Athletes Accepted for 2024 Lindsay Maxwell Charitable Fund/USHJA Gold Star Clinic - West

Lexington, Ky.—Jan. 5, 2024—The U.S. Hunter Jumper Association is pleased to announce the selected participants for the 2024 Lindsay Maxwell Charitable Fund/USHJA Gold Star Clinic - West. Keri Potter will lead the mounted instruction at Desert International Horse Park in Thermal, California, January 10-14, alongside stable management clinician Colleen Reed.

Congratulations to the following riders on being selected for this year's West Coast clinic:

  • Madeline Ang, Arcadia, Calif.
  • Alyce Bittar, Los Angeles, Calif.
  • Amelie Bittar, Los Angeles, Calif.
  • Georges Bittar, Los Angeles, Calif.
  • Devyn de Hondol, Gilbert, Ariz.
  • Ashlin Goodwin, Santa Barbara, Calif.
  • Cecily Hayes, Brentwood, Calif.
  • Djuna Lauder, Los Angeles, Calif.
  • Monique McCormick, Carlsbad, Calif.
  • Lilah Nakatani, Covina, Calif.
  • Lucy Russell, Los Angeles, Calif.
  • Isabella Smith, Medford, Ore.
  • Sophie Smith, Ketchum, Idaho
  • Liza Wheeler, Beaverton, Ore.

In addition to mounted instruction and stable management sessions in the barn, the clinic will also feature educational presentations from top athletes and horsemen, including Dr. Duncan Peters and Dr. Lori Bidwell of East-West Equine Sports Medicine, sport psychologist Dr. Darby Bonomi, and course designer Phil DeVita.

The bicoastal Gold Star Clinics serve as the pinnacle of the USHJA Emerging Jumper Rider Program, which provides education and guidance to Jumper athletes looking to advance to the sport's highest levels. Individual medalists from the 2023 Markel/USHJA Zone Jumper Team Championships and Markel/USHJA Platinum Jumper Championships were invited to attend one of the Gold Star Clinics, as well as the top two riders from the USHJA Emerging Athletes Program National Training Session. Select Wild Card applicants were also accepted.

The East Coast clinic will be held at Jim Brandon Equestrian Center in West Palm Beach, Florida, on February 14-18. Applications to the East iteration are currently open and close January 15. 

The USHJA thanks Title Sponsor Lindsay Maxwell Charitable Fund for their support, as well as Official Sponsors CWD, Nutrena and Parlanti. 

To learn more about the Emerging Jumper Rider Program, visit ushja.org/emergingjumper. Find out more about the Gold Star Clinics at ushja.org/goldstarclinics.

Photos: Megan Giese Photography