USHJA Zones 5 & 6 Jumper Team Championships Begin Today at HITS Balmoral Park

Crete, Ill.—July 18, 2019—Riders from USHJA Zones 5 & 6 are set to compete in the USHJA Zone Jumper Team Championships during Showplace Summertime III at HITS Balmoral Park in Crete, Illinois, this week. The Championships will feature exciting team and individual competition where riders will also compete for the USHJA Gold Star Emerging Jumper Rider designation.

The USHJA congratulates the following athletes who are competing in the Championships: 

Zone 5 1.10/1.15m Children

•    Karlee Boshold, Hawthorn Woods, Ill. 
•    Kate Boshold, Hawthorn Woods, Ill. 
•    Martina Chiara, Glenview, Ill.
•    Savannah Embly, Lexington, Ky. 
•    Rebecca Gutstein, Glencoe, Ill. 
•    Erica Halstead, Barrington, Ill. 
•    Annabella Harold, Mundelein, Ill. 
•    Skyler Hendricks, Bourbonnais, Ill.  
•    Sydney Lin, Aurora, Ohio
•    Riley Malina, Skokie, Ill. 
•    Madison O'Meara, Barrington, Ill. 
•    Alexis Ortiz, Hoffman Estates, Ill. 
•    Adeline Pavlin, Cincinnati, Ohio
•    Anna Spitzer, Lake Bluff, Ill. 

Zone 6 1.10/1.15m Children

•    Taylor Caniglia, Elkhorn, Neb. 
•    Kyla De Luca, Fort Calhoun, Neb. 
•    Ashley Mercer, Omaha, Neb. 
•    Audrey Oldfather, Shorewood, Wisc. 
•    Cilla Quinn, Elkhorn, Neb. 

Zone 5 1.10/1.15m Adult Amateurs

•    Christopher Ferralez, Elgin, Ill. 
•    Alison Flury, Minooka, Ill. 
•    Kaitlin Gilbert, Clarkston, Mich. 
•    Samantha Hill, Lexington, Ky. 
•    Alexis Knurowski, Carol Stream, Ill. 
•    Lindsey Russell, Perrysburg, Ohio
•    Claire Stockard, Chicago, Ill. 

Zone 6 1.10/1.15m Adult Amateurs

•    Maya Lovdal, Saint Germain, Wisc. 
•    Anne Meyer, Plymouth, Minn. 
•    Sierra Osborne, Lincoln, Neb. 

Special thanks to our chefs d'equipe who are leading teams at the championships. Elaine Schott and Ryan Sassmannshausen are leading teams for Zone 5, and Janine Weatherby is leading teams for Zone 6.

The Championships will begin with the jog and riders meeting on Thursday, July 18. The First Individual Qualifier will be Friday, July 19. Teams will compete in the Championships on Saturday, July 20, and the Individual Final will conclude on Sunday, July 21.

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, and the Adult Amateur individual gold medalist will also receive a pair of Parlanti paddock boots. 

Championship competitors will be recognized as 2019 USHJA Emerging Jumper Riders. During a special orientation session during the riders meeting, riders, trainers and parents will receive comprehensive information about how riders can advance through the sport to its highest levels. The session will specifically discuss 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.

At the conclusion of each Zone Jumper Team Championship, USHJA will recognize all individual medalists as 2019 Gold Star Emerging Jumper Riders by awarding them an exclusive 2019 Gold Star Emerging Jumper Rider pin that can be worn at future competitions to distinguish them. At the same time, trainers of these riders will be recognized as 2019 Gold Star Jumper Coaches and will receive specialized pins that denote their title. Riders and trainers who receive the designation are also invited to attend one of the Gold Star Clinics.

Happening concurrently this week at HITS Balmoral Park are the USHJA Platinum Jumper Championships and the USHJA Zones 5 & 6 Children's and Adult Amateur Hunter Championships, presented by SmartPak.

For more information about the USHJA Zone Jumper Team Championships click here. For more information about the USHJA Emerging Jumper Rider Program click here. 

USHJA extends its gratitude to all of our official sponsors, Charles Owen, CWD, Parlanti and Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital, and our award sponsors Essex Classics and FITS Riding, that make these programs possible.

Photo by: Kristin Rover/USHJA

Updated: July 19, 2019