Over 100 Horses Compete for Platinum Performance/USHJA Green Hunter Incentive Regional Championship Titles

Lexington, Ky.—Nov. 8, 2024—The Platinum Performance/USHJA Green Hunter Incentive Regional Championships wrapped up this fall after seeing over 100 horse and rider combinations compete across the country at six locations.

The North Central Championship was held June 12-16 at the Traverse City Horse Shows Spring II in Traverse City, Michigan. 

• 3'0"/3'3" Champion: Custom Romance, owned by Romance Sport Horses and ridden by Nick Haness
• 3'6"/3'9" Champion: Judgement Farms LLC's Family Affaire and Jacob Pope

The Southwest Championship took place at the Blenheim June Classic, June 26-30 in San Juan Capistrano, California. 

• 3'0"/3'3" Champion: Sandra Bierman's Lavender, with Leslie Steele in the irons
• 3'6"/3'9" Champion: Clooney, owned by Ilene Kurtzman and ridden by Shauna Pennell

The South Championship was June 26-30 at the North Carolina Hunter Jumper Association Annual Horse Show in Raeford, North Carolina.

• 3'0"/3'3" Champion: Carter, owned by the Rein Family, LLC and ridden by Brady Mitchell
• 3'6"/3'9" Champion: Aeronautic, ridden by Victoria Colvin and owned by Martin Schlaeppi

The North Championship was held July 10-14 at the Saratoga WIB Spectacular
in Stillwater, New York. 

• 3'0"/3'3" Champion: Little Brook, LLC's Kaiden GPH with John French in the irons
• 3'6"/3'9" Champion: Kalvarie, owned by The Kalvarie Group and ridden by Holly Orlando

The Northwest Championship was held at the Oregon Summer Classic, August 21-25 in Wilsonville, Oregon.

• 3'0"/3'3" Champion: Bristol Bay, ridden by Shelley Campf and owned by Lynn Olson
• 3'6"/3'9 Champion: Gratify, owned by Leslie Parks-Beyer, with Macy Mitchell riding 

"In the Northwest, few horses make the long journey to Kentucky for the Platinum Performance/USHJA Green Hunter Incentive Championships, so the Regional Championship really becomes a special and coveted class to win," remarked Campf, professional rider of Canby, Oregon. "I'm always thrilled to win a USHJA Championship, regardless of which one."

The South Central Championship finished off the year at Harvest, October 30-November 3 in Katy, Texas.

• 3'0"/3'3" Champion: Seaside, owned by Wendy Patterson and ridden by Morgan van Nortwick 
• 3'6"/3'9" Champion: Chesterfield with Nada Wise in the irons and owned by Stacey Thompson

"It’s a pleasure and an honor to be placed at the top of such a talented group of horses and riders at my age," van Nortwick said. "My boss, Will Roberts, has always been a big supporter and previous winner of these types of classes. We have always had clients, in this case Wendy Patterson, who believe in bringing along young horses in classes such as these to prepare them for the future."

The USHJA would like to thank Title Sponsor Platinum Performance and Official Sponsors CWD, Parlanti, and Nutrena, as well as Supporting Sponsor Essex Classics. A special thank you also goes to the teams at the Traverse City Horse Show, Blenheim Equisports, North Carolina Hunter Jumper Association, Saratoga Horse Shows, Team NW Equestrian Sports, and Southbound Show Management for hosting the Championships.

Learn more about the USHJA Green Hunter Incentive program at ushja.org/GHI. For more information about the USHJA Green Hunter Incentive Regional Championships, visit ushja.org/GHIRC.

Photos: Andrew Ryback Photography, Dashing Paws Photography, McCool Photography, and Jerry Mohme Photography