Lexington, KY – July 26, 2009 – It was a fight to the finish in the Young Rider division. Everyone came out fighting for the Gold, and although the horses had already jumped four rounds, they came out looking fresh and ready to jump.
Jennifer Waxman and Venturo wrapped up their weekend with a big win to take home the Individual Gold medal. The pair, from Zone 5, jumped flawlessly all week and did so again today to wrap it up on a final score of 7.36.
“I was a little worried coming into today because he’s already jumped four rounds,” Waxman said after finishing her courses. Getting over the water has been hard all week. After he went clear this morning, he had tried so hard, I couldn’t let him down in the second round. He just tried so hard all week.”
Although Venturo and Waxman have been together for a year-and-a-half, their success only came recently when something “clicked” at Devon.
“He’s come a long way,” she said. “He did a lot of flat work, but we still weren’t able to post clear rounds. But something clicked at Devon. It was like he started to understand what I wanted. I think any he made were because he was just trying to please me.”
The Silver medal went to Lucy Davis and True Love from Zone 10. The pair has been successful all week and, despite the fact that he was starting to tire, True Love was able to jump solidly for Davis to keep her in second place with a score of 10.3.
“I was a little nervous today,” Davis said after her ride. “We were all so close in points, so I was just trying to go clear. My horse felt great, a little tired, but I couldn’t have asked for more from him.”
Jennifer Waxman (Center) After Winning Gold
True Love is 13 years old, and Davis said that he has taught her so much since she started riding him.
“He has the biggest heart and tries so hard,” she said. “He truly enjoys going out and jumping. He has a little more experience, so it’s been him helping me rather than me helping him.”
Finally, taking home the Bronze Medal was Joelle Froese and Condor from British Columbia. Condor jumped well all week and consistently moved up the ranks. The pair only had one rail down today to bring their total score to 17.11.
“I tried not to think of the scores too much,” Froese said. “I just tried to jump every fence one at a time. I wasn’t sure how he was going to do because he’s done so much jumping this week, but he was great.”
Froese said that Condor loves to jump and that they have been lucky enough to be successful coming up the levels together.
All the medalists agree that they had a great time this year and gained so much from the experience.
“It was really exciting,” said Waxman. “As far as an experience, Young Riders is so important. To go under pressure, to go under the lights, it’s just so important for us to do that. The advantage that the professionals have is experience and now we have it too.”
Lexington, KY – July 24, 2009 – The Junior Hunter divisions began early this morning at the Kentucky Summer Horse Show in the Stonelea ring. Two classes were held over fences, and the horses also competed under saddle. These divisions will finish up tomorrow with an over fences class, a handy hunter class, and the awarding of the division championships. The Kentucky Summer Horse Show will continue at the Kentucky Horse Park until Sunday, July 26, 2009.
This morning Shawn Cassidy and Secret Weapon prevailed for both wins over fences in the Small Junior 15 & Under Hunter division. Megan Clark of Indianapolis, IN, who rode her own horse Right On, won the under saddle class of the Small Junior 15 & Under Hunters.
Caroline Spogli and Cachet bested a field of 14 in the Large Junior 15 & Under Hunter division. The pair won both over fences classes and the under saddle. Cachet is owned by Spogli and Cavallo Farms LLC of San Diego, CA. Spogli and Cachet also won the Open Working Hunter class that ran throughout the junior classes.
Kelsey Thatcher and her mount Gianni brought home blues in the first Large Junior 16-17 Hunter over fences class and the under saddle. Thatcher triumphed for the win with Francesca in the second Large Junior 16-17 Hunter over fences class. Both horses are owned by Pony Lane Farm of Bluffdale, UT.
To end the day for the juniors, Stone Hill Farm’s Sublime, with Jessica Springsteen in the irons, won both Small Junior 16-17 Hunter over fences classes and the under saddle. Stone Hill Farm is located in Colts Neck, NJ.
Springsteen was pleased with Sublime and stated, “He felt really great. He hasn’t shown in a couple weeks, and he was perfect.” She enjoyed how the courses rode today. “It was nice showing hunters in such nice footing; we don’t get to do that very often,” she laughed. “And he did really well over all of the jumps. This was my first time showing here at the park and it’s beautiful. ”
The Kentucky Summer Horse Show continues tomorrow, and Junior Hunter division championships will be presented in the Stonelea Ring. The Amateur-Owner and Pony Hunter divisions will begin tomorrow and finish up on Sunday.
Posted: 07/23/2009 6:40 PM
BY SPENCER CAMPBELL
BRISTOL HERALD COURIER
BRISTOL, Tenn. – Two years ago, at the behest of her mother, Paulena Johnson scribbled a list of goals onto a sheet of paper.
Paulena, then 14, had taken up horse jumping, and her mother, Kim, wanted to know just how serious her daughter was about the sport.
“One of her goals was competing in the Young Rider Championships,” Kim said. “Here she is two years later, competing. There isn’t a bigger thrill in the world than for a parent to see their child succeed.”
Kim can be excused for oozing pride. Today, at least one of Paulena’s predetermined dreams will come true when she begins riding with 230 other young equestrians in the 2009 United States Equine Association Junior and Young Rider Championships in Lexington, Ky.
Paulena began riding when she was in the third grade at Bristol’s Fox Hollow Riding Academy, and started competing in horse shows five years later. She was also a late-comer to jumpers, a class of horse jumping that focuses on the speed in which a rider navigates a course of jumps, rather than subjective observations.
“In jumping you aren’t judged by a judge,” Paulena said. “Whoever goes around clean and the fastest without having any rails down wins. It’s probably the most fair of the three [equine jumping classes].”
In the eighth grade, a friend from Florida suggested that Paulina train in the Sunshine State. So, while attending Tennessee High for the past three years, Paulena has from January through March received instruction at Ashland Farms in West Palm Beach, Fla.
“Tennessee High has been so supportive of me,” Paulena said. “The second semester they offered me on-line classes. I wouldn’t be able to show like I show without their support.”
All of the support and the traveling between Bristol and West Palm Beach finally paid off this year.
The field at the Young Rider Championships consists of the best riders from the 12 qualifying zones spread throughout the United States, not including zones in Canada and Mexico. Paulena competed in Zone Three, which consists of Delaware, Maryland, North Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia.
Attending competitions from January until June, Paulena earned $2,360, according to the USEF’s Web site, finishing third in her zone. The top four finishers in each zone make it into the Young Rider Championship.
In her first year trying to qualify, Paulena – and her horse “Anyway” – made the field at one of horse jumping’s premier tournaments.
“It’s the only international championship held every year in North America,” said Joanie Morris, the USEF’s international high performance marketing director. “We equate it to the Junior Olympics. These kids are the best of the best, for sure.”
Paulena knows that her equine career will continue to soar, through college and then … who knows where?
But for now, the 16-year-old who is quick to inform that she will be 17 next month is just happy that one of the goals she scrawled for her mother in ink has come true.
“I just wanted to make it here,” Paulena said. “Now it would be great to win an individual title. For my first time [at the Young Rider Championship], I’d just like good riding.
