Source: USEF

Lexington, KY - The 2013 Adequan/FEI North American Junior & Young Rider Championships presented by Gotham North (NAJYRC) is proud to welcome 222 young athletes from across the United States, Canada, and Mexico that will compete in five disciplines over the next five days to this annual championship event. The NAJYRC is held at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, KY. Today, the NAJYRC hosted the athletes, along with their trainers, friends, and family at the Opening Ceremonies, along with an exhibitor barbeque at sponsor Spy Coast Farm and a golf cart parade.

Five disciplines (a total of nine championships for juniors and young riders) will take part in the only FEI Championship to be held annually in North America. The NAJYRC is the premier equestrian competition in North America for junior and young riders, ages 14-21. This year, young equestrians have come from the United States, Canada, and Mexico to vie for team and individual FEI medals in the three Olympic equestrian disciplines of jumping, dressage, eventing and the FEI World Equestrian Games disciplines of reining and endurance.

The NAJYRC began in 1974 as an eventing challenge between the United States and Canada. A dressage championship was added in 1981, and show jumping was added in 1982. The first complete Young Riders championship was held in British Columbia, Canada, in 1982. The Championships were expanded to officially include a championship division for juniors in 2006. The discipline of reining was added to the official schedule in 2008; endurance joined the championship for the first time in 2011. At the NAJYRC, athletes learn valuable information about international rules and regulations that will serve them well when they go to represent their country at senior-level events.

Returning individual medalists from the 2012 NAJYRC include:

Dressage

Ayden Uhlir with Sjapoer - Junior Gold Individual medalists, Bronze Freestyle medalists

Ariel Thomas and Montfleury - Junior Silver Individual medalists

Laurence Blais Tetreault - Junior Silver Individual medalist and Gold Freestyle medalist

Mariah Sutton and Renoir - Junior Feestyle Silver medalist

Mathilde Blais Tetreault - Young Rider Bronze Freestyle medalist

Jumping

Shawn Casady - Junior Silver Individual medalist

Charlotte Jacobs and Kachina - Junior Bronze Individual medalists

Eventing

Lizzie Snow - Young Rider Silver Individual medalist

Hanna Krueger and Pinney North - Junior Silver Individual medalists

Matilda Segal and Guinness - Junior Bronze Individual medalists

Reining

Jake Letner and A Genuine Diamond - Young Rider Bronze Individual medalists

Endurance

Kelsey Kimbler - Silver Individual medalist

Cassandra Roberts - Bronze Individual medalist

Strong Competition for 2013

The NAJYRC begins tomorrow morning at 7 a.m. with the junior and young rider team tests in Dressage. There are 81 dressage riders slated to ride in the USDF/Platinum Performance North American Junior and Young Riders' Dressage Championship. In the afternoon, medals will be awarded to the junior and young rider dressage teams, with the winning team honored with their national anthem. On Friday, the individual tests are held, and riders return on Saturday for their freestyle tests. Both days' competition will award medals to the top three finishers.

The USHJA North American Junior and Young Riders' Show Jumping Championship has its first individual qualifiers on Wednesday afternoon with 60 starters between the two divisions. Riders will return on Thursday morning to compete in their team finals. Medals will be awarded for the junior teams, followed by the young rider teams. The individual finals will be held on Saturday.

Eventing starts on Thursday with dressage tests for both the CCI1* riders and continues on Saturday with CCI2* riders (which total 50 in all) in the USEA North American Junior and Young Riders' Eventing Championship. The always exciting cross country will take place on Saturday. The eventers wrap up their competition on Sunday morning with the stadium jumping phase and receive their individual and team medals.

There will be 13 reiners in the SmartPak North American Junior and Young Riders' Reining Championship. They will start with a welcome competition on Wednesday afternoon in the Alltech Arena. Their team championship is held on Thursday where they will receive medals in a podium presentation, while individual medals will be contested on Saturday in the individual finals.

Nineteen Endurance riders will travel on a 120 kilometer CEI4* course around the Kentucky Horse Park bright and early on Friday morning at 6:30 a.m. Awards for the Best Conditioned Horse and the team and individual medals will be awarded on Saturday in the North American Junior and Young Riders' Endurance Championship.

More exciting news and results will be forthcoming as the week progresses. To learn more about the Adequan/FEI North American Junior & Young Rider Championships presented by Gotham North, please visit www.youngriders.org.

USEF Network presented by SmartPak will live stream the entirety of events from the Rolex Stadium during NAJYRC as well as the Individual Reining from Alltech Arena on Saturday, July 20, 2013. Visit www.usefnetwork.com to find out more and watch!

NAJYRC showcases the best young rider and junior horse/rider combinations in dressage, eventing, jumping, reining, and endurance. Young equestrians from across the continent will descend on the Kentucky Horse Park to vie for FEI medals at these Championships.

For sponsorship information visit www.youngriders.org/Sponsors.aspx.

Founded in 1973, the United States Dressage Federation is a nonprofit membership organization dedicated to education, recognition of achievement, and promotion of dressage. For more information about USDF membership or programs, visit www.usdf.org, email [email protected], or call (859) 971-2277.