Mckayla Langmeier Wins USEF Show Jumping Talent Search 2* During WEF Week Two

© Morgan McClelland: Mckayla Langmeier and Calberon B, orange oxer
Mckayla Langmeier clinched the Platinum Performance USEF Show Jumping Talent Search 2* during Week Two of the Winter Equestrian Festival.

Wellington, Fla. – Jan. 20, 2017 – Nearing the end of Week Two at the 2017 Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF), well-known junior rider Mckayla Langmeier and Calberon B won the blue on Friday in the Platinum Performance USEF Show Jumping Talent Search 2* competition. Langmeier only recently started showing Calberon B, owned by Linda Langmeier of Kelianda Farm Inc.

“[Calberon B] is a newer mount for me and I love him so far,” said Langmeier. “He is a super sweet horse, has great scope and a huge stride.”


Mckayla Langmeier and Calberon B in Friday’s Platinum Performance USEF Show Jumping Talent Search 2* competition.

The challenging 1.15m–1.20m course designed by JP Goddard for the Week Two Talent Search 2* class was held in Ring 6 at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center.

“Mr. Goddard did a nice job with the course,” said judge Phillip DeVita of Apopka, Florida. “The course was straight forward and we had no major mishaps and everyone did rather well. Classes go well when you are able to judge them, and the course does not judge the class.”

Although the USEF Show Jumping Talent Search 2* course for Week Two resulted in fewer faults overall than the course from Week One, the water jump and triple combination proved to be a challenge for the majority of the riders.

“In the second line I opted for eight strides rather than nine,” said Langmeier. “I would have to say that the four-stride to the triple combination was one of the most important and difficult aspects of the course.”

© M: Mckayla Langmeier and Calberon B, orange oxer (ACTUAL)
Mckayla Langmeier and Calberon B

The flat phase was divided into two separate groups, with the overall winners chosen following the under saddle portion of competition. Riders were asked to demonstrate a working trot both sitting and rising, a working canter, an extended trot, an extended canter, transitions to the walk from both gaits and a counter-canter in each direction. Langmeier and Calberon B claimed the title with equally smooth rides over fences and on the flat.

“[Langmeier] was very good over fences and equally as strong on the flat,” said DeVita. “She is a very talented and well prepared rider who rode with excellent style. In the majority of these classes you will have four or five good riders a little above average and the remaining competition will be somewhat immature in their riding abilities. I think that overall the whole group was above average in their riding abilities and the class went really well.”

Langmeier is no stranger to the equitation ring. The young rider won the coveted ASPCA Maclay National Championship at the National Horse Show in 2015 riding Skyfall. Langmeier’s mother and trainer, Linda, also won the prestigious equitation final in 1983, and the pair made history becoming the first ever mother-daughter duo to both win the ASPCA Maclay Finals. The 16-year-old from Connecticut recently finished third in the 2016 Pessoa/US Hunter Seat Medal Final with Skyfall, and won her first FEI competition just last year aboard Classic Care in the 1.45m West Canadian Cup at Spruce Meadows. After a great win during Week Two, Langmeier hopes to continue showcasing her abilities in the equitation classes.

© Morgan McClelland: Mckayla Langmeier is All Amiles as she leaves the ring with a Blue ribbon
Mckayla Langmeier all smiles after winning the USEF Talent Search at WEF Week Two.

“Now that we have qualified for the George Morris Equitation Championship, I want to keep focusing on the equitation for the remainder of WEF,” said Langmeier.

During the remaining 10 weeks of the Winter Equestrian Festival, the Platinum Performance USEF Show Jumping Talent Search is offered Week Nine at a 1* ranking. Weeks Four, Eight and Twelve are rated as 3* and the remaining competition weeks will include 2* classes. This leaves three remaining opportunities throughout WEF for a rider to automatically qualify for the finals.

Each show offering the USEF Talent Search class is ranked between a 1* through a 3*, with a 3* being the most challenging. In the 1* and 2* classes, both the flat and jumping phases must be held in either a jumper or an equitation ring. In a 3* class, the jumping phase must be held in a main grand prix ring. The fences of a 2* class reach a height of 1.15m and the course must include both a filled liver pool and a water-filled jump. Riders who seek to qualify for the East Coast finals must ribbon in a 2* or a 3* class and accumulate 90 points. For both the West and East Coast final, a rider will be automatically qualified by winning a 3* class.

© Morgan McClelland: Coco faith Class ActCoco Fath and Class Action – Second Place

© Morgan McClelland: Lolly Mclellan
Lolly McLellan and Play It Again – Third Place

© Morgan McClelland: Yasmin Rizvi
Yasmin Rizvi and Canny Windsor Z – Fourth Place

Results: Platinum Performance USEF Show Jumping Talent Search 2*

1. Mckayla Langmeier and Calberon B
2. Coco Fath and Class Action
3. Lolly McLellan and Play It Again
4. Yasmin Rizvi and Canny Windsor Z
5. Madison Goetzmann and Gember
6. Taylor St. Jacques and Di Samorano
7. Alex Beneson and Skara Glen’s Prologue
8. Kaitlyn Lovingfoss and Hasta La Vista

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