Upperville, Va. – June 9, 2018 – Junior competition got underway on Saturday at the Upperville Colt & Horse Show (UCHS), presented by St. Bride’s Farm, where equitation riders vied for valuable qualifying points towards this year’s coveted indoor finals in the fall. In the GW & Wade Jumper Ring II, Emma Pacyna and Maverick Helmer impressed the judges over fences and on the flat to claim top honors in the Platinum Performance/USEF Show Jumping Talent Search 2* and ASPCA Maclay Horsemanship, respectively.
Seventeen-year-old Pacyna from Simi Valley, California, made her first trip to Upperville, Virginia, well worth her while as she and Georgy Maskrey-Segesman’s Casalino, a Holsteiner gelding, navigated the Platinum Performance/USEF Show Jumping Talent Search 2* jumper-style course, designed by Colombia’s Javier Medrano, within the time-allowed and in impeccable form to earn the blue ribbon on Saturday.
The pair also won the Washington International Horse Show (WIHS) Equitation Classic (Jumper Phase) on Friday, receiving the high score of the class, an 85, out of 33 entries. In addition, Pacyna, who trains with Karen Healey, Savannah Jenkins and Maskrey-Segesman, picked up another win on Friday with Cassou, also owned by Maskrey-Segesman, in the VHSA/EMO Insurance Agency Hunter Seat Medal class.
The ASPCA Maclay Horsemanship class, judged by Mike Lowry, kicked off equitation competition for the day on Saturday and saw 29 combinations turn out to compete, but ultimately it was Helmer of Roanoke, Virginia, and Resonate, owned by West Hill, who took home the victory. The 17-year-old, who trains with Stacia Madden at Beacon Hill Show Stables, only just got the ride on the Hanoverian gelding two days ago to compete with at UCHS and the duo proved to be a winning match after their flawless performances on Saturday.
Another top junior equitation exhibitor at UCHS this week was Elli Yeager, who recently won the prestigious R.W. “Ronnie” Mutch Equitation Championship high-point award at the Devon Horse Show just two weeks ago, and her own Alant. The pair secured the Dover Saddlery/USEF Hunter Seat Medal class on Friday and the WIHS Equitation Classic (Hunter Phase) on Saturday.
The overall WIHS Equitation winner on Saturday was Ava Stearns on Lauren Hough’s Mac One III, who placed second in both the jumper and hunter phases behind Pacyna and Yeager.
Junior hunter champions will be crowned on the final day of the 2018 UCHS on Sunday, while the 165th anniversary of the oldest horse show in America will culminate with the $216,000 Upperville Jumper Classic CSI4*, sponsored by Lugano Diamonds and Mr. and Mrs. Michael A. Smith, at 3 p.m. in Jumper Ring I.
FROM THE WINNER’S CIRCLE
Emma Pacyna – Platinum Performance/USEF Show Jumping Talent Search 2* winner
On her win in Saturday’s Platinum Performance/USEF Show Jumping Talent Search 2*:
“The course was a good course. It was very on the flow. My plan was just to go in and be efficient. My horse was great. He is perfect for that job — he’s an amazing horse. I’ve been riding him for about five months. We’re planning on doing indoors together.”
On her first experience at the Upperville Colt & Horse Show and what’s next:
“It’s so beautiful here, it’s amazing! We go back home for a couple of weeks and then we head to Canada. I have to thank my mom for coming all the way out here to watch me!”
Maverick Helmer – ASPCA Maclay Horsemanship winner
On Saturday’s ASPCA Maclay Horsemanship course:
“The course was very well planned and flowed nicely. There were definitely places to show your style. There were a lot of long approaches, which allowed you to really gallop up to those jumps and show that hunter-y pace. I tried to stick to that plan and show off my horse’s willingness to come forward and then melt back in the more strategic parts so that we were in tune with each other.”
On Resonate:
“This horse is new to me so I’m just trying to figure him out piece by piece. I’ve only been riding him for two days! My trainer, Stacia Madden, was generous enough to give me the opportunity to ride him in a few classes and I decided to take the challenge. It’s been a very fun journey! Piece by piece it’s starting to come together. I’m just riding him at Upperville. I’ve been coming to this show for a number of years since I was young. I love the beauty and the natural aspect of it. This is my home state so it’s like my old stomping grounds, which is fun.”
RESULTS
Platinum Performance/USEF Show Jumping Talent Search 2*:
Place / Horse / Rider
1. Casalino / Emma Pacyna
2. Cris Van De Helle / McKayla Langmeier
3. Heroy Von De Hei / Mimi Gochman
4. Trumpet / Sophie Gochman
5. Wassini / Blair Spencer
6. Campreoll / Ava Ellis
7. Mac One III / Ava Stearns
8. C’est La Vie / Sophie Transou
ASPCA Maclay Horsemanship:
Place / Horse / Rider
1. Resonate / Maverick Helmer
2. Kaskade / Mimi Gochman
3. Ganoso / Tessa P. Brown
4. Jarinka / Farah Rizvi
5. Martel VDL / Alice Kass
6. Cassou / Emma Pacyna
7. Quinn / Grace Saad
8. Acido 7 / James Faloni