38 • THE PLAID HORSE
The Road to the WIHS Equitation Finals Each year, the top junior equestrians from around the nation compete with goals of qualifying for four major equitation finals, including the coveted Washington International Horse Show (WIHS) Equitation Finals. Winning a final is the pinnacle of every junior rider’s career, and once again this year, WIHS will see the nation’s best young talent compete to add their name to the history books.
the top ten riders switch horses – in order to determine the overall winner.
ANDRE DIGNELLI, VICKI LOWELL, AND PATRICIA GRIFFITH. PHOTO © REX REED.
Madden trained grand prix show jumper Brianne Goutal to her junior career wins in all four major equitation finals, and he understands the importance of each final, as well as the different qualification requirements.
Each championship is different, and each competition features a unique format that makes it distinctly challenging. One of the greatest honors a junior rider can achieve, a win in the WIHS Equitation Finals is no easy task. Just qualifying for the event is a major feat. Riders compete all year to earn points, and only the top 40 riders in the country (30 from the East Coast League and 10 from the West Coast League) are invited to travel to the nation’s capital to contest the final prize. They then compete in three rounds of competition – a hunter phase, a jumper phase, and a final work-off in which
With 40 coveted spots on the line, the top trainers around the country make it a priority to put their riders in WIHS qualifying classes early in the season. Riders try to accumulate as many points as they can at the start of the year and then perform consistently throughout the summer, to assure their qualification for the Finals in October.
MISSY CLARK AND GRAPPA. PHOTO © ALEX THOMAS.
Many of the East Coast trainers use the 12week Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) in Wellington, Fla., to get their riders in the ring as much as possible from January through March and rack up points for the WIHS Equitation Finals early in the year. Frank Madden of Old Salem Farm in North Salem, N.Y., Missy Clark of North Run in Warren, Vt., and Andre Dignelli of Heritage Farm in Katonah, N.Y., are three top equitation trainers who know what it takes to get their riders to the winner’s circle.
“The Washington Equitation Final is the newest final of the four majors,” Madden noted. “Only one rider in history has won all four finals and that was Brianne Goutal. The way you qualify for that class is a little different than all the others, with a group from the West Coast and East Coast, and the two phases - a jumper phase and hunter phase. Your more advanced equitation riders make it a goal to get to those finals and be competitive because they want to try to win all four finals. “If you are a rider who thinks you’re able
LILLIE KEENAN AND ANDRE DIGNELLI. PHOTO © ELENA LUSENTI. FRANK MADDEN. PHOTO © LINDSAY BROCK, JUMP MEDIA LLC.