Equitation Champions Crowned at Blenheim Fall Series
Whitney Coleman and Cantalou TW, winners of the THIS National Horse Show Adult Equitation Area Championship. Photo by McCool Photography
San Juan Capistrano, CA – September 27, 2023 – From September 13-24, the Blenheim Fall Tournament and International Jumping Festival schedules were chockful of prestigious equitation finals, with nine new champions named during the two weeks of competition at Blenheim EquiSports in San Juan Capistrano, CA.
THIS National Horse Show Adult Equitation Area Championship
Whitney Coleman and Cantalou TW
NHSAA / ASPCA Maclay Region 8 Championship
Gable Gering and In the Stars
Hamel Foundation NHS 3’3″ Equitation Area Championship
Taryn McEntire and Constable
PCHA 2’9″ Junior/Amateur Medal Finals – South
Shelby Steinberg and Freedom
Foxfield 3’3” Medal Final
Rebecca Beall and Calino G
Camilla Jerng Claims 2023 Platinum Performance/USEF Show Jumping Talent Search Finals – West Title
Camilla Jerng and Nopik van de Munte. Photo by McCool Photography
The 2023 Platinum Performance/USEF Show Jumping Talent Search Finals – West concluded on Sunday at the Blenheim International Jumping Festival with Phases III and IV.
The youth athletes rode a jumper-style course in front of judges Linda Hough and Lauren Hough for Phase III, the jumping phase, which had a multiplier of two for the overall weighted scores of the competition. After the scores were calculated, Camilla Jerng, Paige Walkenbach, Zadie Stack and Sabine Close returned for Phase IV, the ride-off.
In Phase IV, the top four athletes started on a clean slate for their scores. They rode a shortened course on their own horse before swapping horses, having a brief warm-up period, and riding the same course on each of the other top four horses to determine the final placings.
Emily Williams Wins USHJA 3’3” Adult Jumping Seat Medal Final – West
Emily Williams and Carlo. Photo by McCool Photography
Twelve Adult Amateur competitors contested the USHJA 3’3” Adult Jumping Seat Medal Final – West, but after three rounds of competition and a workoff, Emily Williams and longtime partner Carlo came out on top with an overall score of 384.5.
At the conclusion of the Final’s second round, the Gymnastics Phase, Williams, of Canta Clarita, California, sat in first. Aboard her own Carlo, she garnered an 87 and second place in the Flat Phase, before moving to the top spot with an 89 in the Gymnastic Phase designed by Anthony D’Ambrosio.
A fault-free Jumping Phase score of 82 from judges Bobbie Reber and Bob Crandall kept the pair on top overall with their combined score of 384.5, only half a point ahead of second-placed Caroline Ingalls.