USHJA Opens Applications for New 1.40/1.45m Platinum Jumper Championships

Open to professionals, juniors and amateurs, offering individual medalists a spot at Platinum Masters Training Session in 2020

 

Lexington, Ky.—Feb. 11, 2019—The U.S. Hunter Jumper Association is pleased to open applications for the inaugural USHJA Platinum Jumper Championships, which offer Professionals, Juniors and Amateurs competing at 1.40/1.45m team and individual competition, as well as an opportunity to qualify for the 2020 USHJA Platinum Masters Training Session with top national and international industry experts.

The Platinum Jumper Championships will be held at the following competitions in 2019:

  • USHJA Zones 1 & 2, HITS-on-the-Hudson III, Saugerties, NY, June 5-9, 2019 - Qualifying Start Date: August 27, 2018; Application Deadline and Qualifying Ends: April 21, 2019
  • USHJA Zones 3 & 4, Tryon Summer, Mill Spring, NC, July 10-14, 2019 - Qualifying Start Date: July 9, 2018; Application Deadline and Qualifying Ends: May 26
  • USHJA Zones 5 & 6, Showplace Summertime III, Crete, IL, July 17-21, 2019 - Qualifying Start Date: July 23, 2018; Application Deadline and Qualifying Ends: June 2
  • USHJA Zones 7 & 8, Hipico Sante Fe, Santa Fe, NM, July 24 - 28, 2019 - Qualifying Start Date: July 2, 2018; Application Deadline and Qualifying Ends: June 10
  • USHJA Zones 9 & 10, National Sunshine Series II, Thermal, CA, November 5-10, 2019 - Qualifying Start Date: November 12, 2018; Application Deadline and Qualifying Ends: September 23 

"The Platinum Jumper Championships are the culmination of the USHJA's Jumper footprint on our sport, and we're absolutely overjoyed to be able to start this program this year," said Larry Langer, chair of the USHJA Emerging Jumper Rider Task Force.

The USHJA Platinum Jumper Championships offer team and individual Jumper competition at 1.40/1.45m for Professionals, Amateurs and Juniors. Credit: Rachel Sowinski/USHJA

Designed for athletes competing successfully in the 1.40/1.45m Jumpers, athlete/horse combinations qualify for the Platinum Jumper Championships by earning a minimum of $250 and completing an application at least 45 days before their zone's Platinum Jumper Championships. The Championships are restricted to those athlete/horse combinations that have not competed in a High Performance Standard Grand Prix or any class held at 1.60m in the current competition year.

Athlete/horse combinations earn a position on a team of four riders composed of professionals, juniors and amateurs. The Championships offer three days of team and individual competition and use a cumulative scoring format with the first round and individual final held as overlay classes with special 1.40/1.45m open classes and grand prix classes held at the American Standard, and the team competition classes are held as standalone classes. The format is as follows:

  • Day One: First Round (Speed)
  • Day Two: Two-Round Team Competition
  • Rest day between Day Two and Day Three
  • Day Three: Individual Final

Individual medalists from the Platinum Championships and select Wild Cards will be designated as USHJA Show Jumping Platinum Athletes and will be invited to the Platinum Masters Training Session in 2020. During the Training Session, athletes will participate in advanced workshops and training sessions with top national and international clinicians and industry specialists, covering topics such as advanced media training, physio for athlete and horse, business contracts and best practices, syndications, young horse conformation and selection, health and fitness for athlete and horse, and exercises that improve horse performance.

US Equestrian and USHJA are working together to ensure identification and development of Show Jumping athletes throughout the United States. The organizations are providing the guidance and information for an athlete's journey up the pathway of the Jumping sport and perhaps an opportunity to represent the United States in international competitions and national championships. Learn more about the USHJA's comprehensive Emerging Jumper Rider Program, which offers competitive and educational opportunities from 1.10m through 1.45m, as part of the U.S. Show Jumping Athlete Pathway.

Apply for the Platinum Jumper Championships at ushja.org/platinumjumper. Learn more about the USHJA Emerging Jumper Rider Program at ushja.org/emergingjumper. 
 

Media Contact:
Louise Taylor
ltaylor@ushja.org
(859) 225-6700