McLain Ward and Adrienne Sternlicht, two members of the United States’ Gold medal Show Jumping Team that made history at the 2018 FEI World Equestrian Games (WEG), head a list of nearly forty top riders from five countries entered in the 73rd annual Pennsylvania National Horse Show (PNHS). The competition will be fierce as Olympic veterans, World Cup and World Champions vie for prestigious titles and top prize money at the Farm Show Complex in Harrisburg, PA, October 11-20.
2018 FEI World Equestrian Games USA Show Jumping Team (c) Michelle Dunn
“We are absolutely thrilled that so many Olympic veterans and top riders are coming to our 73rd annual event!” said Susie Webb, Executive Director of the Pennsylvania National Horse Show. “It’s especially exciting to have two members of the Gold medal U.S. team that just made history at the 2018 WEG with spectacular performances that not only clinched the Gold medal, but also secured U.S. qualification for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics!”
Topping the field of world-class entries is McLain Ward, a four-time Olympic veteran and two-time Gold medalist who also won Team Silver at the 2016 Rio Olympics. Ward, who won the Individual Gold medal at the 2015 Pan American Games and the 2017 Longines FEI World Cup™ Finals, clinched the WEG Gold medal for the U.S. with a nail-biting jump-off ride. Ward is entered on Clinta, his WEG Gold medal mount! Ward’s Gold medal teammate, Adrienne Sternlicht, who in addition to her team Gold medal placed 11th individually, will also be competing at this year’s PNHS.
Joining them will be Ward’s four-time Olympic teammate and fellow double Gold medalist Beezie Madden, who was also part of the Silver medal team at Rio. She won the individual Bronze medal at the 2008 Olympic Games and individual Silver at the 2006 FEI World Equestrian Games™. She was the FEI World Cup™ Champion in 2013 and again in 2018 when she claimed her second title at the Longines FEI World Cup Final in Paris, France. Madden has been named the USEF Equestrian of the Year a record four times.
Two-time U.S. Olympic veteran Leslie Burr-Howard, a Team Gold medalist at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics and Team Silver medalist at the 1996 Games in Atlanta, is set to compete at her 51st consecutive PNHS! She will also be inducted into the Pennsylvania National Horse Show Hall of Fame during a special ceremony that will take place on Saturday evening, October 20 prior to the start of the $132,000Prix de Penn National Grand Prix.
Also entered are U.S. Olympic Gold medalist Peter Wylde (2004) and Beat Mandli of Switzerland, a two-time Olympian who won a Team Silver medal at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games. Joining them is Mario Deslauriers of Canada, an Olympic veteran who won the FEI World Cup Final in 1984 when he was just 19 years old; he is still the youngest rider ever to win that title.
Ian Millar, the most decorated rider in Canadian equestrian in history who has competed in a record 10 Olympic Games, will be competing, as will his son Jonathan Millar, a World Equestrian Games veteran, and daughter-in-law Kelly Soleau-Millar, who rides for the U.S. Irish riders Daniel Coyle and Cormac Hanley are also entered.
Other top U.S. riders include Christine McCrea, double Gold medalist at the 2011 Pan American Games, Laura Chapot, team Bronze Medalist at the 2007 Pan Am Games, Molly Ashe-Cawley, Kelli Cruciotti, Katie Dinan, Charlie Jayne, Lillie Keenan, Peter Lutz, Jonathan McCrea, Callan Solem, and Jimmy Torano.
The PNHSis one of the premier indoor equestrian events in the country and draws the nation’s top hunters and jumpers, featuring many of the top names in the sport, including Olympic medalists and veterans. During the ten days of national competition, 1,400 qualified Junior and Adult competitors from the U.S. and abroad will vie for the top prizes, titles, and eight national championships – including the prestigious Dover Saddlery/USEF Hunter Seat Medal Final, and the Neue Schule/USEF National Junior Jumper Individual and Team Championships. “Junior Weekend” takes place October 11-14, followed by “Adult Week” October 15-20,with the horse show culminating on Saturday evening, October 20 with the $132,000 Grand Prix de Penn National.