06/30/2022 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 06/30/2022 20:34
Traverse City, Mich. - Junior Hunter competitors took over the rings at Flintfields Horse Park on Thursday, with 272 entries completing the first of three phases of competition at the 2022 Adequan®/USEF Junior Hunter National Championship - East. With overall champion titles on the line for 3'3" and 3'6" heights with four sections in each, there's no shortage of talent on the grounds this weekend.
Competition kicked off Thursday with the classic rounds. On Friday, entries will return to work on the flat for the under saddle classes. Saturday's handy rounds will complete the competition with each jumping round counting for 40% of the final score and the under saddle score making up the remaining 20%.
"From a course planning point of view, we're not really looking to test the riders in a classic round," said course designer Kevin Holowack. "We're trying to give them every opportunity to put in the best round possible to lay down a round that can get them a score of 100. The distances are very fair, they're very flowing.
"I think the course rode quite well today," Holowack continued. "We definitely had some weather impact to it with very high winds and gusts, but these are very experienced horses that took on the atmosphere very well, and the course gave them room to show off."
Saturday's handy rounds will demand a different type of ride to reward the well-rounded hunters.
"The handy is a little bit the opposite end of the spectrum," said Holowack. "You have the chance to show off your horse's rideability. I'll do no related lines; I don't think there's any way to really be handy in a related line. So for me, at a final like this, I'll look to give them a lot of individual fences, a lot of inside turn options, and trot fences. I'll make sure to give them a combination on both leads, and the chance to really show off how handy their horse is."
Competition continues on Friday, July 1, beginning at 8:00 a.m. in the Main Hunter Ring for the 3'3" entries and at 9:00 a.m. in the Turtle Creek International Arena for 3'6"
Current Standings
3'6" Small Junior Hunter 15 & Under Classic
3'6" Small Junior Hunter 16-17 Classic
3'6" Large Junior Hunter 15 & Under Classic
3'6" Large Junior Hunter 16-17 Classic
3'3" Small Junior Hunter 15 & Under Classic
3'3" Small Junior Hunter 16-17 Classic
3'3" Large Junior Hunter 15 & Under Classic
3'3" Large Junior Hunter 16-17 Classic
USEF College Fair Brought to You by Upper Echelon Academy
Eight colleges with equine academic and/or intercollegiate riding programs were on site on Thursday to meet with youth equestrians and their families during the USEF College Fair brought to you by Upper Echelon Academy. This was the first of two planned USEF College Fairs, with the next taking place at the Adequan®/USEF Junior Hunter National Championship - West Coast.
The following school programs were on site at Traverse City:
USHJA Gladstone Cup Equitation Classic
Each year, the Junior Hunter National Championships host the USHJA Gladstone Cup Equitation Classic presented by Intermont Equestrian at Emory & Henry College, a three-round equitation final for riders up to age 17. The first round featured 98 entries, with the top 20 invited back for the handy round. Finally, the judges selected their top six to come back for final testing where the riders switched horses and completed a round on a new horse after a warm up of just 90 seconds and two schooling fences.
This year's Gladstone Cup champion was Sterling Malnik of Ocean Ridge Florida. Malnik, who trains with Beacon Hill, rode her own Charlie to the top of the leaderboard. Read more and see results from USHJA.
Watch the Adequan®/USEF Junior Hunter National Championship - East on USEF Network.
Stay Connected
Keep up with the competition by following USEF Junior Hunter National Championship on Facebook. Follow USEFNetwork on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and US Equestrian on TikTok.