Competition resumed at the at the 2017 Adequan/FEI North American Junior & Young Rider Championships (NAJYRC), presented by Gotham North, on July 21, 2017, with Canadians putting in impressive performances in all three disciplines of dressage, eventing and jumping.
Alexanne Thibault Jumps to the Top of Young Rider Individual
Alexanne Thibault, 19, of Boucherville, QC kicked off NAJYRC 2017 with a win in the Jumping Young Rider 1st Individual Qualifier, held at HITS Saugerties in New York. Partnered with Chacco Prime (Chacco Blue x Le Primeur), her nine-year-old Hanoverian gelding, she stopped the clock of the speed round in the fastest time of 75.78 seconds.
Under FEI Championship rules, the Individual scoring is based on time conversion, with the fastest ride earning a perfect score of zero, and all other athletes being credited with penalties representing the time difference. Therefore, Thibault heads into the Young Rider Team Competition (which also acts as the second Individual Qualifier) on July 21 with a perfect score of zero.
“At the end of my performance I was really happy, since it was our first course and we were able to go clear,” said Thibault who was making her NAJYRC debut. “My horse jumped amazing. I think that the highlight of our course was the turn and angle I was able to achieve to jump eight. That really saved me a lot of time and made it possible for me to win. It was awesome.”
Speaking to the experience of competing at her first major championship, Thibault continued, “I really enjoy the atmosphere here. I think that the venue is great and I am happy to be competing for Canada. I love how supportive of each other our team is and I am excited to show tomorrow. I just have to jump one jump at a time and hopefully we will jump them all clear. Chacco felt great today and I feel positive, so I am hoping for the best.”
Not far behind Thibault on the leaderboard was Veronica Bot, 21, of Burlington, ON. Riding Cool Down 3 (Chacco Blue x Lysander), a 10-year-old Hanoverian gelding owned by AEI Corp., Bot left all the rails in the cups and finished in a time of 83.97 seconds for a final converted score of 4.10 and fourth place.
Jennifer Mattell,19, from Milton, ON rode Cherokee (Cardento x Creool), Joe Mattell’s 10-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding to a sixth place finish for a score of 4.39, while Vancouver, BC native, Julia Madigan, 21, placed eighth (4.66) aboard Farfelu du Printemps (Action Breaker x Darco), a 12-year-old Belgian Warmblood gelding owned by John Madigan.
“We are thrilled to be here at HITS Saugerties for NAJYRC 2017 as proud Canadians,” said Chef d’Équipe, Beth Underhill of Schomberg, ON. “Alexanne Thibault’s win in the Individual Young Rider Speed was an outstanding performance and continued our momentum as we build to the Nations’ Cup competition tomorrow.”
Top Five Finishes for Children’s Jumping Athletes
For the first time in NAJYRC history, a Children’s jumper division was added for 2017. Canada was well represented, with Carly Stevens, 14, from Foothills, AB riding her nine-year-old Irish Sport Horse mare, LCC Hello Kate (Luidam x Courage) to a fourth place finish after a clear ride in 72.73 seconds. For the Children’s division, the individual scoring in the First Qualifier was based regular Table A Speed rules, with the least amount of faults in the fastest time determining the placings. Currently leading the individual standings is Eva Fisherman of US Zone 1, who won in a time of 70.80 seconds aboard Rock Street.
Also placing in the top 10 was Kyara Semrau, 14, also of Foothills, AB, who crossed the timers clear in 73.11 seconds to place fifth aboard Wings Sublieme (Oklund x Voltaire), a 14-year-old Dutch Warmblood mare owned by Stone Ridge Farms LLC.
“We have had an incredible start to our week,” stated Underhill. “Our athletes have exhibited tremendous team spirit both behind the scenes and in the competitive arena, and that was certainly demonstrated today.”
Canadian Junior Eventing Team Finishes Fourth After Dressage
July 20 represented the first day of competition for the eventing portion of NAJYRC 2017, hosted at Rebecca Farm in Kalispell, MT.
Kicking off day one in the dressage phase for Canada was the CHJ 1* Junior Team, comprised of Chloe Duffy of Sombra, ON, Tosca Holmes-Smith of Chase, BC and sisters, Ella and Eva Marquis of Caledon, ON. Together they finished the day on a combined team score of 153.2 to hold fourth place. US Area V is currently in the lead with 140.0, and US Area I is sitting second on 146.4. US Area III is in third place with 150.1.
Individually, Holmes-Smith is the highest placed Canadian after riding to a score of 47.2 penalties for eighth place aboard Fiat (Cats at Home x With Approval), Ali Holmes-Smith’s 13-year-old Thoroughbred gelding. The individual leader after day one is McKinsey Wickman of US Area V on a score of 43.1.
Junior Dressage Athlete Ava MacCoubrey Takes Top 10 Individually
In the dressage arena at HITS Saugerties, the Junior Team Competition was hosted on July 20, with Ava MacCoubrey, 15, of Cobourg, ON finishing as the highest-placed Canadian in the individual standings.
Riding Pablo (Cordial Medoc x Voltaire), Lori Bell’s 20-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding, MacCoubrey earned a score of 66.459% to place 10th. The winner was Aleyna Dunn of US Region 7, who scored 68.973% with Bivera.
Please Note: At the time of publishing, the official team results from the Dressage Junior Team Competition were unavailable. However, these results will be included in the July 21 EC NAJYRC Daily Wrap Up.
On the Docket for Day 3
The third day of NAJYRC competition on July 21 will see Canadians competing at HITS Saugerties in the Jumping Team Competition for the Children’s, Junior and Young Rider divisions, as well as the Dressage Junior and Young Rider Individual Tests. Eventing will continue at Rebecca Farm in Kalispell, MT with the dressage portion of the CICO-YR 2* division for Young Riders.
The full schedule for dressage and jumping at NAJYRC 2017 can be found here. For the full eventing schedule, click here.
Full NAJYRC results can be found as follows:
Dressage Results
Eventing Results
Jumping Results
More information on NAJYRC 2017 can be found at www.youngriders.org.
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