Gold Medals for Zone 4/7 Team in Young Rider Team Show Jumping at NAJYRC

Parker, CO – July 28, 2016 – The first medals for team show jumping were presented today at the Adequan®/FEI North American Junior & Young Rider Championships presented by Gotham North (NAJYRC) hosted at The Colorado Horse Park (CHP), as riders participating on the combined Zone 4/7 Team secured victory in the USHJA North American Junior & Young Rider Show Jumping Championships Young Rider Team competition. Adjacent to the show jumping featured in the International Ring, riders representing Region 3 rose to the top of USDF North American Junior & Young Rider Dressage Championships Junior Team Test competition, hoisting Gold medals in the Olson Ring.

Gold Medals Awarded to Zone 4/7 Team As They Take The Top Podium in Young Rider Team Show Jumping Competition
 
A strong team of riders combined to represent both Zone 4 and Zone 7, catapulted themselves to the top of the leaderboard, taking top honors in the USHJA North American Junior & Young Rider Show Jumping Championships Young Rider Team competition. The Zone 4/7 Team of Hannah Donald (18, Highland Village, TX), Alexandra Ozymy (18, Coppell, TX), Nicole Peterson (20, Dallas, TX) and Sophie Simpson (18, Wellington, FL) finished the two round competition with 0 combined faults to secure the victory ahead of the team representing Zone 3/8/9, who concluded competition with 4 faults and featured riders Delaney Flynn (16, Scottsdale, AZ), Jennifer Gates (20, Seattle, WA), and Christina Firestone (21, Upperville, VA).
Sophie Simpson and Why Not. PC: SportFot
The Bronze medal team of Zone 10 saw riders Mackenzie Drazan (21, Woodside, CA), Hannah Heidegger (19, Chatsworth, CA), Chandler Meadows (20, Newport Beach, CA) and Uma O’Neill (21, Santa Cruz, CA) earn a third place finish with a combined total of 12 faults.
Alexandra Ozymy and Curtis 57. PC: SportFot
The Zone 4/7 Team, led by dual Chef d’Equipes Kim Land and Matt Cyphert, finished with 0 faults around the Manuel Esparza (MEX) designed track, as Peterson, Ozymy, and Simpson each completed with a double clear effort in both portions of competition. Donald and Hector were eliminated, but as the single lowest score is dropped, Zone 4/7 stayed within striking distance of the win. The pressure was placed on Simpson, who earned a Gold medal in the Junior team competition last year, as she and Why Not were the final combination on course for the Zone 4/7 Team.
Nicole Peterson and Fast Flo. PC: SportFot
“Why Not felt really good today. She felt great yesterday too and I wanted to take it one jump at a time. She felt a little tired towards the end of the course so I had to give her that, but I’m hoping for a great week,” said Simpson. “It was a nice track and coming into today, I wanted to focus on jumping two solid clear rounds and hope for the best.”
Hannah Donald and Hector. PC: SportFot

Most of the competitors composing the Zone 4/7 Team are veterans of NAJYRC competition, having competed as a Junior or Young Rider in previous years. Ozymy, who guided Curtis 57 to two double clear efforts around the track, commented on her appreciation for the event and the valuable experience team competition provides.“My favorite part of coming to this competition is getting to compete with a team. In this sport, you don’t usually get the chance to compete with a team and really root for each other, so that’s the coolest part. Today, to be able to do this with a team of people, is just incredible,” said Ozymy.
The Zone 4/7 Team in their presentation ceremony for the USHJA North American Junior & Young Rider Show Jumping Championship Young Rider Team competition alongside Zone 3/8/9 Team and Zone 10 Team with Meg Krueger COO of The Colorado Horse Park; Dave Ballard, Foreign Technical Delegate; Katie Patrick, Director of Sport for the USHJA; with Phillip Rozon, President of the FEI Ground Jury; and Allyn Mann of Adequan®. PC: SportFot

“I had a great team behind me and it’s awesome to have them as teammates because they really held it together this week. It ended up being okay because of the great support behind me,” added Douglas.

Peterson and Fast Flo have been gaining valuable experience over the past year, as the pair contested the $1 Million Grand Prix during the winter circuit in Thermal, CA, as well as completed their first Longines FEI World Cup Qualifier this past spring. Commenting on their growing partnership, Peterson said, “We didn’t really get along at first and I was getting jumped off a lot, but she’s really turned out to be a very special horse.”

“I want to thank all of the sponsor of this event. I don’t think that many Young Riders and people our age get to jump in competitions with teams. To get that experience at a young age, at a venue like this is really important, so I want to thank the sponsors for this opportunity,” added Simpson.

For more information on NAJYRC and to see a full list of results please visit www.youngriders.org or visit www.coloradohorsepark.com.