The 2005 WIHS Equitation and WIHS Pony Equitation Finals, to be held during the Washington International Horse Show (WIHS), October 25-30, 2005 at the MCI Center in downtown Washington, DC, will accept 30 riders in the WIHS Equitation Finals and 25 riders in the WIHS Pony Equitation Finals. Qualifying is based on points accumulated in WIHS Equitation qualifying classes held at shows starting on or after September 1, 2004, through shows starting on before August 31, 2005. Letters of invitation will be mailed in mid-September.

Competitors must be WIHS members in order for qualifying points to count. Membership forms may be downloaded at www.wihs.org or acquired by contacting Ryegate Show Services at (717) 867-5643 or [email protected].

The WIHS Equitation Finals consists of a hunter phase, a jumper phase and a final work-off. Riders’ scores will be combined from the hunter and jumper phases, and the top riders will return to compete in the final work-off during the highlight Saturday evening performance. In the final work-off, riders will be required to switch horses and complete the jumper course of fences. All three scores will be added to determine the winners and placings.

The WIHS Pony Equitation Finals consists of a hunter phase and a Final Work-Off. Competition is well underway for the WIHS Equitation and WIHS Pony Equitation Finals. As of January 14, 2005, the point leaders in the WIHS Equitation are Haylie Jayne with 980 points, Jane Ehrhart with 796 points and Sarah Mechlin with 756 points. Chase Boggio leads the WIHS Pony Equitation standings with 301.5 points, closely followed by Katie Galbraith with 288 points, and Megan Bifano with 188 points. Congratulations to the winners of last year’s 2004 WIHS Equitation and WIHS Pony Equitation Finals:
• WIHS Equitation Finals Brianne Goutal New York, NY
• WIHS Pony Equitation Finals Jessica Springsteen Colts Neck, NJ