USEF Medal Final

Harrisburg, Pa.--Oct. 16

Schaefer Raposa was supposed to ride fourth to last in the second round, but her horse, Charlie Z, pulled a shoe in the schooling area. Maybe it was that little bit of extra time or maybe it was just written in the stars, but Raposa came in as the last of the riders in the second round and put in a flawless trip, and judges Chrystine Tauber and Jimmy Torano said it was the coolness with which Raposa entered the ring and the precision she showcased that put her right on top.

Judges Chrystine Tauber and Jimmy Torano called back 25 riders to ride off in the second round of this year's Pessoa/USEF Medal Finals. Fourteen obstacles (there are two combinations) make up the second course.

The first fence is the former fence 10 (narrow wooden coop) and has been expanded to a coop of standard length, and enhanced with a back rail to create an oxer. Riders canter five strides past the in-gate to fence 2, situated on rail. It is a post-and-rail-type vertical.

Two hundred thirty seven riders will compete in the 2011 USEF/Pessoa Hunter Seat Equitation Medal Final. The preliminary round will begin Sunday Oct. 16 at 7 a.m. Judges Jimmy Torano and Chrystine Tauber may call back 20 to 25 riders to the final round, which is set to begin at 3:30 p.m. Sunday afternoon.

The order of go is as follows:

Harrisburg, Pa., Oct. 17

It was the one fence that won it for Hayley Barnhill.

After a long day of two courses, a flat test, and a switch of horses, Barnhill ended up on top of the Pessoa/USEF Medal Finals. And it was the first fence she rode on Samantha Schaefer’s horse in the switch that clinched it for her. After two rounds and a flat phase, Barnhill and Schaefer were even in the eyes of the judges, George Morris and Julie Winkel. So, they brought both girls to the center of the ring, and had them dismount and trade horses, without assistance.

George Morris and Julie Winkel have set a classically straightforward course for the Pessoa/USEF Medal Finals. There are only 10 jumps in the ring, and they’re all plain, hunter type jumps, with minimal filler and a natural look. There is the infamous narrow wood coop, set with just a few bushes as wings, at the end of the ring. And it’s jumped twice, once off each lead. That jump always causes a few drive-bys.

ORDER OF GO

1 Sydney Smith

2 Elizabeth Kenny

3 Christina Couper

4 Allison Fithian

5 Elizabeth Mahoney

6 Olivia Jack

7 Taylor Ann Adams

8 Shawn Casady

9 Victoria Efird

10 Abby O’Mara

11 Catie Verano

12 Carolyn VanHouten

13 Navona Gallegos

14 Piper Donnelly

15 Alison Rose

16 Michael Kocher

17 Rebecca Sexton

18 Margaret Willson SCRATCH

19 Kathryn Haley

20 Gabrielle Bausano

We traditionally illustrate articles with action shots of the winners, and there’s a nice photo of the Pessoa/USEF Medal Finals winner, Jessica Springsteen, on page 8.

Jessica Springsteen isn’t just a beautiful rider; she’s also a master strategist.

Sitting in third before the final test of the Pessoa/USEF Hunter Seat Medal Finals, Springsteen didn’t take any unnecessary risks in her test ride. She simply put in a solid round—her third of the day—and put all of the pressure on the two riders on top, Samantha Schaefer and Zazou Hoffman.

Waking up at 5 a.m. on Sunday was actually harder than getting up at 4 the previous day, and I was glad that my mother was driving so I didn't have to. 

Even though I was number 145 in the order, I arrived at the show fully decked out in my jacket, helmet and everything so I would look nice for the course walk.  The mass of people at the in-gate was huge, and I fought my way to the front so I could get a copy of the course diagram, which they were handing out.