San Juan Capistrano, Calif. – Twenty-three athletes completed the first phase of competition at the 2022 Platinum Performance/USEF Show Jumping Talent Search Finals – West on Friday, kicking off a weekend of competition designed to showcase young riders with a promising future in the sport.
After a warm-up round in which entrants have 90 seconds to practice over jumps, the competitors completed the flatwork phase of the Final. Athletes were asked to perform gait collection and extension, leg yields, changes of lead, and work at all three gaits without stirrups.
Nicole McMillion (Huntington Beach, Calif.) riding Campitello 5, a 2007 Hanoverian gelding owned by Highpoint Farm, LLC, currently holds the lead after the flat phase with a score of 90.0. Makenzie Damus (Encino, Calif.) on her own 2012 Oldenburg gelding, Charly Brown 335, stands in second place with an 88.0, and Ella Dyson (San Luis Obispo, Calif.) with Cetello, a 2007 Holsteiner gelding owned by Constance and Elisa Broz, is close behind in third with 87.5.
The Platinum Performance/USEF Show Jumping Talent Search Program follows the principal that form follows function, and that it is important for a rider to have equitation basics and a solid jumper seat position in order to become an effective jumper rider. Talent Search Classes test a rider's ability to ride a jumper-style course effectively while maintaining the classic American forward style of riding.
On Saturday, the athletes will complete the gymnastic phase, which tests competitors over a course that includes gridwork elements. On Sunday, they will return for the jumping phase in which they tackle a jumper-style course. The athletes will receive a score for each phase; the gymnastic phase carries a multiplier of 1.5 and the jumping phase has a multiplier of 2. The total of the scores from the first three phases is used to determine the top four, who will return for the final phase in which they will swap horses and ride the same course on each of the final four horses to determine the final placings.
This year’s R judge for the Finals is Patricia Griffith and Beezie Madden serves as the guest judge. Madden is on a long list of Talent Search Program graduates who have gone on to success on the international show jumping stage, which includes Olympic and World Championship athletes Greg Best, Chris Kappler, Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum, Katie Monahan Prudent, McLain Ward, and Lauren Hough.
Watch the Platinum Performance/USEF Show Jumping Talent Search Finals – West on USEF Network.
Follow US Equestrian
Stay up to date on the U.S. Jumping Team by following USA Jumping on Facebook and Instagram and US Equestrian on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok. Use #USAJumping.
The USEF International High Performance Programs and the USEF High Performance Pathway Programs are generously supported by the USET Foundation, the philanthropic partner to USEF. High Performance Program support is also provided by the USOPC and USEF sponsors and members.