United States Eventing Association

As competition gets rolling at the Adequan/FEI North American Junior and Young Rider Championships (NAJYRC), presented by Gotham North, junior and young event riders from across the continent prepare to kick off a busy week of competition. Tomorrow, 35 juniors in the CCI1* will begin dressage at 7:30 a.m.

With horses braided and riders clad in their team attire, 50 pairs trotted down the Rolex jog strip today in the hot and humid air. Though five horses were held and spun then re-presented, only one was not accepted on first inspection. Unfortunately Erika Carson, Area IX, and her 14-year-old Irish Sport Horse Gelding, Celtic Prince, were not permitted to move on in the CCI1* division.

Returning to Kentucky Horse Park this year as a NAJYRC veteran, Lizzie Snow, Area VII, took second place in the 2012 Young Rider Championships CCI2* with Coal Creek. This year, riding Ringfort Tinkaturk, Snow will again be representing the Area VII, VIII & IX team, the defending champions of the NAJYRC CCI2* team gold medal.

Other NAJYRC veterans include Hanna Krueger, Area II, and Pinney North, who took second place last year in the junior division and Matilda Segal, Area III, and Guinness X, who claimed a third place finish as well. Both riders return to compete with the same horses, but this year, in the CCI2*.

From Canada, Haley Armstrong and Dasha Ivandeava compete in the CCI2* this year with the experience of the NAJYRC 1* under their belt. Haley riding Déjà vu and Dasha aboard Autorytet, team Ontario hopes to defend a silver medal team finish from the 2012 CCI1*.

Riders, families, coaches, and program leaders gathered together at the Kentucky Horse Park Camp Grounds to socialize and enjoy a picnic dinner before competition gets underway tomorrow morning.