Two nights, two big courses netted Hillary Dobbs two gold medals. A member of the Prix Des States winning Zone 2 team on Friday, Dobbs, 18, returned to take Individual Gold in the third phase of the Adequan/USEF Junior Jumper Championship at the Pennsylvania National Horse Show.
Riders accrue faults through each phase of the three part series. Dobbs distinguished herself from the field of 30 by being one of three faultless riders coming into the final phase. Tied after the first round with Maggie McAlary, Dobbs rode the jump-off course first. All was well with Quincy B until the final fence, a narrow, 4’7”vertical where he tagged a rail.
“He’s a small horse, under 16 hands, but he has a big stride,” said Dobbs. “He’s very sure footed and I can count on his scope (athleticism) as well as his courage. We were going for it and I needed to reel him in a bit. We just had so much momentum.
He’s fit and fresh despite two nights of tough competition.”
She was resigned to silver, when McAlary’s mount Pedro toppled the rail of the third jump of the jump-off. Pedro and McAlary didn’t make any further mistakes, but didn’t go quite as fast as Dobbs and Quincy B. Three-tenths of a second separated their respective performances and yielded gold for Dobbs.
“It was the best surprise. I am totally thrilled,” she said.
Maggie McAlary seemed to take the silver in stride. “My horse went easy. I used the course to his advantage and I don’t ever worry about time faults,” she said evenly.
Bronze medal winner, Kristen Vanderveen of Elburn, IL turned in the fastest of all times. Her mount, Bradberry, whom she leases from Double H Farms, is a bold, little chestnut. Fortunately, they are well suited to one another. Vanderveen didn’t watch the other riders’ trips, because “their horses are so different from mine, watching just messes up my plans,” she said. Theirs was a clear round as was the fourth place finisher, Julie Welles and Felizdesnoues.
Welles also won the William C. Steinkraus “Style” Trophy commemorating the junior jumper rider whose riding style mirrors Steinkraus’ style. Twice in the three nights of competition Welles felled the last rail of the course.
Big jumping behind them, the juniors will next compete for the prestigious USEF/Pessoa Hunter Seat Equitation Medal. More than 250 riders, representing the top qualifying riders from across the country, will vie for this award Sunday.
The field down to 20 by late afternoon, the evening program at the Farm Show Arena will begin at 7 P.M.
USEF JUNIOR JUMPER CHAMPIONSHIPS
1 QUINCY B Hillary Dobbs Zone 2 0 6 2.987 4 0 0 2 0.00 73.592 0.00 4.00 36.697
2 PEDRO Maggie McAlary Zone 1 0 6 2.534 2 0 0 1 0.00 71.434 0.00 4.00 36.923
3 BRADBERRY Kristen Vanderveen Zone 5 0 6 3.550 7 4 4 28 4.00 67.692 8.00 0.00 32.700
4 FELIX DES NOUES Julie Welles Zone 1 0 5 9.374 1 4 4 27 4.00 73.362 8.00 0.00 34.146
5 ORLEY Kels Bonham Zone 7 4 6 8.466 17 4 8 26 1.00 76.400 9.00
6 LOUISIANA Sloane Coles Zone 3 0 6 3.399 6 0 0 25 12.00 70.557 12.00
7 OMONA A W Carolyn Kelly Zone 2 4 6 4.444 16 4 8 24 4.00 72.564 12.00
8 KADORIJKE Alex Parrish Zone 5 0 6 6.691 10 8 8 23 4.00 73.339 12.00
9 ANNA KARENINA Amber Levine Zone 10 0 6 5.806 8 12 12 22 4.00 75.143 16.00
10 JUBULENT Haylie Jayne Zone 1 0 6 3.018 5 8 8 21 12.00 70.582 20.00
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