saturday’s Individual Final. While Anderson was the top performer in the Team competition, Laura Kelk of North York, ON, is actually sitting in fourth place individually with Gladdis, her eight-year-old Bavarian Warmblood mare.

“She really tried her heart out, she was great,” said Kelk, 21, who was the first rider on course for the Ontario Team, jumping clear and incurring just one time fault for exceeding the time allowed. Kelk tightened her ride up for the second round and repeated her perfect jumping performance to post a clear round.

The only veteran rider on the Ontario Team, Mark Leyton, 17, of Stittsville, ON, now has a second Silver Medal to add to the one he won last year. Leyton won Thursday’s opening speed phase riding Nairobi, his 10-year-old Dutch Warmblood mare, and returned to the indoor arena to post scores of 12 and 4. For Leyton, the problems came at the triple combination where, in the first round, he had all three elements down and, in the second round, was unable to leave the third element in the cups.

“Nairobi always tries her hardest, but the triple combination was just too tough for her,” said Leyton of the oxer, vertical, oxer combination. “I only started showing her at the beginning of 2004, but she just keeps getting better and better.”

Leyton is in eighth position individually, putting three Ontario Team members in the top ten. The youngest competitor on the Ontario Team, Amanda Knowles, 14, of Toronto, ON, provided the drop scores riding Joconde de Sisse and narrowly missed qualifying for the Individual Final.

The Junior/Young Rider division allows developing riders the opportunity to experience competition at an international event, but over fences set a lower height. Held concurrently with the Championship division, the Junior/Young Rider competition is considered a ‘stepping stone’ for riders with the ability to compete at future North American Young Riders’ Championship events.

Two-time World Cup Finalist Jill Henselwood is acting as chef d’equipe of the Ontario Team, assisted by Team Manager Sally Sainsbury.

 

Running July 26 to 31 at the Virginia Horse Center, the North American Young Riders’ Championship is a ‘mini Olympics’ for riders aged 16-21 in the three Olympic equestrian disciplines of show jumping, dressage and eventing. First established in 1974 as an eventing challenge between Canada and the U.S., the current North American Young Riders’ Championship format sees teams and individuals representing Canada, the Caribbean, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. For more information and complete results, please visit www.youngriders.org.