Thermal, Calif. – A group of 47 junior equestrians took to the arena at Desert International Horse Park on Saturday for the West Coast final of the 2024 USEF/NCEA Junior Hunter Seat Medal. The exciting final was held at the popular venue during the National Sunshine Series II. Desi Cyr (Aspen, Colo.) secured the win with solid scores across the three phases of the final.
All finalists compete in the first round, which is a 3’3” equitation course designed this year by Colm Quinn. The top 10 from the jumping phase return for the flatwork test, which is completed as a group and requires basic dressage moves including lateral work. From there, the top four return for the final phase where they compete head-to-head on unfamiliar horses in a format based on the NCEA style of intercollegiate equestrian competition.
Cyr, who trains with Michael and Christa Endicott, rode Chatino PS (Exelero 2 x Petifleur), a 2016 Oldenburg gelding owned by JT Equine LLC for the first two phases of the final. The pair came to California from a successful outing at the National Horse Show in Kentucky the week prior.
“My first round, I just wanted to have a smooth, consistent round,” said Cyr. “For the flat, I wanted to show off a little bit. He has a really nice canter and trot, so he’s easy to sit to and just show off on the flat.”
Cyr and Chatino earned a score of 86.5 from judges Abbey Blankenship and Troy Hendricks for their clean and smooth jumping phase, which put them in an early fourth place position. They added a score of 85 in the flat phase to maintain their position on the leaderboard and make the cut for the bracket phase.
In her first bracket pairing, Cyr went head-to-head against Taryn McEntire riding Grace Russo’s Jarabel K Z. Cyr earned an 83 to McEntire’s 78, which moved her into the final ride-off with Russo for champion and reserve placings. The two competitors rode McEntire’s Crunch K for the final match-up. Cyr prepared by watching videos of Crunch K before her round.
“I watched Grace go before me, and she got down the lines pretty quickly, so I wanted to stay out,” said Cyr. “I wanted to have a smooth round and put in my best effort and just breathe.”
Cyr earned an 88 for her final ride to clinch the overall champion title. Russo (Los Angeles, Calif.) was the reserve champion after her rides on Jarabel K Z (Jazz De Coquerie x Warabel K Z), her own 2015 Warmblood gelding. Brooke O’Malley (Los Angeles, Calif.) and her own Uno! (Uriko x Sarese), a 2014 Holsteiner gelding finished in third place while Taryn McEntire (Oceanside, Calif.) and Crunch K (Clarimo x Shamrock I), MJ & Todd Kaplan’s 2011 Holsteiner gelding, secured fourth place.
2024 USEF/NCEA Hunter Seat Medal Finals Livestream
US Equestrian members and subscribers can watch the 2024 National Sunshine Series II, including the USEF/NCEA Junior Hunter Seat Medal Final - West, on-demand on USEF Network. Not a member? Join today!
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