Canadians made the most of the final day of competition at the 2019 Adequan/FEI North American Youth Championships (NAYC) presented by Gotham North, collecting three individual medals on Aug. 4 at Old Salem Farm in North Salem, NY.

Sam Walker Wins Silver in Suspenseful Jumping Young Riders Individual Final

Sam Walker, 17, of Nobleton, ON, began the day atop the Young Riders leaderboard heading into the Jumping Individual Final, with a cumulative score of one after the Individual Qualifier on Aug. 1 and Team Competition on Aug. 2. But the thrilling rounds that followed proved that in show jumping, nothing is certain until the final athlete crosses the finish line.

Walker’s hold on first place with MarBill Hill Farm’s Coralissa (Com Air x Corrado I), a nine-year-old Holsteiner mare, seemed airtight until the final round, when a rail at jump #5, an oxer, as well as at a vertical that served as the very last fence brought his total score to nine. Walker moved into the silver medal position, while US Zone 2’s Sophie Gochman and Carola BH slipped into gold on a score of 2.80. Just shy of silver was Natalie Dean and Dons Diamant of US Zone 10, who earned bronze on a score of 9.36.

Advertisement