Future Stars Shine Bright at 2026 USHJA Young Jumper Championships - East

Williamsburg, Mich.—Sept. 9, 2026—The sixth annual USHJA Young Jumper Championships - East celebrated up-and-coming show jumping talent September 1-5 during the Traverse City Tournament of Champions. Drawing over 60 entries, top Jumper prospects vied for year-end titles across five divisions for a share of $75,000 in prize money and coveted championship titles.

4-Year-Old Championship

Rachel Long won the first title of the week in the North Star 4-Year-Old Final on Thursday, riding Michael Kvistad’s Casual Acquaintance (Cartier R x Envious). After a third-place finish in Wednesday’s opening round, Long moved up to the top spot with the 2022 Oldenburg gelding bred by Alisa Lask.

“His owner, Michael Kvistad, bought [Casual Acquaintance] as a foal—he saw him in the field and said, ‘I want that one.’ He has an incredible eye for young horses,” said Long, who hails from Horseshoe Bend, Idaho, in Zone 9. “He had a feeling about him; he liked what he saw, and the rest is history.”

Ginger Brogan was presented with the Young Jumper Grooms Award for her care of Casual Acquaintance, who also earned both the Best U.S. Bred Horse and Overall Style Awards.

“Over the last year, I’ve been bringing him along slowly and letting him develop in his time, but he has such a great brain and a natural desire to do well in the show ring, which is a joy to work with,” said Long, who also piloted her own homebred Darc Blue LF to reserve honors.

“Darc Blue is from my stallion, HH Diamant Blue [out of Top Darco la Hacienda], so to work with him from day one when he was born, it's always special,” continued Long of the 2022 Oldenburg Gelding owned and bred by Long Farms. “I've been riding young horses for most of my riding career—for me to be able to have a horse to jump bigger jumps, my chance was to develop them from young horses, and I love working with them.

“It's not often that we get to jump at this caliber of a show with the young horses, and I think it's nice to introduce them to that atmosphere early in their career,” said Long. “It’s instrumental in their development.”

5-Year-Old Championship

After two qualifying rounds, Lisa Goldman-Smolen, of Hawthorn Woods, Illinois, in Zone 5, rode her own homebred Pharoah RCF to win the North Star 5-Year-Old Final on Saturday.

“I think this is the first homebred that we've won a young horse final with,” said Goldman-Smolen, speaking of the success she has found with her 2021 Belgian Sport Horse sired by her former grand prix horse Sovereign (out of Romance B) and bred by her family’s Red Coat Farm. “I've won a few of them, but I've never personally been the actual breeder—it’s really special.”

Pharoah RCF was presented with the Best U.S. Bred Horse Award, and groom Maureen Dooney claimed the Young Jumper Grooms Award.

“With all the things that are available for horses that are older and more established, it’s very easy to leave the young ones at home,” continued Goldman-Smolen. “It’s nice to have this [Championship] as a goal. It's important that they sit out in a field and grow up and reach their milestones, but I feel like working towards this goal at the end of the year, especially, gives you that time to really develop and build them up. After this, he’s headed back to the field for a few months.”

When asked about what makes Pharoah RCF so promising, Goldman-Smolen responded, “He's really brave; he doesn't bat an eye at any of the jumps. A little luck was in my favor today, but he jumped that jump-off so incredibly; even if I was second, I was going to be happy.”

Taking the reserve title, Ali Wolff, of New Albany, Ohio, in Zone 5, rode her own homebred Bishop Briggs (Gulf van den Bisschop x Brianda), a 2021 American Warmblood gelding.

6-Year-Old Championship

Odessa d’Or (Diabolo d’Esquelmes x DRF Maggie), a 2020 Belgian Sport Horse mare ridden by owner/breeder Kendra Gohr, of Green Bay, Wisconsin, in Zone 6, claimed the 6-Year-Old title on Saturday after jumping fault-free throughout the three days of competition.

“It's such a journey, but it's a joy watching them grow up,” reflected Gohr after her picture-perfect week. “I started her, and now I get to enjoy it. She got her brain from my mare—as a 6-year-old, my trainer's 9-year-old daughter can go trail riding on her by herself. We call her a unicorn because she is!”

Odessa d’Or pocketed the Best U.S. Bred Horse Award for Gohr, who continued about the mare’s breeding, saying, “From the stallion, I think she got the scope and the power, but her strongest suit is her heart. She’s an unassuming plain bay, but she shines in the show ring.

“This was my goal for the year, so I was motivated to keep putting miles in on her, taking her places, and doing things so she could be ready to do this, and she literally shocked us all today,” concluded Gohr, whose groom, Alexandra Bertinchamps, earned the Young Jumper Grooms Award for her care of Odessa d’Or.

James Billington, of Wellington, Florida, in Zone 4, was runner-up riding Power Play WB (Diarado x Caberlina Z), a 2020 Anglo-European Sporthorse gelding owned by Samantha Mackenzie.

7-Year-Old Championship

From a field of 21 entries in the 7-Year-Olds, Hunter Holloway topped the Final riding Olympia, a 2019 KWPN gelding (Eldorado van de Zeshoek x Kereusa-S) owned by Hays Investment Corp. and bred in the Netherlands by S. Nijland.

“I loved him from the time I sat on him as a 6-year-old,” admitted Holloway, who hails from Topeka, Kansas, in Zone 7. “He always rises to the occasion. He has been ahead all year for a 7-year-old. I have been doing him in the 1.40m, and he has been awesome.

“I knew going into this that, maturity-wise, he was ready, and I felt very confident in his brain. And it always helps that he's a fast horse naturally,” continued Holloway. “It's an exciting thing because for me, I've almost always bought my top horses at a young age, so this final is really a good format for us to see where they're at and what the future holds for them. He's proving that he's going to be a good competitor for me in the future.”

The top two horses in the final jumped impressive clear rounds all week to finish within a single second of each other. Denali Z (Dulf van den Bisschop x Zephire), a 2019 Zangersheide gelding ridden by Hayley Barnhill, of Collierville, Tennessee, in Zone 4, finished second. Barnhill owns and bred Denali Z, which clinched him the Best U.S. Bred Horse Award for 7-year-olds.

8-Year-Old Championship

Saturday concluded with Holloway going for the double, also winning the 8-Year-Old Final aboard Elmietta PS, the half-sister to her winning mount in the 7-Year-Old Final. Elmietta PS (Eldorado van de Zeshoek x Chamietta) is a 2018 Oldenburg mare owned by Blue Star Investments and bred in Germany by Gestüt Lewitz.

When asked about what she looks for when selecting winners, Holloway responded, “The first quality is top character, and the rest usually comes, but I want them to have a very good character, and then the rest we figure out from there."

“This mare has always shown a lot of scope and talent, and we've always thought really highly of her,” continued Holloway. “I think she'll go big places, and hopefully we get to be part of it.”

Elmietta PS was the only 8-year-old from a starting field of 15 to jump clean across all rounds through the week. Reserve honors were presented to Livella SR (Livello x Grave VII), a 2018 Holsteiner mare ridden by Nikko Ritter, of Loxahatchee, Florida, in Zone 4, owned by Hollow Tree Show Jumping and bred in Germany by Timothy Kammerer.

“This Championship is amazing because this is what the future of our sport is about,” said Holloway. “This is where it starts in the young horse ring, and the bigger deal we can make of that, I think the better for American show jumping down the road.”

Holloway acknowledged that these winning moments required a village, and concluded by saying, “I am unbelievably blessed with an amazing team and program from the bottom up. From the grooms to the management to the trainers, everyone involved is part of the team as a cohesive whole. They show up time and time again for me, and I could not do it without them.”

To conclude the week, Holloway’s groom Lorenzo Rugama accepted the Young Jumper Grooms Award for both the 7- and 8-Year-Old Finals.

Additional special awards were presented at the conclusion of the Championships.

• Leading Owner – Hays Investment Corp.

• Leading U.S. Breeder – Kendra Gohr

• Leading Young Jumper Rider – Hunter Holloway

• Leading Young Jumper Trainer – Caroline McLeese

• Breeder's Cup Perpetual Trophy, donated by DiAnn Langer and Red Top Farm – S. (Susan) Nijland

The USHJA Young Jumper Championships serve as the national championship
for young Jumpers in the United States, allowing talented prospects to be showcased by
Owners, breeders, and riders have shown their horses at the national level. The competition offers separate Championships for 4-, 5-, 6-, 7-, and 8-year-olds. Four-year-olds compete in a Style and Jumping Championship, which includes a First Qualifier and Final set at .90-1.00m. Five- through 8-year-olds compete over a three-round format that features First and Second Qualifiers and a Final set from 1.20-1.45m based on each age section. New in 2026, the Championships expanded to include a West Coast iteration, held during the Woodside International Classic 2, October 21-25, 2026, in Woodside, California.

The USHJA extends special thanks to the Traverse City Horse Shows team for hosting the Championships. The USHJA also thanks Official Sponsors Herm Sprenger, Nutrena, Stridefull, and Parlanti, and Supporting Sponsor Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation.

For more information about the USHJA Young Jumper Championships, visit ushja.org/YoungJumper.

Photos: Natalie Suto Photography