October 9, 2013–Two big championships for young equestrians will be contested at the 2013 Pennsylvania National Horse Show in Harrisburg, Pa. this week. The Randolph College/USEF National Junior Jumper Championships will be held over three nights from Thursday through Saturday, and the Pessoa/US Hunter Seat Equitation Medal Finals presented by Randolph College will take place all day Sunday.
The Randolph College/USEF National Junior Jumper Championships include an individual championship and a Prix des States team championship. The individual championship will be determined over four rounds, beginning with a speed class on Thursday night and culminating in a final, cumulative round on Saturday night. The second phase of the competition will be on Friday night and take the form of a team competition over two rounds.
A very strong group of riders from USHJA Zones 1-10 will be in Harrisburg attempting to win those team and individual titles. Among the competitors are the winners of the Platinum Performance/USEF Show Jumping Talent Search Finals on the east and west coast. Michael Hughes (Allendale, N.J.) is coming off of a Talent Search East win Sunday in Gladstone, N.J. He’ll be jumping for the Zone 2 team, and two of his teammates will be riders he rode-off against in the final phase of the Talent Search competition, Charlotte Jacobs (East Aurora, N.Y.) and Allison Toffolon (Bronxville, N.Y.). Olivia Champ (La Canada Flintridge, Calif.) won the Talent Search on the west coast and will be representing Zone 10.
Sunday in Harrisburg will be dedicated to the Pessoa/US Hunter Seat Equitation Medal Finals presented by Randolph College.? 242 riders will take to the course before daybreak on Sunday in the hopes of having their name etched on the Adrian Van Sindren Trophy, the historic award for these prestigious Finals.
The Pessoa/US Hunter Seat Equitation Medal Finals is one of the year’s biggest and most prestigious hunter seat equitation competitions. Past winners include international jumping stars Kent Farrington, Brianne Goutal, and Jessica Springsteen.
For more about the Pennsylvania National Horse Show go to www.panational.org/
Watch wall-to-wall coverage of the Pennsylvania National Horse Show at USEFNetwork.com.
