Hunter Holloway (AnLi Kelly Durham/Phelps Media Group,)

Parker, Colo. - Friday at the Colorado Horse Park, all eyes were on the equitation riders, where many talented juniors vied for valuable points in the two phases of the WIHS Equitation and the ASPCA Maclay. The riders from Equi-Venture Farm of Topeka, KS left no blue ribbon unclaimed in the three medal classes. Hunter Holloway finished on top in both WIHS Equitation classes, while Misty Redd took the blue in the ASPCA Maclay.

In the WIHS Equitation Hunter Phase, Hunter Holloway of Topeka, KS earned the blue ribbon with her score of 86. She also won the Jumper Phase earlier this morning, making her the obvious WIHS Equitation Overall winner. Holloway is one of the country's most talented junior riders, dominating in the hunter, jumper, and equitation rings as well as gaining international show jumping experience, all at the age of 16. Friday, Holloway rode Lucky Strike, a Hays Investment Corp. entry and the mount she hopes to take to the indoor medal finals.

"The Jumper Phase went really well, my horse was great," said Holloway. "The course was really straightforward and I liked it a lot. There were a couple of inside turns and there was an option to do the bank to save some time so that was really fun and I ended up jumping down the bank, my horse is super straightforward and really good at that kind of stuff. It was just a pretty solid round. The Hunter Phase was okay, my horse is pretty consistent but I could have been a little bit smoother in places. We still ended up getting a pretty good score."

When asked what it is like being one of the top juniors that so many other riders look up to, Holloway said, "It is an amazing thing but there is always an added pressure to it. There is not a pressure to be perfect, but just the pressure that people are watching you. Everyone kind of watches you and there are just more eyes on you. It is an amazing feeling to know that people respect me enough to look up to me.

Holloway continued, "I look up to every professional I've ever met. There are so many people that you can learn something from. I've learned so much from my mom growing up with her and idolizing her my whole life. There are so many top riders out there who ride so well. I just did a George Morris clinic a couple of weeks ago and that was so inspirational for me to get to learn from one of the best teachers there is. He is the master of our sport, he really is. So that was amazing and I can't say there's just one person that I look up to because I look up to so many different people. You walk away from the ring every time learning something new."

The ASPCA Maclay course challenged riders with multiple bending lines and some difficult rollbacks, and was followed by a grueling flat phase to test the riders' ability to adjust their horses' strides. Taking the top call was Misty Redd of Topeka, KS. Redd also finished second behind Holloway in the WIHS Hunter Phase. She trains with Brandie Holloway of Equi-Venture Farm and has been hard at work perfecting her equitation both over fences and on the flat. Redd and her own Holyfield have been a team for about two years now. Second place in the ASPCA Maclay went to Sophie Wilson of Winnetka, IL.

"My horse did everything I asked him to, which was really nice," said Redd. "I normally don't start out with a good canter but I actually did so it obviously helped me out. I'm typically better in the jumping than on the flat, but I've been working really hard on my flatwork and Brandie Holloway has helped me a lot with that, so I think hopefully that kind of clicked today. She tells me to be bright and to not question myself because typically when I question myself, it doesn't go as well. 'Ronny' has been a fabulous horse, he's gotten me to where I am today. We started out in the three-foot and worked our way to here."

The three-foot riders also had the opportunity to earn points towards their medal final, the THIS National Children's Medal. Riding away with the top prize was Erin Christiansen of Durango, CO aboard her own Man On The Moon. Christiansen was called back in third to test and impressed the judges with her beautifully executed trot jump, moving her into first place. Second place went to Abigail Grace Kelley of Denver, CO.

"It was okay, it wasn't the best round we've had all day, but it went pretty well and I was excited to get into the work-off. When I heard the work off, I was like 'the first fence coming around to the second fence is going to be pretty tough,' but we got it done and it was really fun. I feel like my trot fence was really nice and I was organized. My horse's name is Sterling and I've had him for two years now. He is a very good boy."

In the 15-17 Equitation, Audrey Slouka of Parker, CO was named division champion. Slouka won both over fences classes of the division aboard Parrot Bay, owned by Emily Ryan of Colorado Springs, CO. Finishing in reserve was Annabelle Regan of Austin, TX.

Results: Summer in the Rockies VI - July 18, 2014

404. Washington Hunter Phase
result/entry #/horse/owner/rider
1/975/Lucky Strike/Hays Investment Corp./Hunter Holloway
2/980/Holyfield/Misty Redd/Misty Redd
3/756/Peter Pan/KOR LLC/Raegan Rast
4/964/Cris van de Helle/SouthFields Farm LLC/Olivia Lawton
5/709/Afrojack/Donald Stewart/Annabelle Regan
6/979/Patrone/Emily Sutherland/Emily Sutherland

405. Washington Jumper Phase
result/entry #/horse/owner/rider
1/975/Lucky Strike/Hays Investment Corp./Hunter Holloway
2/756/Peter Pan/KOR LLC/Raegan Rast
3/866/Confession/Caitlin Creel/Caitlin Creel
4/980/Holyfield/Misty Redd/Misty Redd
5/964/Cris van de Helle/SouthFields Farm LLC/Olivia Lawton
6/979/Patrone/Emily Sutherland/Emily Sutherland

402. ASPCA Maclay
result/entry #/horse/owner/rider
1/980/Holyfield/Misty Redd/Misty Redd
2/585/O'Hern/Kevin Babington/Sophie Wilson
3/762/Dragon/Redfield Farm/Abigail Weiland
4/964/Cris van de Helle/SouthFields Farm LLC/Olivia Lawton
5/793/Capiche/Rylee Shufelt/Rylee Shufelt
6/570/Cassila/Maarten Huygens/Caitlin Boyle

407. THIS National Children's Medal
result/entry #/horse/owner/rider
1/744/Man On The Moon/Erin Christiansen/Erin Christiansen
2/655/Ilsa/Emma Horn/Emma Horn
3/478/Papparazzi/Serenity Farm/Abigail Grace Kelley
4/746/Devante/Hailey Voss/Hailey Voss
5/755/Mischief Managed/Eva Epstein/Eva Epstein
6/835/Theory/Leslie Ashley/Ivy Harrison

318. Equitation 15-17 O/F
result/entry/horse/owner/rider
1/803/Parrot Bay/Emily Ryan/Audrey Slouka
2/709/Afrojack/Donald Stewart/Annabelle Regan
3/560/Carnush/Beatrice Maloney/Beatrice Maloney
4/762/Dragon/Redfield Farm/Abigail Weiland
5/819/Hemingway/Hannah Wiggins/Hannah Wiggins
6/900/Bootlegger Lane/Ashley Sprinkle/Ashley Sprinkle

319. Equitation 15-17 O/F
result/entry/horse/owner/rider
1/803/Parrot Bay/Emily Ryan/Audrey Slouka
2/709/Afrojack/Donald Stewart/Annabelle Regan
3/560/Carnush/Beatrice Maloney/Beatrice Maloney
4/762/Dragon/Redfield Farm/Abigail Weiland
5/900/Bootlegger Lane/Ashley Sprinkle/Ashley Sprinkle
6/609/Bravado/Megan Kerpsack/Megan Kerpsack

320. Equitation 15-17 Flat
result/entry/horse / owner/rider
1/560/Carnush/Beatrice Maloney/Beatrice Maloney
2/709/Afrojack/Donald Stewart/Annabelle Regan
3/964/Cris van de Helle/SouthFields Farm LLC/Olivia Lawton
4/755/Mischief Managed/Eva Epstein/Eva Epstein
5/819/Hemingway/Hannah Wiggins/Hannah Wiggins
6/900/Bootlegger Lane/Ashley Sprinkle/Ashley Sprinkle