2023 North Region for Markel/USHJA Zone Jumper Team Championships and Markel/USHJA Platinum Jumper Championships Crown Winners in Traverse City

Traverse City, Mich.—June 27, 2023—The Markel/USHJA Zone Jumper Team Championships and Markel/USHJA Platinum Jumper Championships for the North Region (Zones 1, 2, 5, 6) took to Flintfields Horse Park, June 21-25. Chef d'Equipe James Benedetto from Zone 2; Jay Land from Zone 4; Lindsay Yinger from Zone 5 oversaw the competition held during Traverse City Horse Shows' Spring Horse Show. 

Team Medalists

“I did [the Championships] once last year but we were still new,” Haverfield said after her team's win. “It’s super cool how we get to talk to other people on the team and strategize with them. It’s a great way to make friends. The courses are tough so you can really practice. The whole thing is really good to get you experience.”

Individual Medalists

“It felt very much like [NAYC] or the elite championships that those top Olympic riders are doing, so it was nice for me to get to participate in that," said O'Mara of the Championships' format. "I haven’t done a team event since I was a junior. As a professional, I felt more calm than I was as a junior. I had a great time."

Each team and individual earning gold received champion coolers and ribbons. For her efforts in the 1.10/1.15m Children's/Adult Amateur Zone Jumper individual section, Haverfield was awarded a pair of Parlanti paddock boots. Gold individual medalist in the 1.20/1.25m Junior/Amateur Zone Jumper, Merna, received a CWD certificate.  

The Zone Jumper Team Championships and Platinum Jumper Championships are part of the USHJA Emerging Jumper Rider Program, which rewards competitive achievement with education to advance athletes in the sport. The Program serves as the entry point for 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.

The Markel/USHJA Zone Jumper Team Championships provide Children's and Adult Amateur Jumper (1.10/1.15m) and 1.20/1.25m Juniors and Amateur competitors both team and individual competition. All competitors are recognized as USHJA Emerging Jumper Riders and individual medalists are recognized as Gold Star Emerging Jumper Riders.

The Markel/USHJA Platinum Jumper Championships are the highest level of the USHJA Emerging Jumper Rider Program and are open to qualified juniors, amateurs and professionals competing at 1.30/1.35m and 1.40/1.45m fence heights. All Championship competitors are recognized as USHJA Platinum Jumper Riders and individual medalists are designated as USHJA Show Jumping Platinum Athletes.

Individual medalists and their trainers are also invited to attend one of two Lindsay Maxwell Charitable Fund/USHJA Gold Star Clinics scheduled for the early part of the next year. Each clinic includes four days of mounted and unmounted instruction from Olympic-caliber clinicians and industry professionals.

Two more Markel/USHJA Zone Jumper Team Championships and Markel/USHJA Platinum Jumper Championships are being held throughout the 2023 competition season. The South Championships for Zones 3, 4 and 7 will be held on July 18-23 at Tryon International Equestrian Central in Mill Spring, North Carolina. The West Zone Jumper Team Championships for Zones 8, 9 and 10 will be held October 18-22 at Temecula Valley National Horse Shows in Temecula, California, while the Platinum Jumper competition will be held November 29-December 3 at Desert International Horse Park in Thermal, California.

The USHJA extends special thanks to the team at Traverse City Horse Shows and Morrissey Management Group for hosting these Championships. The USHJA also thanks official sponsors CWD, Nutrena and Parlanti and the title sponsor Markel Insurance.

For more information about the Markel/USHJA Zone Jumper Team Championships, visit ushja.org/ZoneJumper. For more information about the Markel/USHJA Platinum Jumper Championships Program, visit ushja.org/PlatinumJumper.

Photos: Tori Bilas and Andrew Ryback Photography