Traverse City, Mich. – Two exceptional mares, two talented equestrians, and two zero-jumping-fault outings led to the first individual gold medals at the 2023 Gotham North/FEI North American Youth Jumping Championship presented by USHJA. Hailey Guidry and Ezmeralda EH Z finished five-rounds of competition in the Children category with zero penalties. Lauren Frandson and Golda completed their NAYC week with no rails down across five rounds and only 0.28 penalties from the first round.
Children Individual Championship
Hailey Guidry (Poplarville, Miss.) made an undeniable entrance to her first NAYC, winning team gold with Zone 4 and then going on to win individual gold, and doing it all without racking up even a fraction of a penalty. Guidry gives credit to her horse, Ezmeralda EH Z, a 2012 Zangersheide mare owned by her family’s Honor Hill Farm LLC.
“My horse is absolutely amazing. I couldn’t have done this without her,” said Guidry. “She was a little tired [coming into the final round], but she definitely had a lot of energy. By the end of the course she was very spicy, and by the second round, she was really fast.”
Guidry said she came in with no expectations of winning at her first NAYC and just wanted to get the experience. Along with her medals, she leaves the competition with an appreciation for the team environment.
“It’s very exciting and you meet so many new friends,” said Guidry. “Everyone is so sweet, and it’s very exciting to have a team because you have friends; sometimes you know them and sometimes you get to make new friends and it’s a lot of fun. It’s a good experience.”
When asked how she would celebrate with “Ezme,” Guidry said, “I’ll go back to the barn and feed her all the treats I have!”
Silver and bronze medals came down to an exciting jump-off between Haley Honegger (Elizabeth, Colo.) with Wilde Hilde, her own 2011 Holsteiner mare, and Alexa Curry (Plantation, Fla.) with Ciemusic Z, Ga Stables LLC’s 2008 Zangersheide gelding. Both combinations finished the week of competition with four penalties. Ultimately, Honegger clinched silver by going clear in the jump-off against Curry’s eight-fault round.
“My mom, who is my trainer, told me that I needed to ride clear,” said Honegger, sharing the advice she received before heading in for the jump-off. “I did exactly what she said and my mare pulled a clear round and I was so happy with her.”
Honnegger was especially grateful to be able to compete at NAYC with her horse after Wilde Hilde had a serious injury a year ago.
“I’m so happy to be with her and to be able to show,” Honegger said. “This medal really means a lot. I really almost lost my mare, so to have her here—I’m really happy.”
Despite having a couple of costly rails in the jump-off, Curry was pleased with her NAYC experience.
“Going into [the jump-off], I knew I had to be clear and I also had to be fast because Haley is so fast,” said Curry. “I didn’t pull out the round I wanted, but it was really good.”
2023 FEI NAYC Jumping Children Individual Results
Gold: Hailey Guidry and Ezmeralda EH Z (Zone 4)
Silver: Haley Honegger and Wild Hilde (Zone 8)
Bronze: Alexa Curry and Ciemusic Z (Zone 4)
See full Children individual results.
Pre-Juniors Individual Championship
On the Pre-Juniors side, Lauren Frandson (Laguna Beach, Calif.) had a similarly incredible week, finishing in second position after the first round with just 0.28 penalties in the time-converted format. From there, she added nothing to her score across the next four rounds with Golda, her own 2014 Holsteiner mare, and clinched team gold with Zone 10 and individual gold in Saturday’s final round.
“It feels great to jump all clear rounds this week, and I’m super proud of my horse,” said Frandson. “It’s definitely a lot of pressure, but I feel like we performed really well. I’ve had Golda for a little less than a year. I feel like we’ve been super successful because of all of the practice shows we’ve done. We competed in the [Zone 10] trials to qualify to come here, and I feel that really helped me this week.
“My coaches and Chef d’Equipe told me to stay focused and ride my ride, and do my best, and it’ll all work out,” Frandson said of her final round. “The goal was just to go clear, and it was coming to the last fence where I felt like I had it. I’m just super proud of my horse.”
Myra Krishna (Old Westbury, N.Y.) and Dracarys Sporthorses LLC’s 2011 Belgian Warmblood gelding, Fanatic d’Alphi, carried only their 3.53 penalties from the first round into the final standings to secure the silver medal in their NAYC debut.
“I’m really proud of my horse. He really jumped his heart out for me,” said Krishna. “There really was no pressure because I had no expectations going into this. I started in the mediums late last year, and I’ve been doing it consistently all year. At home, we’ve been doing a lot of no-stirrups training, so that really helped me.”
Scarlett Wallis (Royal Oaks, Calif.) and her own Samurai, a 2012 Oldenburg gelding, were part of the gold medal-winning team from Zone 10 earlier in the week, and with only one rail to add to their 0.59 from the first round, they finished with the bronze medal individually.
“My plan going into these two final rounds was to have the least faults possible,” said Wallis. “I got a little bit quiet in the one-stride, so I had the B element down, but I’m still super happy with my horse. He jumped great.”
2023 FEI NAYC Jumping Pre-Junior Riders Individual Results
Gold: Lauren Frandson and Golda (Zone 10)
Silver: Myra Krishna and Fanatic d’Alphi (Zone 2)
Bronze: Scarlett Wallis and Samurai (Zone 10)
See full Pre-Juniors individual results.
Jumping at NAYC will conclude on Sunday, August 13, with the Juniors Individual Final at 11:00 a.m. ET and the Young Riders Individual Final at 2:00 p.m.
US Equestrian fans, subscribers, and members can watch the 2023 FEI North American Youth Championships on USEF Network powered by ClipMyHorse.TV. Not a member? Create your free fan account now.
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