The CN North American Young Riders’ Championships (NAYRC), presented by Adequan®, is proud to announce an impressive list of officials who will preside over the 2005 competition, which takes place July 26-31 at the Virginia Horse Center in Lexington, VA.

The elite panel of judges and stewards was chosen based on their respected positions in the equestrian sports world, as well as their commitment to the NAYRC, a premier competition for young riders, ages 16-21. Young equestrians come from the United States, Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico and the Caribbean Islands to vie for team and individual championships in the three Olympic equestrian disciplines of show jumping, dressage and eventing.

The list of judges and stewards includes some of the sport’s top names. The Dressage Jury includes President Lorraine Stubbs (CAN) as well as Minako Furuoka (JPN), Lois Yukins (USA), Joan McCartney (CAN) and Natalie Lamping (USA). Maribel Alonso de Quinzanos (MEX) is the Technical Delegate, and the Dressage Competition Organizer is Bettina Longaker (USA).

The Eventing President, Marilyn Payne (USA), is joined by Anne Mette-Binder (DEN), and Janine Rohr-Cicurel (ARG). The Foreign Technical Delegate is Andrew Bowles (NZL), and the Assistant Technical Delegate is Sally Ike (USA). Olympic Gold Medalist David O’Connor (USA) is designing the cross-country courses and Linda Allen (USA) is designing the show jumping courses for eventing. The Organizer of the eventing competition is The Virginia Horse Trials, LLC, Organizing Committee.

President of the Show Jumping Jury, Francois Ferland (CAN), teams up with Larry Langer (USA), Lloyd Longenecker (USA) and Leslie Brown (USA). The Technical Delegate for Jumping is Javier Fernandez (MEX), and the Course Designer is Linda Allen (USA). Chief Scorer is Marnye Langer. The Organizer for the Jumping Competition is Andrew Ellis (USA).

“We are so pleased to have such a distinguished panel of judges and committee members for the CN North American Young Riders’ Championships, presented by Adequan®. We feel that by providing the best officials we are giving the young riders a terrific opportunity to benefit from the championships as well as to preserve the NAYRC’s position as the top competition for young riders in North America,” said NAYRC Event Director Penny Ross.

First started as an eventing challenge between the United States and Canada in 1974, the NAYRC has evolved to include dressage, which was added in 1981, and show jumping, which was introduced in 1982. The first full NAYRC was held in British Columbia, Canada, in 1982. This year, the competition is making its debut appearance in the mid-Atlantic region at the Virginia Horse Center in Lexington.

For many competitors the NAYRC is their first opportunity to be part of a team and to compete under the rules of the International Equestrian Federation (FEI), which is the international governing body for equestrian sport. For some riders, competing at the NAYRC is the first step toward an equestrian career riding internationally and possibly even in Olympic competition. For others, the NAYRC serves as the peak of their riding careers.

For more information on the 2005 CN North American Young Riders’ Championships, presented by Adequan®, visit www.youngriders.org, call (540) 348-1152 or e-mail [email protected].



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