Junior Hunter Finals

Junior Hunter Finals

Sanctioning body	USEF
Held	East Coast & West Coast
Length	Two days
Divisions	3'6" Small Junior 15 and under & 16-17 3'6" Large Junior 15 and under & 16-17 3'3" Small Junior 15 and under & 16-17 3'3" Large Junior 15 and under & 16-17 Hunterdon Cup
Qualifying	Top 10 in USEF Zone or Reserve Champion or Champion in a USEF rated show
Number of entries	700+

Junior Hunter Finals is a two-day national championship held by the United States Equestrian Federation at two different coasts of the United States (East Coast and West Coast) in the summer of every year. It is held for qualifying Junior Hunter riders who show at either the 3'3" or 3'6" height.

Competition

The USEF Junior Hunter Finals was established in 2001 as a way to showcase talent from across the country. In 2014, the 3'3" section was added due to its growing popularity throughout the states.[1]

To show at Junior Hunter Finals, a rider must either be ranked among the top ten in their United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) Zone–which is accomplished by earning points through competition–or win either a Reserve Champion or Champion title in their respective Junior Hunter division at a USEF rated "AA" "A" "B" or "C" show.[2] Around 700+ horses qualified in 2016 to show at either coast's finals.[1]

Although a rider may qualify for either the 3'3" or 3'6" division, they must pick one to show in during finals if they choose to attend. A rider also must choose between the East Coast and the West Coast finals as they cannot compete in both.

The competition itself consists of three phases (similar to USEF Pony Finals): under saddle, classic round, and handy round. The under saddle is a typical hunter flat class that counts for 20% of the overall score. The classic round is a typical hunter course and the handy hunter is reminiscent of trappy sections of hunt country; each count for 40% of the overall score. Each section is awarded ribbons to tenth place, as well as the overall top ten.[3] An overall championship is awarded for both the 3'3" and 3'6" sections.

The USHJA Gladstone Cup Equitation Classic (formerly the Hunterdon Cup) also takes place during Junior Hunter Finals. Riders qualify by being an active USHJA member and winning at least one USEF Medal, ASPCA Maclay, WIHS Equitation Overall, or USEF Show Jumping Talent Search class.[4] The class consists of three rounds, starting with a classic hunter round that each participant completes and is given a score following the round. The top twenty riders from the classic round complete a second handy hunter round. Scores are combined for the two rounds and 4-10 riders are called back at the judges discretion for final testing. Riders switch horses and are allowed a short warm up before completing a shortened test.[5]

Recent Champions

Overall Grand Junior 3'6" Hunter Champions

Year	Location	Horse	Rider	Owner
2024	East Coast	Babylon	Paige Walkenbach	Marnell Sporthorses
2022	East Coast	Arabesque	Clara Propp	Aquitaine Equine
2022	West Coast	Aventus	Avery Glynn	Jennifer Cancellieri
2021	East Coast	Grand Remo	Kat Fuqua	Kat Fuqua
2021	West Coast	Princeton	Stella Wasserman	A.F.M. Investments
2020	East Coast	Small Occasion	Augusta Iwasaki	Elizabeth Reilly, Chris Iwasaki, Augusta Iwasaki
2020	West Coast	KT Lansini	Cameron Brown	Cameron Brown
2019	East Coast	Cleopatra's Smile	Ellie Ferrigno	Wolfstone Stables & Sales Inc.[6]
2019	West Coast	Small Occasion	Jordan Allen	Elizabeth Reilly, Chris Iwasaki, & Augusta Iwasaki[7]
2018	East Coast	Style	Daisy Farish	Take The High Road, LLC[8]
2018	West Coast	Boceclli	Ava Stearns	Laura Wasserman[9]
2017	East Coast	Di Samorano	Taylor St. Jacques	Taylor St. Jacques[10]
2017	West Coast	Boss	Hunter Siebel	Laura Wasserman[11]
2016	East Coast	Emma Kurtz	Caldwell	Scott Stewart[12]
2016	West Coast	Giavanna Rinaldi	Social Hour	Laura Strasburg[13]

Overall Grand Junior 3'3" Hunter Champions

Year	Location	Horse	Rider	Owner
2019	East Coast	Lalique	Caroline Passarelli	Elite Equines LLC[6]
2019	West Coast	Crowd Pleaser	Grace McReynolds	Alexander Miller[7]
2018	East Coast	Cupido Z	Nicole Dorwart	Nicole Dorwart[8]
2018	West Coast	Harvard Grad	Alexis Sokolov	Dynamic Sporthorses LLC[9]
2017	East Coast	Park Place	Isha Swani	Shadowfax Equestrian LLC[10]
2017	West Coast	Maldini	Hailey Link	Star Lane Farms, LLC[11]
2016	East Coast	Dress Balou	Devin Seek	Donald Stewart[12]
2016	West Coast	Luisant	Stella Buckingham	Q of E Farms, LLC [13]

Hunterdon Cup Winners

Year	Location	Rider	Horse
2019	East Coast	Madeline Schaefer	Correndo[14]
2019	West Coast	Violet Lindemann-Barnett	Cantoblaco[14]
2018	East Coast	Daisy Farish	Capital Hamilton[15]
2018	West Coast	Kaitlyn Lovingfoss	Caracas 89[16]
2017	East Coast	Taylor St. Jacques	Charisma[17]
2017	West Coast	Augusta Iwasaki	Vanderpump[18]
2016	East Coast	Maya Nayyar	Connaro[19]
2016	West Coast	Kayla Lott	Vancouver[20]

References

1. "United States Equestrian Federation". Retrieved 27 July 2016.
2. "US Equestrian Announces Amendments to Qualifications for Junior Hunter National Championships and USEF Pony Finals presented by Collecting Gaits Farm". US Equestrian. Retrieved 2020-05-14.
3. "USEF Junior Hunter National Championship Prize List" (PDF).
4. "Gladstone Cup :: USHJA". www.ushja.org. Retrieved 2020-05-14.
5. https://www.ushja.org/application/files/6215/7902/3421/2020_Gladstone_Specifications_update_name_1.14.20.pdf Archived 2020-10-25 at the Wayback Machine ^[bare URL PDF]
6. "Ellie Ferrigno and Cleopatra's Smile Claim Overall Grand Champion 3'6"at USEF Junior Hunter National Championship – East Coast". Phelps Sports. 2019-07-15. Retrieved 2020-05-14.
7. "Allen and Small Occasion Claim Overall Grand Champion 3'6" at USEF Junior Hunter National Championship – West Coast". US Equestrian. Retrieved 2020-05-14.
8. "Daisy Farish and Style Claim Overall Grand Champion 3'6" at USEF Junior Hunter National Championship – East Coast". US Equestrian. Retrieved 2020-05-14.
9. "Ava Stearns and Bocelli Crowned Overall Grand Champion 3'6" of USEF Junior Hunter National Championship - West Coast". Blenheim EquiSports. 2018-07-25. Retrieved 2020-05-14.
10. "Results - HITS East Coast | Show Management System". hits.showmanagementsystem.com. Retrieved 2020-05-14.
11. "Hunter Siebel and Boss Crowned Overall Grand Champions of USEF Junior Hunter National Championship - West". US Equestrian. Retrieved 2020-05-14.
12. "Kurtz and Seek Capture Grand Champion Titles at US Junior Hunter National Championship East Coast". US Equestrian. Retrieved 2020-05-14.
13. "Social Hour and Luisant Crowned Grand Champions at US Junior Hunter National Championship West Coast". US Equestrian. Retrieved 2020-05-14.
14. "Madeline Schaefer Claims Hunterdon Cup Equitation Classic – East, Presented by Intermont Equestrian at Emory & Henry College :: USHJA". www.ushja.org. Retrieved 2020-05-14.
15. Carter, Vyla (2018-07-31). "Daisy Farish Sweeps 2018 USHJA Hunterdon Cup Equitation Classic - East Coast". The Plaid Horse Magazine. Retrieved 2020-05-14.
16. Carter, Vyla (2018-07-24). "Lovingfoss Puts in Lovely Rounds to Win the 2018 USHJA Hunterdon Cup Equitation Classic - West Coast". The Plaid Horse Magazine. Retrieved 2020-05-14.
17. Carter, Vyla (2018-07-24). "Lovingfoss Puts in Lovely Rounds to Win the 2018 USHJA Hunterdon Cup Equitation Classic - West Coast". The Plaid Horse Magazine. Retrieved 2020-05-14.
18. Shuman, Mackenzie (2017-07-25). "Augusta Iwasaki Takes First in the USHJA Hunterdon Equitation Cup Classic - West". The Plaid Horse Magazine. Retrieved 2020-05-14.
19. "Maya Nayyar Takes Home Top Honors in Hunterdon Cup on Day One of Junior Hunter Finals". US Equestrian. Retrieved 2020-05-14.
20. Release, Edited Press (2016-07-27). "Kayla Lott Outshines the Competition in Inaugural USHJA Hunterdon Cup Equitation Classic - West Coast". Jumper Nation. Retrieved 2020-05-14. {{cite web}}: |first= has generic name (help)

External links

• Complete List of Champions from 2001-2015