Young Canadians Shine Brightly at North American Youth Championships

The FEI North American Youth Championships (NAYC) 2021, formerly the North American Junior and Young Rider Championships, continues to evolve. After a year hiatus, the prestigious event returned with a new location in Traverse City, MI as well as a new category in the Pre-Junior Championship. But the abundance of talent remained the same.

The USA’s Zone 4—made up of riders hailing from the states of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Tennessee and South Carolina—dominated jumping competition, claiming three of the four team Championships, while the American west coast shone brightest in dressage.

Children

The Children’s category of Jumping made its debut when this event was last held in 2019, and the division has grown, with Mexico sending forward two teams for the first time. Mexico North and Mexico South would take up two-thirds of the team podium, but both would fall just short of USA’s Zone 8/9/10.

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The pressure was on anchor rider Reagan Tomb (Elba), who needed to produce a clear effort to secure a victory. Tomb delivered, clinching the gold medal for teammates Lilah Nakatani (Dianett), Leila Diab (Unang de Kergane) and Jordan Gibbs (Douwe) on a collective score of just four faults.

That left Mexico South and Mexico North—both on eight faults—to jump-off for the remaining medals, and Mexico South ultimately earned silver, with Mexico North bronze. However, Mexico would get its turn atop the podium in individual competition, with Jimena Carrillo Watanabe (First Time LS) of Mexico North emerging victorious from another jump-off.

At the conclusion of individual competition, six riders remarkably sat on perfect “0” scores. Carrilo Watanabe proved fastest in the tiebreaker, and all three individual medalists completed the competition without touching a pole. Lenir Alejandro Perez Facusse (Di Vadine) of Honduras received the silver medal, with Carrillo Watanabe’s teammate Alessandro Neumann Priess (Corlinus) finishing as the individual bronze medalist.

Pre-Junior

The addition of the Pre-Junior category to jumping competition further enhanced a gradual pipeline of rider progression in the sport in North America. With fences set up to 1.30m, the Pre-Junior division bridges the gap between Children’s (1.25m) and Junior (1.40m) competition.

The USA’s Zone 4 rallied for a come-from-behind victory, with teammates Mia Albelo (Cocominka EST), Caia Watridge (Iselle van Orshof), Trinity Beitler (Coconut) and Lawson Whitaker (Brownie and Cream) each producing at least one clear round for the team. The squad completed the final round of team competition without a single fault, which would comfortably propel them ahead of Mexico North and USA Zone 10, despite Mexico North solidly holding an early lead.

Zone 4’s Mia Albelo added a second gold medal with the individual title. Having won the opening qualifying competition, the 16-year-old rider entered the individual final on a flawless score. Albelo delivered under the utmost pressure, jumping yet another clear round aboard her 10-year-old mare Cocominka EST to clinch gold. Zone 10’s Caroline Mawhinney (Stella Levista) received the silver medal, with Xaviera Maurer Burch (Con Rouet) of Mexico North bronze.

“I’m so lucky to have come back today in the top spot,” Albelo said. “Going through those timers, keeping all the rails up was pretty emotional.”

The podium for the NAYC Jumping Junior Team Championship. (FEI/Allyson Lagiovane)

Junior

Zone 4 jump-started a winning streak with another gold medal-worthy performance in Junior competition. The group of Hailey Royce (Sonic Boom), Ansgar Holtgers Jr. (Elina), Reid Arani (Ziezo) and Zayna Rizvi (Excellent) finished the team final impressively, with two rails in hand.

Called the “Zone 4 Dream Team” by Chef d’Equipe Kim Land, Holtgers, Jr. and Rizvi produced critical double-clear efforts for their teammates, which put Zone 4 on a total score of 10.15. Canada jumped onto the podium with the silver medal (20.62), while USA Zone 5/6 earned team bronze (27.48).

For Canada, Lea Rucker led the way, limiting her penalties to just 2.46 on her own Evita (Kashmir van het Schutterhof x Wolfgang), one of two 12-year-old Dutch Warmblood mares on the team to share the same name. She commented, “I was very happy that my rounds contributed to securing the silver. My horse jumped great and I was so glad to have awesome teammates like mine.”

Rizvi and Holtgers, Jr. went on to claim the top two individual medals of the competition. Rizvi and Excellent jumped to their second gold medal, finishing the competition on just 2.46 penalties. Holtgers, Jr. (Elina) took the silver, with Canada’s Rucker adding just 4 faults to her team competition score of 2.46 to capture bronze aboard Evita with a total of 6.46 penalties.

A year hiatus did not change much for Region 4, who rode to a second consecutive title in the Junior team Dressage competition. With just three riders, the Region 4 squad did not have the luxury of a drop score, but it wasn’t needed, with sisters Kylee (Honor) and Lexie (Montagny von der Heide) Kment and Ella Fruchterman nearly five percentage points better than runners-up Region 7. USA Region 3 rounded out the podium.

The Kment sisters again shared the podium in the NAYC Junior Individual Championship, with Lexie and Kylee finishing first and second, respectively. The sisters were separated by just one percentage point. Kat Fuqua, who competed in both dressage and jumping at NAYC, received the bronze medal.

In her NAYC debut, Lexie Kment rode to a third gold medal by week’s end, topping the Junior Freestyle Championship with a score of 74.775 percent. Julia McDonald (Lehndorff van de Vogelzang) of Region 2 received the silver medal, while Fuqua claimed her third bronze medal of the week aboard her own Dreamgirl.

The podium for the Jumping Young Rider Team. (FEI/Georgie Hammond/Phelps Media Group)

Young Rider

Zone 4 emphatically capped its week with a third gold medal in Young Rider competition. Erika Jacobson (Everton), Riley Delbecq (Julesraimus de Brisy), Violet Lindemann Barnett (Alanine de Vains) and Ashley Vogel (Bellissimo Z) brought their team from fourth to first with just a single rail and a time fault against them over the course of the two rounds of the team final.

Zone 2 would make it close, and while anchor rider Mimi Gochman (Celina BH) delivered with a double-clear performance, it wasn’t quite enough to overtake the lead. Zone 2 settled for silver, with Canada bronze with the team of Sara Tindale, 19, of Campbellville, ON; Lauren Esdale, 19, of Seagrave, ON; Cassie Gorsline, 19, of Okotoks, AB; and Austin Krawitt, 18, of Okotoks, AB.

A major factor in the Canadian team’s jump from fourth after their first day of competition on Aug. 12 was two clear rounds from Esdale and Pauline Esdale’s 12-year-old Selle Français gelding, Viamdios d’Avril (Diamant de Semilly x Fol Avril), the following day. Canada’s final score of 27.98 was enough to earn a place on the podium. In the Individual Final on Aug. 15, Esdale and Viamdios d’Avril came in close fourth on a score of 7.23,

After riding to individual gold in the Junior championship two years ago, Gochman claimed her second individual title at NAYC, this time in the Young Rider Individual Championship aboard Celina BH. Gochman led from start to finish, completing the competition on a perfect “0” score. Mexico’s Daniel Rihan Goyeneche (Chousa Sho Z) and USA Zone 4’s Violet Lindemann Barnett (Alanine de Vains) completed the podium with individual silver and bronze, respectively.

Region 7 received the gold medal in the Young Rider Dressage Team Championship with a dominant performance. Erin Nichols (Handsome Rob AR), Miki Yang (Donavan), Katherine Mathews (Soliére) and Christian Simonson (Zeaball Diawind) were so impressive, the team’s drop score was higher than two of the three scores on Region 1’s silver medal-winning squad.

It was much closer for the remaining medals, with less than two percentage points separating silver and bronze. USA Region 2 just edged Region 4, who received the bronze medal.

Simonson was also the individual champion—and the only rider to score above 70 percent in the competition. In the individual final, Simonson also rode to a personal best score of 75.353 percent. The 19-year-old has had the ride on Christina Morgan’s 9-year-old gelding for two years.

Simonson’s successful week concluded with an exclamation point, as he rode to one last gold medal in the Young Rider Freestyle Championship. Simonson and Zeaball Diawind continued to bring their scores up, this time receiving a 78.935 percent from the judges—setting a new record for the highest score awarded in the FEI Young Rider Freestyle Test. The judge at B even awarded this pair an 81.375 percent. Region 1’s Allison Nemeth (Tiko) received the silver medal, finishing less than two-tenths of a percentage point ahead of bronze medallist Tillie Jones (Qi Gong TF) of Region 4.

Of the Canadian riders’ efforts, Jumping chef d’equipe Dayton Gorsline commented, “It was a great group. They were all there for each other, all ages hung out and watched one another.”

Canadian Anna Swackhammer Competes in Young Riders Dressage

Anna Swackhammer of Rockwood, ON, and Wrazzmatazz (Jazz x Darwin) were the sole Canadian flagbearers in dressage at NAYC 2021, competing in the Young Riders division. 17-year-old Swackhammer and the 18-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding owned by Melissa Sinclair competed at the 2018 and 2019 NAYC as Juniors, collecting a 2018 team bronze medal along the way.

Canada unfortunately did not appear in the Young Riders Team Competition as Camille Carier Bergeron of Mascouche, QC, and Brooke Mancusi of Chambly, QC, withdrew their horses, Sound of Silence 4 and Grand Amour, prior to the start of competition due to injury.

Dressage Chef d’Équipe, Denielle Gallagher, commented, “It’s a lot of pressure for a single rider who sadly lost her teammate before the competition. All eyes were on her and Anna showed everyone she is a serious player who is in it to win it.”

For 2021, Swackhammer and Wrazzmatazz kicked things off on August 12 with a score of 64.794% for 16th place in the Team test. Moving forward to the Individual test on Aug. 14, a score of 67.206% bumped them all the way up to seventh for a top-10 finish in the individual rankings. Swackhammer’s last challenge came in the Freestyle Championship on Aug. 15. There, she and Wrazzmatazz placed 13th after posting a score of 67.695%.

“Wrazzmatazz felt very good coming into the Freestyle, where the choreography and music I put together myself worked very well,” said Swackhammer. “Overall, I am extremely pleased with our performances this week and I had a fantastic time representing Canada. A big thank you to my family, friends, coach Ute Busse, and Chef d’Équipe extraordinaire, Denielle.”

Canadian Participants:

Young Rider – Sara Tindale, Elco van Hof ter Naillen / Lauren Esdale, Viamdios d’Avril / Cassie Gorsline, Lux la Loi / Austin Krawitt, Vincent Santa Monica

Junior – Lea Rucker, Evita / Sasha Maniaci, Evita / Hannah Rajotte, Charlie S / Eric Krawitt, Cactus de Cosniere

Pre-Junior – Olivia Stephenson, Chaccana / William Martin, Alegria Z / Quintyn Werner Baeumler, Harissa Z

Children – Nyomi Yzerman, WH Coconut / Livia Martin, Coradi / Taylor Wood, Clementine RS

Dressage Young Rider – Anna Swackhammer, Wrazzmatazz

Canadian top-10 final results:

JR Individual Final:
3. Lea Rucker, Evita
10. Eric Krawitt, Cactus de Cosniere

JR Team Final:
2. Canada (Lea Rucker, Evita / Sasha Maniaci, Evita / Hannah Rajotte, Charlie S / Eric Krawitt, Cactus de Cosniere)

YR Individual Final:
4. Lauren Esdale, Viamdios d’Avril

YR Team Final:
3. Canada (Sara Tindale, Elco van Hof ter Naillen / Lauren Esdale, Viamdios d’Avril / Cassie Gorsline, Lux la Loi / Austin Krawitt, Vincent Santa Monica)

Children Individual Final
6. Nyomi Yzerman, WH Coconut

Children Team Final:
4. Canada (Nyomi Yzerman, WH Coconut / Livia Martin, Coradi / Taylor Wood, Clementine RS)

Pre-JR Individual Final:
5. William Martin, Alegria Z

Pre-JR Team Final:
6. Canada (William Martin, Alegria Z / Olivia Stephenson, Chaccana / Quintyn Werner Baeumler, Harissa Z)

View full results from NAYC here.

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~ with files from Catie Staszak/FEI and Equestrian Canada