WEF week one is in full swing and the competitors are hitting it hard right out of the gate. McLain Ward kicked off the circuit with an early win aboard Tradition De La Roque, while over in the hunter ring Scott Stewart piloted Bright Side to their first championship of the season in the 3’6″ Green Hunters. There are tons of exciting classes to come over the next few months including this Saturday’s $75,000 Battle of the Sexes.
Twenty-one horses and twenty riders complete the roster for this weekend’s male versus female showdown. The team breakdowns are as follows:
Male Team
- Charlie Jayne
- Spencer Smith
- Daniel Coyle
- Andrew Welles
- Michael Tokaruk
- David Blake
- Andrew Bourns
- Andrew Kocher
- Hardin Towell
- Darragh Kenny
Female Team
- Maggie Jayne
- Abigail McArdle
- KC Van Aarem
- Alex Granato
- Carly Anthony
- Kristen Vanderveen
- Jessica Mendoza
- Sydney Shulman
- Taylor Land
- Nicole Bellisimo
Here is what you need to know:
The Battle of the Sexes is a three-phase competition in which a team of ten female riders and a team of ten male riders are invited by show management are invited to participate in. Riders can opt to ride the same horse throughout each phase or make a mount-switch between phases.
Phase one is Table C format, where each fault converts to four seconds added to the competitor’s time. All ten riders from each team will take part in phase one. One rider from each team will face-off head to head and the winner will earn 1 point for their team.
Phase two follows a GCC relay format and each team will have three subsequent teams made up of three riders. There will be three courses ridden consecutively with six obstacles per course set at 1.20m. The three courses will be judged as one large course of 18 and will be judged under Table III format. The faults breakdown is as follows:
- Two seconds are added for each knockdown.
- Four seconds are added for each refusal resulting in a knockdown.
- Five seconds are added if one team member jumps their first fence prior to the prevoius team member landing from their last fence.
- Fifteen seconds are added for any fall of horse or rider
The first rider for each team will jump fences one through six, followed by rider number two jumping fences seven through twelve. Rider number three will finish out the course jumping fences thirteen-eighteen and cross the finish line. The team who has the fastest time over all 18 fences will be the winner of that heat and be awarded five points, making 15 the maximum total points possible for one team in phase two.
Phase three is a head to head match race between one rider from each team. The courses will be identical and follow FEI Table C art 239 format (three seconds added per knockdown). All ten riders from each team will take part and each winner will earn three points for their team.
The winning team will earn $50,000 in prize money and the reserve team will be awarded $25,000.
The event starts at 7PM EST and you can watch the entire thing via live stream HERE.
Which team are you rooting for?
Go Jumping!