The CN North American Junior and Young Rider Championships at the Colorado Horse Park: Previous Winners Show Success at International Level of Competition
RELEASE: April 24, 2008
AUTHOR/ADMINISTRATOR: Brian Sosby
The CN North American Junior and Young Rider Championships (NAJYRC) at the Colorado Horse Park presented by Gotham North are set for July 29-August 3, 2008. The championships, the premiere equestrian event in North America for riders age 14-21, serves as a first-hand experience of what it's like to compete in an international event under FEI rules.
The championships have helped contribute to the future success of many of its previous champions. Run in a format similar to the Olympic Games, the championships feature riders competing on teams and as individuals in the three Olympic disciplines of show jumping, dressage and eventing. This year, the western discipline of reining has been added to the schedule.
“We are proud to offer a competition which is similar to that which riders experience when they compete in major events internationally,” said Larry Langer, NAJYRC event director. “Many past NAJYRC winners have gone on to compete internationally, and knowing that we contributed to their success means that the Championships are serving their purpose and preparing riders for success in their careers.”
Among the previous winners of the NAJYRC who have gone on to have success in international competition are Georgina Bloomberg, Natalie Bouckaert (now Pollard) and Kate Poulin.
Georgina Bloomberg, who won Individual Gold in 2003 and Team Gold at the 2004 NAJYRC, has taken the international show jumping world by storm. Georgina competed in 56 grand prix events in 2006 in the U.S. and abroad. Her three grand prix victories included the CN Wellington Finale, CSIO-5* at the Winter Equestrian Festival. She has been a member of four US Nations Cup teams including Sweden, Finland, Norway and France. In 2007, at the Nations Cup in Finland, Georgina helped the U.S. to team Gold, and also had three individual wins.
Natalie Bouckaert-Pollard won Individual and Team Gold in 1997 and Individual Gold in 1998 at the NAJYRC. Since then, Natalie has gone on to compete at such prestigious international events as the Fair Hill International CCI*** and Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event CCI****.
In 2005 Natalie bested a field of top international eventing riders, including Olympians Karen O’Connor and Phillip Dutton, to win the Fair Hill International CCI*** with her horse West. The pair's double clear round in the cross-country phase clinched the win. In 2006, the pair finished eighth at the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event CCI****.
Kate Poulin was a member of Gold Medal winning teams at the NAJYRC in 2001 and 2002. She has since become a force on the international dressage show circuit. She and her horse Brilliant Too won the Prix St. George, Intermediarie 1 and Intermediate 1 Freestyle classes at the Paxton Farm CDI in Cincinnati in 2006. The pair returned to Paxton Farm in 2007 to claim wins in all three classes for the second time. Those wins helped qualify the pair for the 2007 Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Poulin and Brilliant Too helped the U.S. win Team Gold at the Games, and finished sixth individually.
Many of North America’s best equestrians got their start at the NAJYRC including Olympic medalists Greg Best, Karen Lende O’Connor, Chris Kappler and McLain Ward, as well as Alison Firestone, Nicole Shahinian Simpson, Ray Texel, Chris Pratt, Frankie Chesler, Lisa Carlsen Lubitz, Harold Chopping, Martina Pracht, Kathleen Raine, Heather Mason, David Wilson, Gwyneth MacPherson, Tiffani Loudon, Buck Davidson, Abigail Lufkin, Missy Ransehousen, Mara DePuy, Molly Bliss, and Julie Gomena.
The NAJYRC operates under the rules of the International Equestrian Federation (FEI), the international governing body for equestrian sport. It is the only FEI championship held annually in this country.
Sponsorship and advertising opportunities connected with the championships are available! Please call Beth Gold at Classic Communications on the East Coast for sponsorship informati