The U.S. Hunter Jumper Association on Thursday announced the 16 athletes and four stable managers selected to participate in the 12th annual Lindsay Maxwell Charitable Fund/USHJA Emerging Athletes Program National Training Session. This year’s session will be held Nov. 10-13 at the University of Findlay in Findlay, Ohio, led by Olympic show jumper Peter Wylde and stable management expert Colleen Reed.

This year, 190 athletes participated in 11 regional training sessions held nationwide, receiving five days of mounted and unmounted instruction. Based on the recommendations of the riding and stable management clinicians, 16 athletes and a several stable managers are selected to attend the national training session each year. Riders selected for the national training session will vie for the title of champion and a $3,000 grant to be applied toward the cost of advanced training based on their performance in the riding and stable management sessions throughout the week.

The following athletes and stable managers were selected to participate in this year’s national training session:

Athletes

• Timothy Ansley, Round Rock, Texas
• Hannah Belich, Painesville, Ohio
• Afton Chmela, Savannah, Georgia
• Ella Fischer, Cochranville, Pennsylvania
• Michael Golinowski, Burke, Virginia
• Emma Gurley, Rutherfordton, North Carolina
• Amanda Hauser, Madison, Wisconsin
• Camilla Jerng, Woodside, California
• Rebecca Love, Atlanta
• Olivia Murray, LaGrange, Kentucky
• Erin Schalick, Cape May Court House, New Jersey
• Elizabeth Schulz, Marietta, Georgia
• Abbie Storandt, Union, Kentucky
• Lauren Thomas, Kingsport, Tennessee
• Frances Thompson McKenzie, Seattle
• Riley Wright, Westborough, Massachusetts

Stable managers

• Mary Cunningham, Versailles, Kentucky
• Ian McFarlin, Canton, Georgia
• Daniella Teie, Middleburg, Virginia
• Olivia White, Wellington, Florida

EAP athletes are closely observed and evaluated during all phases of the four-day national training session—which includes flat work, gymnastics, related distances and course work, an intensive stable-management curriculum—and through a written test that gauges the horsemanship knowledge each finalist has gained throughout the year. In addition to the competition, finalists will participate in joint educational seminars with USHJA Horsemanship Quiz Challenge Nationals, which is held concurrently.

One rider will be named the overall USHJA EAP National Champion and will receive a $3,000 grant to be applied toward the cost of advanced training, as well as a variety of additional products and gifts from USHJA sponsors. Additionally, two EAP finalists will receive a riding spot at a USHJA Gold Star Clinic of their choice. Part of the USHJA Emerging Jumper Rider Program, these clinics offer horsemanship, stable management, mounted instruction and additional education from top clinicians and athletes.

The Charles “Chuck” Keller Grant for Equestrian Excellence will also be awarded to one EAP national training session participant for the purpose of furthering their equestrian training in pursuit of equestrian excellence. The USHJA EAP Committee will select the recipient of this $500 grant, made possible by an anonymous donation, based on the care and handling of horses, treatment of horses while mounted and level of personal interaction with clinicians, peers and spectators.

For more information on the Lindsay Maxwell Charitable Fund/USHJA Emerging Athletes Program National Training Session, visit ushja.org/EAP.