Lexington, Ky. - The 2014 Platinum Performance/USEF Show Jumping Talent Search Finals West kicks off this week at the prestigious Rancho Mission Viejo Riding Park in San Juan Capistrano, Calif. The prominent competition will once again showcase the top rising talent the West Coast has to offer. Ronnie Beard and DiAnn Langer will serve as judges and course designers for the four-phase competition, which will be held September 19-21.

Competition officially gets underway on Saturday in the Indoor Arena, as competitors complete their flatwork in Phase I. That evening, competitors will perform in Phase II, gymnastics. The winner will be crowned on Sunday following the completion of Phases III and IV in the Grand Prix Field. In Phase III, all entries will show their ability over a jumper-styled course and, following its conclusion, the top four competitors will be called back for a ride-off. Phase IV will showcase the same format used for the Jumping World Championships, with each rider completing a course on his/her own horse, as well as the three other riders' horses.

This year's field includes many riders that have already garnered top honors in prestigious competitions in their young careers. Halie Robinson (Santa Barbara, Calif.) rode to third-place honors in last year's Finals and looks to improve on her performance in 2014. Additionally, Kilian McGrath (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) will try to add a Finals victory to her resume, having earned Young Rider Individual Gold and Team Bronze medals at the 2012 Adequan FEI North American Junior and Young Rider Championships Presented by Gotham North with Salerno, with whom she'll be competing this weekend.

For more about the 2014 Platinum Performance/USEF Show Jumping Talent Search, visit: https://www.usef.org/_IFrames/breedsdisciplines/discipline/alljumping/sjTalentSearch.aspx.