Day three of the Gotham North FEI North American Youth Jumping Championships, presented by USHJA, invited Junior and Young Rider teams to take center stage at Traverse City Horse Shows and vie for their podium positions.
A combined team of athletes from Zone 5 and Zone 7, with Alexander Alston (Zone 5 – New Albany, Ohio), Alexandra Pielet (Zone 5 – Highland Park, Ill.), Sofia Cady (Zone 7 – Austin, Texas), and Charlise Casas (Zone 5 – Kenworth, Ill.), earned top honors in the Young Rider Team Final.
Over two rounds, teams battled it out for top honors, but it was ultimately Zone 4, with team members Caroline Mawhinney (Wellington, Fla.), Ella Duffy (Alpharetta, Ga.), Hailey Royce (Wellington, Fla.), and Mia Albelo (Miami, Fla.), taking gold in the Junior Team Final.
Zone 5/7 Earn Gold Medal in Young Rider Team Final
The Young Rider Team Final saw a changeup at the top of the order as competition got underway, with another challenging track by Anderson Lima (BRA). Two teams jumped to clear slates in round one: Zone 4 and Zone 5/7, but it was Zone 5/7 that held the lead on just 5.68 penalties coming into the final day of team competition.
As more riders jumped, rails continued to fall, even for top-two placed athletes in the first qualifier, Tanner Korotkin (Zone 4) and Sam Walker (CAN). As Canada 1 came home on 16 faults through both rounds, their team members, Eric Krawitt (Okotoks, AB), Lauren Esdale (Seagrave, ON), Sara Tindale (Campbellville, ON), and Walker (Nobleton, ON), brought home the bronze medal. With a surprising four faults for Korotkin (Wellington, Fla.), Zone 4 ended up with the silver along with teammates Sheer Levitin (Wellington, Fla.), Elli Yeager (Wellington, Fla.), and Zayna Rizvi (Wellington, Fla.).
The eight faults in round two for Zone 4 put Zone 5/7 into the automatic gold-medal position, even with Charlise Casas still to jump. Their total score of 9.68 and only one rail to their total score over the two rounds of jumping put Casas and Mustique VZ along with teammates Alexandra Pielet aboard Hyperbolics, Alexander Alston on Prestigious, and Sofia Cady with Deleyn atop the podium.
“My horse is one of the most competitive horses I've ever had,” Casas said of her mount, Mustique VZ, a horse she acquired from her trainer, Kent Farrington. “I know if I do it right, so will she. It's the first time she's ever done it and my third time here, so I have the knowledge to try and help her out.
“Kent just told me to keep my head cool,” Casas continued. “One of the things I struggle with most is mental discipline. I get excited and let stress or pressure get the best of me. Today he told me to keep my cool and not stress about the weight that the rounds carry, and just do my best and hopefully that’ll be enough.”
Read more about it here