Junior Show Jumping Team Wins Silver at 2008 NAJYRC

Ottawa, ON-The team comprised of riders from Alberta, British Columbia and Ontario won the silver medal in the Team Competition on August 1 at the 2008 CN North American Junior and Young Rider Championships (NAJYRC), being held at The Colorado Horse Park in Parker, CO, July 29-August 3, 2008.

Taylor Bland of Calgary, AB, Stephanie Lewis of Calgary, AB, Braden James of Kamloops, BC, and Rachel Schnurr of Waterloo, ON, had a total team score of 29 faults to win the silver medal.

The Team competition ran in Nations’ Cup format, with each of the team riders contesting two rounds of competition and aiming for the least amount of jumping and time faults over the challenging courses set by German FEI-I level course designer Olaf Petersen, Jr. The three riders with the lowest scores have their faults added for the total of each round, while the score of rider who has the highest faults in each round is dropped.

James and Riverwind Farm’s Starlet, a 13-year-old Canadian Warmblood mare, Bland and Swanky, a 19-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding owned by Legacy Investments, and Schnurr and her horse Magic Jumper, an eight-year-old Belgian Warmblood gelding, each had four faults in round one for a total of 12 faults. In the second round, Lewis and her nine-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding, Tanuki, and James and Starlet each had four faults, while Bland had two rails, for eight faults, and one time penalty to add 17 faults to the first round total to finish with a score of 29.

“The course designer, Olaf Petersen, set a technical and maximum height course that asked a lot of questions. Every single member contributed to the silver medal,” remarked Chef d’Ã©quipe Lynne Stephenson. “All of our team members are rookies. They produced an outstanding effort.”

The gold medal went to USA Zone 10 with a score of 16. The bronze medal was awarded to Mexico South with 37 faults.

The Team Championship also acted as the second leg of the Individual competition for both the Junior and Young Rider divisions, with the Individual competition continuing on Sunday, August 3, for both divisions.

Exclusively for Junior riders, aged 14-18, and Young Riders, 16-21, the NAJYRC gives up-and-coming riders the opportunity to experience representing their country as a team, and prepares them for future international competition. Featuring the disciplines of Dressage, Eventing, Show Jumping and Reining, the 2008 NAJYRC feature competitors from the United States, Canada and Mexico.