USA Region 2 Wins Team Gold Medal in Dressage at 2005 NAYRC

USA Region 2 won the team Gold Medal in dressage at the 2005 CN North American Young Riders’ Championships (NAYRC) presented by Adequan.  The 2005 NAYRC are being held at the Virginia Horse Center in Lexington, VA, the Championships’ first appearance in the mid-Atlantic region.

The NAYRC is the premier equestrian competition in North America for young riders, age 16-21.  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 show jumping, dressage, and eventing.  This year also features select riders from outside North America. 

Kaitlyn Hamilton of Oxford, MI and Allie Nichols of Cincinnati, OH put Region 2 in the lead during the first half of the team competition on Wednesday.  Hamilton scored 67.111% on Noviembre and Nichols scored 65.600% on Lexington.  They were able to watch on Thursday as their teammates clinched the gold.  Kassandra Barteau of Gilberts, IL scored 66.578% on Gabriella and Lauren Sprieser of Oak Brook, IL scored 64.800% on L’Etoile 6.

Counting their three best scores, Region 2 won with a score of 199.289. 

“This is the kind of team you always dream about,” said Sprieser who’s competing in her third and final Young Riders’ championships.  “Everyone is so supportive of each other and we all get along so great.  We could all kind of tell through the qualifiers that we would be the four to make it and we really came together well.”  Winning the team Silver with a score of 195.333 was USA Region 7 with the Bronze going to Region 5 with a score of 193.867. 

Leading individually entering Friday’s Prix St. Georges is Catherine Malone of Coatesville, PA and Region 1 who had a score of 68.978% on Michigan. Dani Judy of El Cajon, CA and Region 7 is second with 68.622% on Antaeus and Region 2’s Kaitlyn Hamilton is third.  The individual medals will be determined after Sunday’s Freestyle.

In eventing, the first of the two championship divisions, the CCI* for junior riders, began with its dressage phase.  Nate Chambers of Vienna, VA rode Rolling Stone II to a score of 45.7 penalties to take the individual lead while also helping his Area II team to second place.  Second with 48.3 penalties is Katlyn McMorris of Area IV on Clifton Peekachu and third is Maeve Roth McFall of Area V with 48.8 penalties on Maletto V.  Area VI leads the team standings followed by Area II and then Area V. 

The CCI** for young riders has its dressage tests on Friday.  Individual qualifiers highlighted Thursday’s show jumping action.  Riders’ scores from the individual qualifiers are to be added to their scores from Friday’s team championship to determine who advances to the individual final on Sunday. 

Winning the qualifier for the Young Rider** Championship was Sarah Segal of New York City on True Love.  She was followed by her Zone 2 teammate Brianne Goutal, also of New York City, on Onira and by Kim Farlinger of Ontario on La Forza.

Winning the Junior/Young Rider* qualifier was Mark Leyton of Ontario, Canada on Nairobi and winning the qualifier in the Non-Championship division was Kelly Soleau of Marlborough, MA on Carrera. 

For many competitors, the NAYRC is their first experience riding on a team, as well as their first time competing under the rules of the Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI), the international governing body for equestrian sport. 

“These championships are so significant for many of these Young Riders who benefit from the experience on their way to someday riding for their countries in international competition,” said NAYRC event director Penny Ross.  “For those whose careers culminate with this experience, it is meaningful in a very different way.  We feel it is important that everyone goes home having gained a valuable experience whether they win medals or not.” 

The NAYRC is supported by its Title Sponsor, CN, and by its Presenting Sponsor, Adequan. The NAYRC is also supported by this year’s Gold Medal Sponsors - Howard and Martha Simpson, the United States Equestrian Federation, Equine Canada and the Mosaic Foundation. 

Other sponsors for the 2005 NAYRC include Silver Medal Sponsors Devoucoux, Rebecca Broussard, Practical Horseman, Bel Cavallo Bronze, Horsecity.com, United States Dressage Federation Inc., Southeast Equine, Dressage Today and Horse ’n Around; Bronze Medal Sponsors Equifit Inc., www.horse.dk, The Jefferson Florist and Garden, Larry and Marnye Langer, Vita Flex and Thornhill. 

Blue Ribbon Sponsors include Rambo Blankets, VTO Saddlery, United States Eventing Association, The Equine Marketer, Schleese Saddlery Service, Randolph-Macon Woman’s College, Ecogold and the Virginia Jumper Association. Other sponsors are American Horse Trials Foundation, Zone 3, SWVHJA (South West Virginia Hunter Jumper association), US Hunter Jumper Association, Virginia Horse Journal, Southern Inn Restaurant and the FEI. 

Additional donors include Cowboy Magic, Dermafas, Wild Horsefeathers, Mrs. Pastures Cookies for Horses, Devoucoux, Absorbine and Mane ‘n Tail.

The North American Young Riders’ Championships began in 1974 as an eventing challenge between the United States and Canada.  A Dressage Championship was added in 1981, and Show Jumping debuted in 1982.  The first complete NAYRC was held in British Columbia, Canada in 1982. 

Many top international and Olympic riders are veterans of the NAYRC, including Olympic Silver Medalists Greg Best, Chris Kappler, McLain Ward and Karen O'Connor, as well as Buck Davidson, Mara DePuy, Alison Firestone, Julie Gomena, Elise Haas, Lauren Hough, Megan Johnstone, Tiffani Loudon, Lisa Carlsen Lubitz, Abigail Lufkin, Heather Mason, Chris Pratt, Kathleen Raine, Nicole Shahinian Simpson, Ray Texel, and David Wilson.

Dressage results courtesy of www.DressageDirect.com

North American YR Championships Lexington (USA) 2nd individual qualifier
Rk	Name rider	Name horse	Country	Score
1	Catherine Malone	Michigan	USA R1	69,95 %
2	Anna Wood	Novarredo	USA R5	69,30 %
3	Dani Judy	Antaeus	USA R7	69,05 %
4	Kaitlyn Hamilton	Noviembre	USA R2	68,15 %
5	Lauren Spreiser	L'Etoile 6	USA R2	66,40 %
6	Adrienne Rogers	Milky Way	USA R3	65,25 %
7	Kassandra Barteau	Gabriella	USA R2	64,75 %
8	Julie Watchorn	Quintesse	CAN	64,65 %
9	Ashley M.V. Peterson	Augustus	USA R8	63,40 %
10	Olivia Chapeski	Joust	USA R6	63,30 %
11	Chelsea Seburn	Rolex	USA R6	63,25 %
12	Allie Nichols	Lexington	USA R2	63,15 %
13	Alycia Mondavi	Heslergards Disney	USA R7	62,80 %
14	Hayley Cullen	Grammatik	USA R8	62,55 %
15	Lara Schleining	Luselma Slottie	USA R6	62,50 %
16	Ashley Schempp	Mowgli	USA R7	62,40 %
17	Erika Mahlen	Angelo	USA R9/4	62,35 %
18	Amy McIlwham	Marzipan	CAN	62,25 %
19	John Murrey	Festival	USA R3	61,85 %
20	Danielle Rowland	King D'Azur	USA R1	61,60 %
21	Tyler Haney	Phoenix	USA R5	61,10 %
22	Andreanna Stucker	Poetry in Motion	USA R9/4	60,85 %
23	Taryn Yates	Orisis	USA R6	60,50 %
24	Erin Moran	Columbo	USA R3	59,80 %
25	Megan Gregg	Verden	USA R5	58,85 %