Lexington, Ky. - Young riders shined Wednesday night at the National Horse Show as 29 horse and rider combinations put their best foot forward over the first of three $10,000 Under 25 Championship classes. Sponsored by Sleepy P Ranch and Deeridge Farm, the class allows the rare opportunity for riders ages 16 to 25 to compete in the high pressure World Cup format. Riders from across the nation have worked to qualify for the championship, which culminates at the prestigious National Horse Show.

The opening course called for speed as riders attempted to shave seconds from their time. The penalties earned during the course will convert into points, and as of this evening, Wilton Porter leads the ranks with 30 points to his name after finishing at the top of the leader board in 59.240 seconds.

"It's great that they have this new U-25 division," Porter noted. "My brother [Lucas] and I have the main target of jumpers, and right now we are kind of in that age range for young riders. My mom thought it would be great if there would be an opportunity for young riders to compete against each other at this horse show, and that's why she made this possible as a sponsor. I enjoy it, and it is especially special that I won this class and my mom is sponsoring it."

Porter raced through the course and finished as the only rider to break the beam in under 60 seconds. The course suited his mount Patriot's large stride, and they used the lines to their advantage as they consistently opted to leave out a stride down the lines. The two have had a long partnership, but in this past year, his brother took the ride on the grey gelding.

"I've had Patriot for a really long time. We got him as an 8-year-old," Porter explained. "This past year, my brother has been riding him a lot and doing really well. I was just a little bit short on horses for this competition so he loaned him back to me. After this one, I don't know that he will be getting him back."

Porter concluded, "I really like the format of the championship - I think it is great and it gives us good experience for possible future World Cup competitions. We planned to try and win. Sometimes we go fast and not necessarily to win, but today we were planning on winning."

Michael Hughes and Macarthur, owned by Christina Fried, rode to the second place in 60.170 seconds, while Kaitlin Campbell and her own Rocky W finished third in 60.450 seconds.

The race to the championship will continue Thursday evening.

$10,000 U-25 CHAMPIONSHIP -1st ROUND
Order Entry # Horse Name Rider Name JF1 TF1 AF1 Time 1
1 805 PATRIOT WILTON PORTER 0 0 0 59.240
2 821 MACARTHUR MICHAEL HUGHES 0 0 0 60.170
3 418 ROCKY W KAITLIN CAMPBELL 0 0 0 60.450
4 713 CHANEL B 2 VICTORIA COLVIN 0 0 0 60.510
5 591 SANDOR DE LA POMME CATHERINE TYREE 0 0 0 60.700
6 641 GATSBY MAGGIE MCALARY 0 0 0 60.770
7 777 TWISTER SHAWN CASADY 0 0 0 62.000
8 628 WOODSTOCK O KALVIN DOBBS 0 0 0 62.110
9 774 WHY NOT SOPHIE SIMPSON 0 0 0 62.490
10 449 PUNCHY DORCEL BRITTNI RAFLOWITZ 0 0 0 62.600