Traverse City, Mich. – Two U.S. athletes clinched the final gold medals at the 2023 Gotham North FEI North American Youth Jumping Championships Presented by USHJA, bringing this year’s event to an exciting conclusion at Flintfields Horse Park.
NAYC FEI Junior Jumping Individual Championship
Carlee McCutcheon (Aubrey, Texas) expertly piloted Coco Mercedes, a 2013 Westphalian mare owned by McLain Ward and Old Oak Farm, through five rounds with no jumping penalties to secure individual gold. With a team gold for Zone 7 earlier in the week, McCutcheon ended her first complete NAYC experience as a double gold medalist, which she said was an unexpected surprise.
“I definitely didn’t think that was going to happen,” she said. “I was just trying to have fun and take it day by day. I’m so lucky to have Coco Mercedes as my partner. She’s the best partner I could ask for. I think she’s better at it than I am,. And for so many rounds, for her to perform so well is just such a great feeling.”
McCutcheon had plenty of praise for her horse, whose reliability in the ring helped temper some of the pressure for the final round.
“She’s so brave, I never have to worry about it,” said McCutcheon. “If I don’t see the perfect distance, I know she’ll take care of me and I think having a horse with so much confidence has definitely given me a confidence boost and improved my riding all year.
“I was glad there was no water in the second round,” she said, adding that round B of the two-round final day of competition was a bit easier than the first. “More than anything, I was just trying to get in range of the jump. . So it was pretty scary, but I think the pressure is good for me and it’s definitely good for her, so it worked out well.”
Zone 2’s Stephanie Garrett (New York, N.Y.) also came into the final round of the day having no jumping penalties all week. She rode Darius de Kezeg Z, a 2011 Zangersheide gelding owned by Postage Stamp Farm, LLC.
“This has been a pretty big goal of mine,” said Garrett. “Last year I was able to compete on the Zone 2 team, which was a phenomenal experience. The outcome might not have been what we were looking for, but it gave me a good experience and coming back this year, I kind of knew more about what to look for and how to prepare, so that’s been super helpful.”
Garrett also credits her horse with giving her the confidence in the ring that makes a successful championship outing possible.
“I’ve had ‘Darius’ for about a year and a half now, and he has been the absolute best,” she said. “He has taken me up the levels a little bit. He’s given me a lot of confidence in the highs and I’m hoping to step up a bit more to the U25 with him. We’ve done a few national grand prixes as well. He has far more experience than I do, and he can really help show me the ropes as I step up.”
First-time NAYC competitor Elise Stephens (Whitefish Bay, Wisc.) from Zone 6 had solid rounds all week to win individual bronze with O’Mega H & DB, a 2014 Belgian Warmblood mare owned by Rendezvous Farm.
“I really just wanted smooth, hopefully clean rounds,” said Stephens. “Especially after the first round when I had one down, I just wanted a really good, clean second round. I think the first course had a lot of tests in it. The water to the vertical, a lot of people were having issues with that, and I’m really lucky that my horse is a good water jumper.”
2023 FEI NAYC Junior Jumping Individual Results
Gold: Carlee McCutcheon and Coco Mercedes (Zone 7)
Silver: Stephanie Garrett and Darius de Kezeg Z (Zone 2)
Bronze: Elise Stephens and O’Mega H & DB (Zone 6)
FEI NAYC Young Riders Jumping Individual Championship
Baylee McKeever (Brewster, N.Y.) came into the final two rounds ready to fight for clear rounds with her own Formidable, a 2010 KWPN mare.
“I was just trying to take it jump by jump, and obviously try not to get caught up in how the other class was going,” said McKeever. “I just wanted to focus on my round and how my horse was going—everything I could control because I can’t control anything else.”
McKeever has been riding Formidable since January of 2022, who she received as a graduation gift from her trainer, McLain Ward.
“I’d say we have a pretty strong partnership,” said McKeever. “She’s special to me. She kind of brought me up the levels from the medium juniors all the way up to here.”
McKeever said her coaches helped keep her calm and focused ahead of the final round where she entered in gold-medal contention.
“My trainer was talking about how nice it was that we were in this situation,” McKeever said. “Everyone wants to be at the top and you’re going to lose sometimes, and it’s just where you are right now. You just have to appreciate that.”
Augusta Iwasaki (Calabasas, Calif.) stayed near the top of the standings throughout the week, and finished with the individual silver medal riding Fresca, a 2010 KWPN mare owned by Chris Iwasaki and Elizabeth Reilly.
“She’s been amazing all week,” Iwasaki said of her horse. “This is my first championship with her, and my first championship in general. Team day was incredible. It kind of caught me by surprise; I wasn’t expecting it to go so well, so that was really amazing. Today I wanted to just have consistent rounds. She’s not a super hot horse to begin with, so I knew I was running out of steam a little bit, but she was amazing and she really fought for me, so I couldn’t be happier.”
Canada’s William Martin finished with the bronze medal riding Ricore Courcelle, a 2008 Selle Français gelding owned by Lesley Martin.
“It was a super week for Canada. It’s been a while since we won [team Young Rider gold],” said Martin. “Winning the team gold medal is a great feeling and I was just happy to put in a few clear rounds to help that, and fortunately I ended up in bronze position overall.”
2023 FEI NAYC Junior Jumping Individual Results
Gold: Baylee McKeever and Formidable (Zone 2)
Silver: Augusta Iwasaki and Fresca (Zone 10)
Bronze: William Martin and Ricore Courcelle (Canada)
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