Traverse City, Mich. – The Zone 2 Team sits just behind Team Mexico in the standings looking ahead to the final day of team competition tomorrow in the FEI North American Youth Jumper Championships presented by USHJA in the Young Rider category. The team from Mexico currently lead the standings on a combined team score of 207.07, while Zone 2 holds second place with 212.12 combined penalties. The team from Zone 1/3/7 are currently placed third with 216.22 penalties. The $10,000 Young Rider First Competition was scored as a faults-converted format to give each team a combined base score heading into tomorrow’s $40,000 Young Rider Team Final.
The Zone 2 Team of Mimi Gochman (New York, N.Y.) and Celina BH, Madison Rauschenbach (Newburgh, N.Y.) with Gilette B, Sophee Steckbeck (Greenwich, Conn.) and Clarima, and Ned Cunniffe (South Salem, N.Y.) with Buckle Up will look to overtake the leaderboard to finish atop the podium in tomorrow’s competition. The Zone 1/3/7 Team saw competitive rides from Skyler Field (Wellesley, Mass.) and Cornetta, Virginia Bonnie (Upperville, Va.) and Efodea, Abby Grabowski (Alexandria, Va.) with Quantum Trost, and Hallie Grimes (Houston, Texas) with Ace.
Gochman leads the individual standings with Celina BH, an 11-year-old Holsteiner mare owned by Gochman Sport Horses LLC and discussed her round and what she is looking forward to for the remainder of the week’s competition, competing as part of a team.
“My plan was to just go smooth and not to flatten her out before the team event, but to still go forward and get after it because I’ve made the mistake of going too slow on the first day, and that was detrimental to my individual score and to the team. I wanted to go in there and get her going. She hasn’t jumped in a while, so she was nice and fresh and excited, and she was revved to go,” said Gochman. “It’s always an honor to qualify for a team. I did the Juniors two years ago and I was so excited, and now I’m doing Young Riders. It’s such an honor to be on the Zone 2 Team. It’s a prestigious event and so many competitive riders come. Since the sport is such an individual sport, it’s nice to get together with other riders and try to ride for your team. Sometimes it doesn’t go the way that you want, but we have teamwork with our horses, but it’s always good to ride for the team.”
The $40,000 Young Rider Team Final will take place tomorrow at 12:00 p.m., with team medals awarded at the conclusion of the competition. The Young Rider Individual Final will take place on Sunday, August 15.
Zone 4 Leads Following $5,000 First Team Competition for Juniors presented by Grand Traverse Resort & Spa
The Zone 4 Team started their competition week off on the right foot in the Gotham North FEI North American Youth Jumper Championships presented by USHJA in the Junior category. The team currently leads the standings after the $5,000 Junior First Competition presented by Grand Traverse Resort & Spa on a converted team total of 6.15 penalties. The team includes Zayna Rizvi (Wellinton, Fla.) and Excellent, Ansgar Holtgers Jr. (Wellington, Fla.) and Elina, Reid Arani (Wellington, Fla.) aboard Ziezo, as well as Hailey Royce (Wellington, Fla.) and Sonic Boom.
Team Canada currently sit in second place in the team standings with 8.62 penalties and the team from Zone 2 round out the top three placings on 10.62 combined penalties heading into tomorrow’s team medal competition.
The Zone 2 Team of Emily Dehoff (Far Hills, N.J.) and G CT Super Sonic, Audrey Schulze (Saddle River, N.J.) and Mr. Cash, Gwyneth Babington (Gwynedd Valley, Penn.) aboard Mark Q, and Emily Aitken (Bedford, N.Y.) with Binja are within striking distance of both the Zone 4 Team and Team Canada and will look to move up the leaderboard for their final day of team competition.
Genevieve Munson (Rogers, Ark.) of the Zone 7 team, currently leads the individual standings in the junior category with Zonderling, a 17-year-old Warmblood gelding owned by Mark Holden. The pair secured the fastest time in the $5,000 Junior First Competition, completing the track in 57.86 seconds. Munson discussed her journey to Traverse City and her first time competing at the beautiful venue with her Zone 7 Team.
“I’ve been to two previous Young Riders, but I’ve never been to Traverse City. It’s a beautiful area, right next to the bay, and the management has done an amazing job. They’ve had quite a few obstacles to overcome with the weather and they just continue showing up. It’s been marvelous to be here,” said Munson. “I think that the team competition is nice because we are around these athletes in our zone, but we don’t always have a close relationship with them, so to be stabled together, to get to know them, you get to make connections and create a supportive environment, so I really enjoy it. USEF sets up a lot of opportunities for us to do that which is fantastic.”
The $35,000 Junior Team Final competition will conclude tomorrow with the medal competition beginning at 8:00 a.m. and the individual final will take place on Sunday, August 15.
