Athletes from Zones 5 & 6 Set to Compete in the USHJA Platinum Jumper Championships

Crete, Ill.—July 18, 2019—The 1.40m/1.45m USHJA Platinum Jumper Championships kick off today with Zones 5 & 6 competing for team and individual medals and Platinum Show Jumping Athlete titles at Showplace Summertime III at HITS Balmoral Park.

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 5 Competitors

  • Taylor Flury, Minooka, Ill. (Professional)
  • Lisa Goldman-Smolen, Hawthorn Woods, Ill. (Professional)
  • Summer Hill, Lexington, Ky. (Professional)
  • Sarah Korenthal, Chicago, Ill. (Amateur)
  • Katie Leverick, Fox Lake, Ill. (Professional)
  • Adeline Rohrbach, Glencoe, Ill. (Amateur)
  • Stefanie Shaw, Lake Villa, Ill (Junior)

Zone 6 Competitors

  • Kim Barone, Watertown, Minn. (Professional)
  • Janine Weatherby, Bellevue, Neb. (Professional)

Leading the teams at the championships are Zone 5 Chefs d'Equipe Elaine Schott and Ryan Sassmannshausen and Zone 6 Chef d'Equipe Janine Weatherby. 

Junior, amateur and professional riders from Zone 5 and Zone 6 who have qualified for this new 1.40/1.45m team and individual championship competition, participated in an official jog and rider's meeting today, followed by the First Individual Qualifier, held as an overlay on the $5,000 HITS 1.40m Jumper Prix in the Grand Prix Stadium. The Team Championships will be held as a standalone class Friday, July 19, in a two-round Nations Cup format, followed by a mandatory rest day on Saturday, July 20. Individual Final will conclude on Sunday, July 21, as an overlay on the $35,000 HITS 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. 

New for the 2019 competition year, the USHJA Platinum Jumper Championships marks the highest level of the USHJA Emerging Jumper Rider Program. Platinum Championship competitors will be recognized as 2019 USHJA Platinum Jumper Riders, and received comprehensive information during the riders meeting about 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.

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.

Remaining USHJA Platinum Jumper Championships to held in 2019 include:

  • USHJA Zones 7 & 8, July 25-28 at HIPICO Santa Fe, in Santa Fe, N.M.
  • USHJA Zones 9 & 10, Nov. 6-10 at HITS Thermal in Thermal, Calif.

The deadline to qualify and apply for each Championship has been extended to the day prior to the start of each Zone's respective Championship.

Happening concurrently this week during Showplace Summertime III are the USHJA Zones 5 & 6 Jumper Team Championships, for 1.10/1.15m Children's and Adult Amateur, 1.20/1.25m Junior and Amateur, and1.30/1.35m Junior and Amateur jumper riders, as well as the USHJA Zones 5 & 6 Children's and Adult Amateur Hunter Championships.

USHJA extends its gratitude to official sponsors, Charles Owen, CWD, Parlanti and Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital, and Platinum Jumper Championship award sponsors Essex Classics and FITS Riding.

For more information about the USHJA Platinum Jumper Championships, including qualifying information, deadlines and Championship specifications, visit ushja.org/PlatinumJumper.