Region 7 Wins Young Riders Dressage Team Gold at 2008 CN North American Junior & Young Rider Championships at The Colorado Horse Park
Presented by Gotham North
Parker, CO – July 31, 2008
The CN North American Junior and Young Rider Championships at the Colorado Horse Park Presented by Gotham North are the premier equestrian event in North America for riders age 14-21. Run in a format similar to the Olympic Games, the Championships feature riders competing for team and individual medals in the three Olympic disciplines of show jumping, dressage and eventing, as well as the western discipline of reining, which was added to the schedule this year.
The Region 7 team won the Gold with a score of 4417 points and a percentage of 65.437, followed by Region 8 with a score of 4395 points and 65.111% and Canada- Ontario who received a score of 4374 points and 64.800%. Each team counts its three best scores.
Region 7, whose riders were all competing in their first Young Riders Championship, was led by Katie Johnson of El Cajon, CA who scored 66.356% on Millenium. Region 7 also got scores of 65.778% from Brianna Dutton of Tracy, CA on Tibet, 64.178% from Christine Stephenson of Mission Viejo, CA on Charly 285, and 60.933% from Thomas Walker of Nipomo, CA on Grundsteins Legacy. “This is something you dream about but certainly don’t expect,” said Dutton.
“Even just to place is like a dream come true, but to win the Gold is unbelievable!” Region 7 chef d’equipe Elizabeth Hendrix wasn’t sure what to expect of her team before arriving at the Colorado Horse Park. “I hadn’t seen a lot of the riders and I knew my team consisted of all first timers,” she said. “When I saw them warm up though, I started to realize that this could be a really good team.”
All four of the riders were enjoying the first experience at the NAJYRC even before becoming Gold Medalists. “It’s often hard to get people to understand how we feel about our sport,” Johnson said. “It’s really fun to be with so many others our age who have the same passion for horses that we do.”