Week 5 of the Americas Equestrians Got Talent competition again came down to the wire in the second round of competition this week sponsored by Gardy Bloemers, Wealth Management Advisor for  Merrill Lynch. Seven competitors battled for those top three coveted spots in the second round only to end up in a three way tie after all the cheering from the audience was measured with the applause meter.

The audience was warmed up with some of the winners from past week’s auditions including Hilary from week 2, Kayden Muller-Janssen from week 3 and last week’s winner who came all the way from Orlando to perform for us, David Willis.

Judges for Wednesday’s audition were a dynamic duo of the equine industry which includes International dressage star, Susie Dutta and the man who transports the four legged star athletes from one side of the globe to the other, owner of the Dutta Agency, Tim Dutta. Joining them was also Olympic Gold medalist and owner and trainer of the individual gold medal combination of Valegro and Charlotte Dujardin, Carl Hester. And last but certainly not least on the panel was movie and TV star, multiple golden globe and screen actors guild winner, founder in 1989 of Artists for a New South Africa to fight the AIDS epidemic and gay rights advocate, Alfre Woodard.

The show was opened with Juliana Adbry, a very talented violinist competing for 3-day eventing. Newcomer Adam Edgar, competing for jumping, brought down the house with his singing even though this was his first time on any stage. The first round also included the “Zack Attack” returning to the AEGT stage. Zack performed a new song accompanied by his brother Dakota on the guitar where Zack clearly took some risks to grab the attention of the audience, which catapulted him yet again into the second round! The final contestant in the first round was professional groom Teaghan James, who was the third place finisher in the 2015 AEGT Finale.

The applause meter brought Zack, Teaghan and Adam back for a second chance to impress the audience, which they all did to the tune of a completely tied applause meter! The decision was then deferred to the judges who needed to come back with a unanimous vote. After ample time of suspense building, the judges opted for Teaghan to be named the winner of this week.
The winner of each audition week sets up a line of voting where anyone can start voting for their favorite performer. The amount that each performer raises will count 25% toward their final score in the Finale. The number of unique voters will also count toward 25% of their final score in the Finale. The other 50% of their score will come from points gathered from each of the judges at the Finale. Text your favorite performer’s keyword to: 71-777 and make a donation to USET while promoting your favorite performer into the top position heading into the Finale!

Text: AEGT3 to 71-777 to vote for week 1 winner AlixWHO

Text: AEGT4 to 71-777 to vote for week 2 winner Hilary

Text: AEGT6 to 71-777 to vote for week 3 winner Kayden Muller-Janssen

Text: AEGT7 to 71-777 to vote for week 4 winner David Willis

Text: AEGT8 to 71-777 to vote for week 5 winner Teaghan James

The Finale will be held on Sunday, March 20 at the Global Dressage Facility at 13500 South Shore Boulevard, Wellington, FL. The winners from each of the 9 audition weeks as well as a few wild cards will be invited to attend the Finale and compete for a $10,000 prize donated by Robert Ross, PA, of Keller Williams Luxury Division.