USHJA Zones 7 & 8 Platinum and Jumper Team Championships Underway at HIPICO Santa Fe
Santa Fe, N.M.—July 25, 2019—Riders from USHJA Zones 7 & 8 are set to compete in the USHJA Platinum Jumper Championships and Zone Jumper Team Championships during the Santa Fe Summer Series in Santa Fe, New Mexico, this week. The Championships will feature exciting team and individual competition where riders will also compete for the USHJA Platinum Show Jumping Athlete and USHJA Gold Star Emerging Jumper Rider titles.
The USHJA congratulates the following athletes who are competing in the Platinum Jumper Championships this week:
1.40/1.45m Platinum Jumper Championship Competitors
Zone 7 Competitors
• Gianna Aycock, Argyle, Texas (Professional)
• Caitlin Burns (Amateur)
• Julie Cleveland Beam, Argyle, Texas (Professional)
• Mindy Coretz, Tulsa, Okla. (Professional)
• Natalee Haggan, Argyle, Texas (Professional)
• Meghan Hurst, Baton Rouge, La. (Amateur)
• Grant Seger, Corpus Christi, Texas (Professional)
Zone 8 Competitors
• Karen Banister, Brighton, Colo. (Professional)
• Ashley Stannard, Tuscon, Ariz. (Professional)
• Sarah Invicta Williams, Santa Fe, N.M. (Professional)
The USHJA congratulates the following athletes who are competing in the Zone Jumper Championships this week:
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Zone 7 1.10/1.15m Children • Hannah Beall, Corpus Christi, Texas Zone 8 1.10/1.15m Children • Nathan Crutchfield, Tuscon, Ariz. Zone 7 1.10/1.15m Adult Amateurs • Brianna Thomas, Farmerville, La. Zone 8 1.10/1.15m Adult Amateurs • Betsy Checchia, Tuscon, Ariz. |
Zone 7 1.20/1.25m Junior/Amateurs • Abigail Bergin, Baton Rouge, La. (Amateur) Zone 8 1.20/1.25m Junior/Amateurs • Grace Gallagher, Scottsdale, Ariz. (Junior) Zone 7 1.30/1.35m Junior/Amateurs • Katherine Huffstutler, Austin, Texas (Junior) Zone 8 1.30/1.35 Junior/Amateurs • Sophie Onody, Aurora, Colo. (Amateur) |
Special thanks to our chefs d'equipe who are leading teams at the championships. Matt Cyphert is leading teams for Zone 7, and Jenny Paisley and Laurie Grayson are leading teams for Zone 8.
The Championships began with the riders' meeting on Wednesday, July 24. On Thursday, July 25, the riders will all jog their horses and then proceed into the First Individual Qualifier. All levels will compete in the Team Championships on Friday, July 26, and the Individual Final for the Zone Jumper Team Championships will conclude on Saturday, July 27. The Platinum riders will have a mandatory rest day Saturday and compete for their Individual Final on Sunday, July 28, as an overlay with the $30,000 Sonrisa Week Grand Prix.
Individual gold medalists will receive a variety of awards from Essex Classics and FITS Riding in addition to a medal, a ribbon and a cooler, and the Adult Amateur individual gold medalist will also receive a pair of Parlanti paddock boots.
During a special orientation session at the riders meeting, riders, trainers and parents received comprehensive information about how riders can advance through the sport to its highest levels. The session specifically discussed the Show Jumping Athlete Pathway, a joint USHJA-US Equestrian effort that identifies and nurtures Jumping athletes as they advance through the sport to enhance future success for Olympic and international teams representing the United States.
At the conclusion of each Zone Jumper Team Championship, USHJA will recognize all individual medalists as 2019 Gold Star Emerging Jumper Riders by awarding them an exclusive 2019 Gold Star Emerging Jumper Rider pin that can be worn at future competitions to distinguish them. At the same time, trainers of these riders will be recognized as 2019 Gold Star Jumper Coaches and will receive specialized pins that denote their title. Riders and trainers who receive the designation are also invited to attend one of the Gold Star Clinics.
Individual medalists from the Platinum Championships will be designated as USHJA Show Jumping Platinum Athletes and will be invited to the Platinum Masters Training Session. During the Training Session, athletes will participate in advanced workshops and training sessions with top national and international clinicians and industry specialists
New for the 2019 competition year, the USHJA Platinum Jumper Championships marks the highest level of the USHJA Emerging Jumper Rider Program, and are open to qualified juniors, amateurs and professionals competing at 1.40/1.45m fence heights.
One remaining USHJA Platinum Jumper Championship will be held for Zones 9 and 10, Nov. 6-10 at HITS Thermal in Thermal, California. The deadline to qualify and apply for the Zone 9 and 10 Platinum Jumper Championship is Nov. 5, 2019.
For more information about the USHJA Platinum Jumper Championships, click here. For more information about the USHJA Zone Jumper Team Championships, click here.
USHJA extends its gratitude to all of our official sponsors, Charles Owen, CWD, Parlanti and Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital, and our award sponsors Essex Classics and FITS Riding, that make these programs possible.
