Thermal, Calif. – This weekend, the 2024 Platinum Performance/USEF Show Jumping Talent Search – West will kick off during the National Sunshine Series 2, from November 6-10, 2024, at the Desert International Horse Park in Thermal, California.
The Platinum Performance/USEF Show Jumping Talent Search program is pivotal in nurturing elite jumping athletes. It encourages junior athletes to hone their skills, laying a solid foundation for future opportunities to compete on the international stage.
Over three days, athletes will showcase their talents across four distinct phases. Starting with Phase I, the flat phase, participants will exhibit flatwork movements, and be judged on their posture, seat, and the precision and effectiveness of their aids. Phase II, the gymnastics phase, challenges the competitors with a series of gymnastics lines and will carry a score multiplier of 1.5
The competition will heat up on Sunday as the athletes progress to Phase III, the jumping phase. This phase features a jumper-style course with a score multiplier of 2. The cumulative scores from the initial phases will identify the top four athletes who will advance to Phase IV, the ride-off. In this final showdown, they will swap horses and tackle the same course on each of the four horses to determine the ultimate standings.
The 2024 edition of the Platinum Performance/USEF Talent Search – West will be judged by 1996 Talent Search winner, Kristin Coe, alongside Michael Tokaruk. Coe represented the U.S. on multiple Nations Cup teams and qualified for the FEI World Cup on multiple occasions. Tokaruk worked as a professional rider for Heritage Farm and Spring Mill Farm before starting his own training business. He has won over 24 Grand Prixes and is a USEF “R” judge, with assignments including the 2021 USEF Talent Search Finals – East, as well as the 2022 Maclay National Finals.
The roster of the Platinum Performance/USEF Talent Search Program graduates is impressive and includes many athletes who have gone on to enormous success in international Show Jumping competition, including Mclain Ward, Beezie Madden, Richard Spooner, Lauren Hough, Charlie Jayne, Meredith Michaels (Beerbaum), and Jessica Springsteen. This championship proves to be a crucial steppingstone for aspiring jumping athletes in the U.S.
There will be multiple awards presented at the competition's end, including the Denali Memorial Perpetual Trophy, awarded to the overall winner of the Finals West. The athlete’s trainer will receive the Leading Trainer Award. The best horse of the competition will be selected by judges and receive The Gulliver Trophy after Phase IV.
The Hollow Brook Wealth Management Junior Sportsmanship Award will also be awarded to an individual who embodies a positive attitude, supports their fellow competitors, and personifies the highest standards of integrity, honor, kindness, and generosity. You can send your nomination here no later than 2pm PT on Saturday, November 9, 2024.
The USEF Network will live stream all four phases of the West Coast competition beginning on Friday, November 8 at 11am ET.
Find out more information about the Platinum Performance/USEF Show Jumping Talent Search Finals.
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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.