WEF Week 11 Newsletter
- Tuesday, March 28, 2023-
Week 11 was an exciting week for the Beacon Hill team, as the highly anticipated WEF Equitation Championship was held on Friday evening at Wellington International. The class is a unique Equitation Final where the young riders are judged on their style and effectiveness over a course of fence 3’6” in height. In order to qualify for the Championship, riders must have won any 2023 WEF USEF Hunt Seat Medal, ASPCA Maclay, USEF Talent Search, or WIHS Overall, Hunter Phase or Jumper Phase equitation classes.
Seven Beacon Hill students qualified for the finals Friday evening out of the forty-three total combinations. Emma Blumenkrantz and Indiana Jones, Caroline Mirts and Independence M, Eve Westfall and Kasteel WS, Sterling Malnik and Castlefield Spartacus, Jordan Gibbs and Cent 15, Sofia Moskowitz and Dark Night DC, and Reese Merna and Trouvaille all competed in the first round of competition in the International Arena. The WEF Championship is unique in that riders are required to hand in their cell phones prior to the start of the class. Additionally, trainers are not allowed in the schooling arena or competition area, requiring riders to be responsible for the management and warm-up of their own horse with the assistance of one groom.
The first round of competition was scored over a course of fences that were a maximum of 3’6” in height that included a wall and wooden rails in addition to traditional jumper-style fences. The riders were scored by a panel of judges whose marks were added to the schooling judge score to set their points at the conclusion of round one. The top 12 riders from the first round returned for the second round of competition, where they maneuvered another course of fences with the addition of a simple lead change that had to be executed between a line of fences.
Three Beacon Hill riders qualified for the final round, with Jordan Gibbs, Sterling Malnik, and Emma Blumenkrantz all tackling the technical test. We are so proud of all of our students who qualified and competed in the Championship on Friday, and we would like to extend our congratulations to Jordan Gibbs, who piloted Cent 15 to a third place finish! Sterling Malnik and Castlefield Spartacus took home 6th place honors with Emma Blumenkrantz and Indiana Jones finishing in 12th overall. All of our riders showed maturity, discipline, and exceptional riding throughout the competition and we are so proud of all of their hard work over the last eleven weeks leading up to this special night.
Cent 15 was also awarded Best Turned Out Horse thanks to our wonderful groom Julian Armadillo! We are so grateful for our grooms and the rest of our amazing staff for making this night such a success! We would also like to extend our congratulations to Rafferty Farm’s Brentwood, piloted by Eleanor Rudnicki, for earning the Class Action Award for Best Equitation Horse.
Not to be overshadowed by the excitement of Friday night, we would also like to highlight some of the other notable results of the week! Caroline Mirts and First VDL took home 2nd place in the 15-17 Equitation Section A Friday morning and Mckenzie Capser and Unik 6 placed 3rd in the 15-17 Equitation Section B.
Lillian Soroken and Hanakara also had a great weekend, placing 2nd in both the $1,500 Children’s Jumper 15-17 and the $2,500 NAL/WIHS Children’s Jumper 15-17 Classic. Alexandra Parisi finished 3rd in the $2,500 Children’s Modified Jumper riding Explorer E and Joe Craver piloted Korino Von Bueren to a 5th place finish in the $1,500 Low Junior Jumper. Rylynn Conway also had a great result in the $10,000 NAL Medium Junior Jumper Classic in the International ring on Sunday, finishing 6th overall with Nossa Van De Bien.
Eve Westfall and Kasteel WS placed 3rd in the Platinum Performance/USEF Show Jumping Talent Search 2* in the lead up to Friday’s finals, and Rylynn Conway finished 4th in the WIHS Jumper Phase on Justify. Lillian Sorken and Fix Blue brought home 4th place in the EMO Insurance/USHJA 3’3” Jumping Seat Medal as well!
In the hunter ring, Sophia Delellis and You Otto Know placed 4th in the Younger Children’s Hunter. Meredith Miller and Amadeus also competed in the $5,000 USHJA National Hunter Derby Amateur on the Derby Field at the Adequan Global Dressage Festival, finishing in 12th place overall.
All in all Week 11 was a fantastic week for the entire Beacon Hill team with great results across the board! We are so proud of everyone and we look forward to continuing this great momentum as we enter the final week of WEF 2023!
