The curtains closed on the eventing portion of the 2019 Adequan/FEI North American Youth Championships (NAYC) presented by Gotham North on July 28, but not before Canadians gave it their all in the show jumping phase at Rebecca Farm in Kalispell, MT.
Tosca Holmes-Smith Finishes Fourth in Young Riders Division
19-year-old Tosca Holmes-Smith of Chase, BC, secured her second consecutive top-10 NAYC finish riding Ali Holmes-Smith’s Tom Riddle, a 13-year-old Thoroughbred gelding sired by Towkay, in the Young Riders division. The pair secured ninth place together in the 2018 competition, and returned with their eyes on the prize in 2019. After initially placing 10th in the dressage phase, Holmes-Smith’s steady focus resulted in a double-clear cross-country round to bump her into seventh on July 27, followed by another double-clear in show jumping the following day for a final placing of fourth on her dressage score of 35.2 penalty points.
The CCIY 3*-S individual championship title went to US Area III’s William Kidwell and Tremolo, who held onto their dressage score of 28.0 penalties. Second place went to Katie Lichten and Sapphire Blue B of US Area I on 31.8 penalty points, and third to Cosby Green and Takine De La Barbais of US Area VIII on 33.1 penalties.
Junior Team Ontario/British Columbia Secures Sixth
Junior Team Ontario/British Columbia concluded NAYC 2019 on a final score of 152.4 penalty points, earning sixth place overall in the CCIJ 2*-L division. Their leap from 10th place after the dressage phase to sixth from cross-country onwards was due to the precise and careful riding of teammates, Elise Hicks, 17, of Trenton, ON, Sierra Hincks, 16, of Roberts Creek, BC, and Olivia Terdik of Windham Centre, ON, who will celebrate her 18th birthday on July 30.
“The girls rode really well in the final phase,” said Kendal Lehari of Uxbridge, ON, who was the Team Ontario/British Columbia Chef d’Équipe alongside Maeve Drew of Duncan, BC. “They all put in very smooth, rhythmical rounds, were very professional throughout the competition and represented Canada very well. They are great competitors and will be ones to watch in the future. I really enjoyed working with all of the girls and Maeve.”
Following in ninth place was Team Alberta – comprised of Mikayla Hoffman, 15, of Tees, Jada Graham, 16, of Sturgeon County, and Megan Yakiwchuk, 17, and Anna Rekrutiak, 16, of Calgary – who closed the competition on a final score of 1,091.1 penalty points.
US Area VIII took home the Junior team gold medal on a final score of 90.6 penalties, while US Area II secured silver on 104.2 penalty points. US Area IV clinched bronze with 109.2 penalty points.
In the CCIJ 2*-L individual standings, Hoffman fought to earn the title of top-placed Canadian aboard Eli (Fisher Pond x Dr. Adagio), her 12-year-old Thoroughbred gelding, in her NAYC debut. She climbed her way from 19th place after dressage to 12th overall with double-clear rounds in both the cross-country and show jumping phases to finish on her dressage score of 36.0 penalty points.
“This last week has been a dream of mine for the past four years and it was truly incredible to not only make it here, but finish top Canadian on my dressage score,” said Hoffman, who has been coming to Rebecca Farm since the age of nine. “Eli was a star from day one. The show jumping course today was so incredible, and watching my teammate, Jada jump clear gave me the confidence to know we could go in and lay down a clean round.”
Hoffman continued, “I have to thank the Broussard family and Rebecca Farm for hosting the Championships; our coaches, Leahona Rowland and Auntie Angie Golley; [Team Alberta Chef d’Équipe] Kathleen Ziegler; my groom, Brecklyn Clement; and our team vet, Karen Nyrop. With the event being so close to home, I had the most amazing support of so many family and friends who took holidays and made the trip down to cheer us on. There where many who watched the streaming live feed at home, and I could feel them cheering me on, too.”
Hoffman was followed on the Canadian leaderboard by Hicks in the next two spots: she placed 18th on a score of 39.0 penalties with her team horse, seven-year-old Thoroughbred gelding, Max Power (Philanthropist x Explosive Red), and also competed as an individual with Callie Evans’ 14-year-old Canadian Sport Horse mare, Glendening Avis (Ferrari GS x Adamo), scoring 41.8 penalty points for 20th place.
US Area VI’s Charlotte Babbitt and 2 A.M. were the overall Junior leaders, finishing on their final dressage score of 24.0 penalties for the win. Elizabeth Henry and Charlotte La Bouff of US Area VIII followed in second (24.9 penalties), while third went to US Area IV’s Benjamin Noonan and Keep Kitty (27.0 penalties).
For live results from the eventing portion of NAYC 2019, click here.
Equestrian Canada will continue its coverage of NAYC 2019 at the dressage and jumping competitions, taking place from July 30-Aug. 4, 2019, in North Salem, NY. More information on NAYC 2019, including the full schedule for each discipline, can be found at www.youngriders.org.
Top 30 Canadian Results – NAYC 2019
CCIJ 2*-L Junior Team Final Standings
Placing / Team / Score
6th / Team Ontario/British Columbia / 152.4
9th / Team Alberta / 1,091.1
CCIJ 2*-L Junior Individual Final Standings
Placing / Athlete / Horse / Owner / Score
12th / Mikayla Hoffman / Eli / Mikayla Hoffman / 36.0
18th / Elise Hicks / Max Power / Elise Hicks / 39.0
20th / *Elise Hicks / Glendening Avis / Callie Evans / 41.8
26th / Sierra Hincks / Velocity / Sierra Hincks / 50.3
29th / Jada Graham / Cilano / Jada Graham / 55.1
*denotes an individual athlete
CCIY 3*-S Young Rider Individual Final Standings
Placing / Athlete / Horse / Owner / Score
4th / Tosca Holmes-Smith / Tom Riddle / Ali Holmes-Smith / 35.2
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