Lexington, KY—Avoiding the pitfalls of some soggy weekend weather, Stephen Rogers and Leslie Chelstrom rode to victory during the USEF National Junior and USEF National Amateur Eventing Championships, held at the Kentucky Horse Park, October 20-24. After scoring a 63.3 in dressage, Rogers, a 17 year old Dallas, Texas native, rode 9 year old Australian Thoroughbred gelding Kelecyn Applause through double-clear cross-country and show jumping rounds to win the Harry T. Peters Trophy with a final score of 63.3. In the Amateur Championship, Bluemont, Virginia native Leslie Chelstrom won the Alexander Mackay-Smith Trophy after riding 8 year old Thoroughbred mare Sara (Just Infatuation, Coral Orchid) through double-clear cross-country and show jumping rounds, to maintain her original dressage score of 50.3.
After Lexington was hit by 5 inches of rain, technical delegates decided to revise the 2004 Mid South CCI* on Thursday night—changing it from a CCI* with steeplechase to a CCI* without steeplechase.
“It was a great course and the footing on the cross country ended up being brilliant, but the extreme amounts of rain leading up to the competition left the footing on the steeplechase phase in an unusable condition,” says Wayne Quarles, technical delegate for the championships. “I think the riders handled it well. They understood the conditions. Everyone was sad that they didn’t get to do the full phase, but they definitely understood and went along with the program so they had their horses safe enough to come back another time.”
Competing horses completed a four kilometer phase A and were then provided practice fences before heading out on the cross-country course. This year’s championships took place as part of the Mid South Three Day Event and Team Challenge, hosted by Mary Fike and Maggie Wright, at the Kentucky Horse Park. Courses were designed by Derek diGrazia of California.
Top overall finishers in the USEF National Junior Eventing Championship:
1. Stephen Rogers, Dallas, TX, and Australian Thoroughbred gelding, Kelecyn Applause—63.3
2. Paige Hewlett, Benton, LA, and Thoroughbred gelding, Steely Dan (Soft and Sly, Echoic)—66.8
3. Marty Whitehouse, Nicholasville, KY, and Thoroughbred gelding, Final Score (Northern Score, Palace Queen)—72.7
4. Kyle Smith, Hanoverton, OH, and Thoroughbred gelding, Summer’s Gift (Impressive Gift, Brief Summer)—73.5
5. Kate Harman, Cave Spring, GA, and Thoroughbred mare, Melancholy Blues (At Full Feather, Chief’s Deal)—77.6
Top overall finishers in the USEF National Amateur Eventing Championship:
1. Leslie Chelstrom, Bluemont, VA, and Thoroughbred mare, Sara (Just Infatuation, Coral Orchid)—50.3
2. Alison Kelly-Coates, Vass, NC, and Irish Sport Horse gelding, Irish Cavalier (Cavalier, unknown)—53.1
3. Michele Lobsinger, Pines, NC, and Irish Sport Horse gelding, Able Sportsfield (Able Albert, Golden Tara Kate)—54.9
4. Leslie Chelstrom, Bluemont, VA, and Thoroughbred gelding, Brio—58.1
5. Catherine Wade, Bloomington, IN and Thoroughbred gelding, Powerpak (Dust Commander, Marcum’s Folly)—60.8
For more information, please contact Sarah Lane, Public Relations Manager, on (859) 225-6974 or via e-mail at [email protected]. USEF press releases are available on our web site – www.usef.org.