Lexington, KY - Aurora Griffin made her trip from Westlake Village, CA to the Pennsylvania National Horse Show in Harrisburg, PA worth the miles by picking up two major victories. She rode Tucker, a 9-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding, and added one fault through three rounds to win the individual portion of the Adequan USEF Junior Jumper National Championships. Second place finisher Karl Cook, one of Griffin’s Zone 10 teammates, was fault free and leading until the final round where a rail relegated him to second place.
“Tucker is definitely a horse who rises to the occasion,” said 16-year-old Griffin. “Both times he has come out East he has jumped better than ever. He’s a pretty quick horse. I was a little worried he may have been tired but he jumped fabulously even in the last round. I really enjoyed myself. My only concern was that I had to go first. There was a lot of pressure that day. It was pretty nerve wracking. I’m ecstatic it was a nice surprise.”
Griffin’s championship run started on Thursday night when she was second to Cook in the Table III speed class. The following evening in the team portion of the competition, the $7,500 Adequan/USEF Prix des States Team Championship, she rode in the lead off spot for Zone 10 and jumped two immaculate rounds. Teammate Paris Sellon (riding Cordelia B) followed suit, Tina Dilandri had one rail down with Chanel 292 and anchor rider Cook only had to jump one round with Notories Utopia because Zone 10 had secured such a convincing victory over their first five rounds.
“It was similar to Young Riders,” said Griffin, comparing the Junior Jumper Championship to the North American Young Riders’ Championships, where Cook won an Individual Gold medal. “Karl and I on same team twice and been very successful. Being on a team is tough, there is a lot more pressure but it is a lot more rewarding. Karl and I are actually really good friends, even at home we are good friends.”
Zone 10’s final score of four faults was 12 points better than Zone 4 who settled for second. Zone 5 ended up third on 18.
Parts of the Adequan Junior Jumpers Championships ran under a new format in 2007, the team portion ran as a modified Nations’ Cup as it always has but the first leg of the individual format ran as a Table III class where faults are converted to time. Then points were awarded based on the riders’ ranking against their competitors. The points all carried over to the final round where they were converted to faults.
Griffin also won the William C. Steinkraus Style Award, donated by Karen Healey and presented by the USEF. This award was based on rider’s performance and style during the team portion of the competition.
For more information please contact Director of Show Jumping National Programs, Jennifer Haydon at (859) 225-6911.