Maggie Ridenour
After one course walk prior to the three hotly contested Finals, Horse Shows by the Bay held a moment of silence to honor the recent passing of Richard A. Cram, Sr., a legendary Michigan horseman. His son, Rick Cram, Jr., provided a tribute to his dad that was read to the large crowd gathered to pay respects to a venerable colleague. Cram, Jr. concluded the tribute by saying, "I believe the most important perspective I learned from my dad was, 'Don't believe all that you hear and don't say all that you think.' "
Following the tribute, the HJAM Medal Finals commenced with three separate events: The 3' Limit Junior Medal Final, 3' Adult Medal Final and 3'3" Open Junior Medal Final. Each Final, sponsored by Equis, Ltd. and Polly Howard-Coberley, comprised three phases: In Round 1, riders were required to complete an entire course; Round 2, all riders not incurring major faults returned to show on the flat; and Round 3 consisted of the top- eight contestants completing a test mandated by judge Steve Wall.
The 14 entrants for the HJAM Limit Junior Medal Final challenged JP Godard's clever course that covered much of the Grand Prix Arena. Riders had to be decisive and establish a bold pace to successfully execute many of the related lines. For many of the riders in the Limit Junior Medal Final, it was the first time competing in the magnificent Grand Prix Arena.
After Round 1, the top riders returned to flat with Wall then eight remained in the arena for further testing. Once again, Wall's exam had riders demonstrate that they had command of basic equitation and riding skills. One by one, and in reverse order, riders were asked to step out of the line-up, pick up a canter, jump Fences 8 and 9, trot Fence 10, gallop to Fence 2, halt and perform a sitting trot back to the line-up.
Without question, the toughest part of the test proved to be the trot jump. Five of the eight competitors didn't adequately execute the trot jump, with several riders taking the long approach option to several of the single option fences. Consequently, the order of finish dramatically changed, however, the rider in the lead position going into the final phase performed the test beautifully and held the top spot.
Bella Canzano, 16, earned the Championship honors under the tutelage of Jan Dooley (Hawthorne Hill Farm). "Bella has been a student of mine for close to three years, and in all my years of teaching and training, I've never had someone who works as hard as Bella," said Dooley. "Her love of horses, dedication to constantly learn and the ability to overcome all of the odds [makes] Bella a dream student."
When asked what the win meant to Canzano, she broke down in tears while saying, "I've never wanted anything so much before in my life!
"Competing at Horse Shows by the Bay and qualifying for the HJAM Finals has been a dream of mine for so long. To actually come and win the Finals is a big surprise to me!" she continued. "There are so many gifted riders and wonderful horses, and I haven't been in many competitions, so for me, this will always be a highlight that I find strength in. I'm just so lucky. Jan has been so good to me as has Katie Cassidy-Ginsberg, who has allowed me to ride her incredible horse, Intagalio. He is such an awesome horse and has given me the opportunity of a lifetime."
The HJAM Adult Medal Final riders faced the same first round but a different test, which included: step out of the line-up, canter to Fence 3 and 4, trot Fence 5, canter Fence 8, halt, back and perform a sitting trot back to the line-up. Unlike the first Final, there was a change at the top after testing was complete.
Kendall Meijer, of Grand Rapids, Michigan, took the victory due to a precisely delivered test and her ability to hold the counter lead after landing off the trot jump to the last jump. Meijer, a 20-year-old Rollins College student, topped Jovanna Haddad of Toledo, Ohio.
Meijer, who has qualified for the HJAM Finals for five consecutive years, considers the HJAM Finals win a highlight of her riding career.
"Coming into the Finals, I wasn't sure which of my horses would be the right choice given that we were competing in the large Grand Prix Arena," said Meijer. "It was between Tigger, a horse I know quite well, and VDL Zingaro H, a relatively new horse. In the end, we decided to go with Zingaro and the plan worked!
"Because he's young, lead changes can be a little tricky, so when I landed off the trot jump on the left lead, I chose to stick it out and stay on the counter lead all the way down the ring to the last jump," she explained. "It was nerve wracking, but I think it paid off!"
Confidence and resilience also paid off for Maggie Ridenour, 15, of Birmingham, Michigan, as she earned the top placing in the HJAM Open Junior Medal Final. The final class of the afternoon saw talented junior riders face the same first course as the previous Finals, but with yet a different test.
This time, Wall asked the top eight contenders to turn their backs to the course so they couldn't see each of the riders attempt the ride-off. Having to back out of the line-up, finalists were asked to canter directly to Fences 9 and 2, counter canter on the left lead to Fence 3, trot Fence 8, pull up and walk on a loose back into the line-up.
Without the ability to watch, riders had to assume that everyone was mastering the ride-off, therefore devising their own plan of how they would distinguish themselves from the rest of the field. Testing last, Ridenour didn't know that trouble spots had developed for each of the previous riders, most notably the counter canter. Backing out of line, Ridenour established a bold pace, executed tight turns everywhere, and nailed the counter canter, making Wall's decision easy.
For most, not watching their colleagues ride before them could be unnerving, but not for Ridenour.
"I normally don't like to watch much before I compete, as I can change my mind a lot," said Ridenour. "I like to get a feel of the course and develop my own plan and react naturally. So, not watching actually was to my benefit. Knowing that the counter canter portion of the test would be tricky, my plan was to base my performance on doing everything I could to land on the left lead and then hold it. The test was really a good one because there were little things you could do to set yourself apart from the field, and I'm thrilled that my plan worked!"
Final Results - HJAM Limit Junior Medal Final 3'
1st: Bella Canzano
2nd: Hannah Satterlund
3rd: Andrew Januzzi
4th: Nealie Boschma
5th: Michele Raue
6th: Jordan Marmul
7th: Katherine Wolf
8th: Angelina Smith
Final Results - HJAM Adult Medal Final 3'
1st: Kendall Meijer
2nd: Jovanna Haddad
3rd: Madeline Cooley
4th: Amy Stanley
5th: Marika Raff
6th: Erin Turner
7th: Jennifer Bush
8th: Karen Howey
Final Results - HJAM Open Junior Medal Final 3'3"
1st: Maggie Ridenour
2nd: Savannah Mannes
3rd: Jennifer Farless
4th: Jenna Weintraub
5th: Bella Canzano
6th: Jordan Marmul
7th: Jackie Wood
8th: Jessica Howard
Final Results - HJAM Low Children's/Adult Medal Final 2'6"
1st: Christine Bagne
2nd: Corrin Craig
3rd: Kristina Morse
4th: Mary Bugenski
5th: Elise Buhl
6th: Cole Battershall
7th: Misty Pleiness
8th: Lucy Thomas
Final Results - HJAM Pony Medal Final 2'3"/2'6"/3'
1st: Emma Wujek
2nd: Bayley Saville
3rd: Cole Battershall
4th: Annalise Reed
5th: Elise Buhl
6th: Christopher Coberley
7th: Lacey Campbell
8th: Madison Mitchell
Full results can be found by visiting www.horseshowing.com. For more information on the Horse Shows by the Bay Series, please visit www.horseshowsbythebay.com.