Gladstone, N.J. – Day 2 of the 2023 Platinum Performance/USEF Show Jumping Talent Search Finals – East continued on Saturday at the USET Foundation Headquarters with the gymnastic phase of the competition, testing the 46 youth athletes over a series of gymnastic lines with a score multiplier of 1.5.
Athletes and horses entered the ring to compete in front of judges Anne Kursinski and Ronnie Beard again. Ultimately, it was Shelby, N.C., native Joe Craver who bested the group, maintaining the lead aboard his own 2012 Holsteiner gelding Franco (Corsy Z x Frangelico) after completing the second phase with a 90.5, earning an overall score of 226.8.
A shift in second place came after Amira Kettaneh (Hollis N.H.) rode her own 2011 KWPN mare Gossip SA (Vingino x W. Amelusina 11) to a score of 91, giving the pair a 224.0 to sit behind Craver heading into the final day of competition. Third place is currently held by Luke Jensen (Denton, Texas) and Morgan Wilsberg's 2016 Oldenburg mare Calina M (Cador x La Luna M), earning a score of 88 for a total of 222.0.
Competition concludes on Sunday, starting at 9:10 a.m. ET with the athletes returning for Phase III, the jumping phase, which includes a jumper-style course and a score multiplier of 2. The total of the weighted scores from the first three phases is used to determine the top four who will return for Phase IV, the ride-off in which riders will swap horses and contest a shortened course on each of the four horses to determine the final placings.
Event Website | Schedule and Results
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The USEF International High Performance Programs and the USEF High Performance Pathway Programs are generously supported by the USET Foundation, the philanthropic partner to USEF. High Performance Program support is also provided by the USOPC and USEF sponsors and members.