Lexington, Ky. –  US Equestrian has announced new dates and location for the 2024 Platinum Performance/USEF Show Jumping Talent Search Finals – West, which will now be held during the National Sunshine Series 2, from November 6-10, 2024, at the Desert International Horse Park in Thermal, California.

The Platinum Performance/USEF Show Jumping Talent Search Program plays an important role in developing top jumping athletes by encouraging junior and young riders to develop skills laying the groundwork and foundation for future international success.

Athletes will test their skills over three days, and four phases including Phase I, the flat phase, where athletes will demonstrate flatwork movements while being judged on their position and seat as well as correctness and effectiveness of the aids. Phase II, the gymnastic phase tests competitors over a series of gymnastic lines and has a score multiplier of a point and a half.

Competition concludes Sunday with athletes returning for Phase III, the jumping phase with a jumper-style course a score multiplier of two points. The top total combined scores from the first three phases are used to determine the top four athletes, who will return for Phase IV, the ride-off, in which they swap horses and ride the same course on each of the final four horses to determine final placings.

Kristen Coe, the 1996 Talent Search winner, will judge the 2024 edition of the competition alongside Michael Tokaruk. Coe represented the U.S. on multiple Nations Cup teams and qualified for FEI World Cup Finals on three different occasions. Tokaruk, worked as a professional rider for Heritage Farm and Spring Mill Farm before starting his own training business. He has won more than 24 Grand Prixs and is a USEF ‘R’ judge, with assignments including the 2021 USET Talent Search Finals – East as well as the 2022 Maclay National Finals.

Former winners of the Platinum Performance/USEF Show Jumping Talent Search Finals have gone on to achieve great success in international jumping, as well as represented the NetJets U.S. Jumping Team on multiple occasions, making this championship a crucial steppingstone for aspiring jumping athletes in the U.S.

For more information about the 2024 Platinum Performance/USEF Show Jumping Talent Search Finals - West, please click here. For additional inquiries, please contact Erin Keating, Director of Jumping Development Programs, at [email protected].