Harrisburg, Pa. – For the second year in a row, Zone 7 took home team gold in the 2018 Neue Schule/USEF Prix des States Team Championship at the 73^rd Pennsylvania National Horse Show. 

The Zone 7 team consisted of Briley Koerner, 18, of The Woodlands, Texas, riding For Jef VD Wezelse; Sloan Hopson, 17, of Huston, Texas, aboard Costa Rica VH Waterschoot Z; Anna Beth Athey, 17, of Enid, Oklahoma, riding For Serrano Sr, and Brian Moggre, 16, of Flower Mound, Texas, on MTM Flutterfly. The team rode under the guidance of Martien Van Der Hoeven as their Chef d'Equipe.

The Prix des States Championships follows a modified FEI Nations Cup™ format with all six teams and individual riders jumping the same course twice. A maximum of four members are on each team with three scores to count in each round.

Briley Koerner and For Jef VD Wezelse, the 13-year -Belgian Warmblood gelding owned by BKS Horse Farms, LLC, were the only combination of the team to produce a fault-free second round boosting the teams standings.

Strategy was key in building from last year’s epic win. Koerner was thankful she was part of back-to-back team wins with friends. “We had the same strategy as last year and we are all really good friends,” said Koerner. “It’s nice to be back to back. I couldn’t be happier.”

Riding as the anchor rider for Zone 7, with an unlucky rail in the in the final phase, Brian Moggre was nothing but smiles and full of praise for MTM Flutterfly, the 11-year-old thoroughbred cross owned by Major Wager LLC., and for his teammates.

“My horse was great, she was awesome. I couldn’t really have asked much more,” said Moggre. “My teammates are awesome and jumped great! It means a lot for her to come here and do this and do so well.”

Sloan Hopson and her own Costa Rica VH Waterschoot Z, the 10 year-old Zangersheide mare, produced a strong round with four faults to help her teammates  in the final standings.

“The first round I was trying to manage a smooth round and I actually made a small mistake but got away with it,” said Hopson. “I was glad to have fixed that mistake in the second round. She jumped great and I was very happy with how everyone did. We’re all great friends and this is a great experience to be able to win with our closest friends.”

Anna Beth Athey and her own For Serrano Sr, the 11-year-old Hanoverian gelding, were the drop score of the team with four faults. “He was amazing. He really gives me a lot of confidence. He feels like he could jump the moon,” said Athey. “We had a little mistake in the second round. The team is great, and I’ve known them for a really long time, so it’s great to get to this level and really perform.”

With the gold medal won, it was up to Zones 2 and 4 to battle for silver. One rider from each zone was chosen for the jump-off. Both riders went clean but Zone 2 won the silver medal with 30.102 seconds followed by Zone 4 winning bronze with 37.793 seconds.

The Neue Schule/USEF National Junior Jumper Championship culminates on Saturday with the Individual Phase III competition. Scores from Phase I are converted into penalties plus faults from Phase II are carried over with the top 60 percent of competitors from the first two phases, who have not been eliminated, eligible to take part. The individual champion is the competitor with the lowest number of combined penalties after Phases I, II, and III.

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