2024 Platinum Performance/USHJA Hunter Championship Week Kicks Off in Kentucky

Lexington, Ky.—Aug. 12, 2024—The annual Platinum Performance/USHJA Hunter Championship Week featuring the Platinum Performance/USHJA Green Hunter Incentive Championships and Platinum Performance/USHJA International Hunter Derby Championship gets underway this week, August 13-17, in Lexington, Kentucky. More than 300 of the country's top Hunter horses and riders will take to the Kentucky Horse Park's Rolex Stadium for five days of competition amid the Bluegrass Festival Horse Show.

New this year, the 3'6" and 3'9" Platinum Performance/USHJA Green Hunter Incentive Championship competitors will kick off the week on Tuesday. A record 84 entries are set to contest the day's courses designed by Ken Krome and Meghan Rawlins, under the eyes of judges Rob Bielefeld, Robert Crandall, Shane George, Mark Jungherr, Brian Lenehan, and William Sparks. The First Round will begin the day, followed by the Tier II Round and the Championship Tier I Round, which will see the top 30 horses return with a clean slate and award the first tricolors.

Over 150 horses competing at the 3' and 3'3" heights will take their turn in the Rolex Stadium on Tuesday and Wednesday, with the Tier II Round and Championship Tier I Round on Friday morning. The "bye" format introduced in 2023 returns this year, with the 30 horses qualified for the final round made up of the top 10 horses from the First Round, the top 10 horses from the Second Round, and the top 10 horses based on cumulative scores. 

More than $100,000 in prize money will be on the line, as well as additional prize money for horse-and-rider combinations piloted by Tier II Riders—those ranked 46th or below based on the rider's Green Hunter Incentive Program money won in the previous competition year. Each Tier II Round will welcome back 10 additional Tier II riders who are not already competing in the Championship Tier I Round to compete for Tier II awards and prize money.

Friday afternoon will see over 100 horses compete in the Platinum Performance/USHJA International Hunter Derby Championship Classic Hunter Round for a spot in Saturday afternoon's Handy Hunter Round. Those not qualified for the Handy Hunter Round will have the opportunity to compete in the $10,000 Derby Challenge on Saturday morning. 

On Saturday, the competitors will be called back for the Handy Hunter Rounds to vie for more than $100,000 in prize money and the coveted titles of International Hunter Derby Champions. The top 20 overall horse-and-rider combinations from the Classic Hunter Round will be invited to compete in the Tier I Handy Hunter Round and will be eligible for 80 percent of the prize money. The top 20 horses ridden by a Tier II rider, determined by the amount of money earned over the previous competition year in International Hunter Derbies, will be invited to compete in the Tier II Handy Hunter Round and will be eligible to win 20 percent of the total prize money. Tier II riders competing in the Tier I Handy Round are eligible for prize money in both categories. 

Those new to the sport and longtime horse lovers are invited to the Kentucky Horse Park from 1-5 p.m. ET for a Day at the Derby to watch the International Hunter Derby Championship Handy Hunter Rounds. Attendance is free, and all attendees are entered to win prizes from Equine Equipment, Pivo, Human Touch, Exhibitor’s, Veronica Feth Art, VisitLex, and more! Additionally, the group with the most attendees will win a Exmark Commercial 21 X-Series walk-behind mower.

For those not able to watch the competition in person, wall-to-wall live streaming coverage presented by Windsor Stables will be available at no additional cost to members on ClipMyHorse.TV. Follow additional coverage from the week on USHJA's Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.

The USHJA thanks the sponsors who helped to make these championships possible including Title Sponsor Platinum Performance and Official Sponsors CWD, Nutrena, and Parlanti International. Thanks also go to Official Broadcast Provider ClipMyHorse.TV and Livestream Sponsor Windsor Stables; Championship Official Sponsor Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital and Pharmacy; Supporting Sponsors Essex Classics, RingSide Pro, Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation, Human Touch, Horseflight, American Hanoverian Society, and Top Line Communications; Award Sponsors Equine Equipment and Boy O Boy Bridleworks; Challenge Round Supporters Ken and Ceil Wheeler; Exhibitors’ Party Supporters John Ingram and Laura Karat; Rider Bonus Awards Supporters Ron Danta and Danny Robershaw; and Bonus Award Donors Oakwell Farms, DS Holdings, LLC, Colleen McQuay, and Patrick Rodes.

For more information about the live stream or to view the complete schedule, orders of go, and online results for the 2024 Platinum Performance/USHJA Hunter Championship Week, visit ushja.org/competition/hunter-week-championships.

Photos: Terisé Cole/USHJA, MaryJo Peters/USHJA