Harrisburg, Pa. – This year’s Pessoa/US Hunter Seat Medal Final has attracted a large number of qualified competitors to the event held at Pennsylvania National Horse Show, which is celebrating its 70th year. Over 300 of the nation’s top junior equestrians will compete head-to-head for the Adrian Van Sinderen Memorial Trophy in this hotly contested equitation final held on Sunday, October 11. Previous winners of this Medal Final include the legendary George Morris and Olympians Michael Page, Mary Mairs Chapot, Buddy Brown, Conrad Homfeld, and Katie Monahan-Prudent. The contest is truly a proving ground for great young talent.

This year’s judges, Scott Hofstetter and Julie Winkel, will design a course to test the abilities of the competitors. After all participants have completed the first round, the judges will call back a select group of riders for a second round performance. Traditionally, the top four contenders are then asked to return for further testing, which can include a variety of formats, and is always a demanding and fascinating phase of the class.

The 2015 Final has a notable number of riders who placed in the top tier of the 2014 Final returning to compete. Of the top eleven finishers in 2014, nine riders are returning for the 2015 contest. Among them are second-place finisher McKayla Langmeier (East Grandy, Conn.), third-place finisher Ali Tritschler (Southport, Conn.), and fourth-place winner Ashton Alexander (Ocala, Fla.).

With a large and talented field, the 2015 Pessoa/US Hunter Seat Medal Final is a class not to miss. The competition will be available on demand on USEFNetwork.com.