Parker, Colo.—July 30

 All three North American countries were represented on the podium in the FEI Junior Individual test. Leading the charge was U.S. rider Jenna Upchurch on her horse Greystoke, taking the gold medal with a score of 70.63 percent.

Jenna Upchurch riding Greystoke. Photo by Ann Glavan.

“Winning gold, that’s something you dream about from the minute you find out about these championships,” Upchurch said. “It was huge for me, and it’s always been a dream of mine, so this is wonderful.” Upchurch just barely nosed out Canadian rider Vanessa Creech on Fleur de Lis L, who took silver with a score of 70.18 percent.

Vanessa Creech-Terauds riding Fleur de Lis L. Photo by Ann Glavan.

Bronze went to the only rider representing Mexico in the dressage competition at NAJYRC, Carlos Maldonado Lara, who rode Massimo to a score of 69.97 percent.

“To come here and have this huge venue, and all these other disciplines, and then have Mexico and the United States and Canada on the podium together is kind of surreal to think about,” he said. 

Carlos Maldonado Lara riding Massimo. Photo by Ann Glavan.

Upchurch doesn’t have the most conventional background for a pure dressage rider—she started riding in two different disciplines before finding her place in the sandbox.

“I actually started as a hunter/jumper rider, that’s what I did for the first five years of my riding,” Upchurch, 18, said. “I think I’ve been riding 12 years.”

Based in Chesterfield, Mo., Upchurch’s next discipline shift started with a phone a call.

“I had one of my mom’s friends from high school actually call kind of out of the blue, and said, ‘Oh you should come try this horse,’ ” Upchurch said.

That horse was an 18-year-old Arabian named Takho.

“We went and tried Takho, and we got him and kind of did a little bit of hunter pleasure and training level dressage,” Upchurch said. “The dressage just kind of took off. I liked how detail-oriented it is, and I love the challenge of it. It’s great.”

Upchurch trains with Martin Kuhn out of StarWest Farm in New Berlin, Ill., a two-hour commute from her home in the St. Louis suburbs.

“I bought a younger horse that I started with a trainer myself and brought him up,” Upchurch said. “Then we ended up buying Greystoke in December, and it’s kind of been an interesting transition going from the hunter/jumpers to Arabian circuit to open dressage. Last year I was lucky to be able to lease a horse to be able to come here, and that was a good experience, and I just kind of hopped up different levels until I got here!”

Upchurch and Greystoke take a victory lap after their gold medal finish. Photo by Ann Glavan.

Upchurch will compete again with Greystoke at NAJYRC on Sunday to contend for an individual freestyle medal.

Hansen Finishes NAJYRC Hat Trick

In the FEI Young Rider freestyle, Nicholas Hansen scored his third gold of the week with Ritter Benno (72.12%). Rebekah Mingari earned silver aboard Elzarma TF (69.32%), and Emily Fergusson rode Wrazzmatazz to bronze (68.92%). 

“It’s something I didn’t expect would happen, but the horse worked his heart out, and I rode as hard as I possibly could, as diligent as I possibly could, and it’s amazing to see your hard work pay off,” he said.

Nick Hansen and Ritter Benno. Photo by Lisa Slade.

For his music, Hansen chose tracks from old and new Star Wars films. 

“The way we put it together was that the beginning is the original music from the third movie, and then we worked through as the freestyle continues, the music gets newer and newer,” said Hansen, 21. “The final finish is the brand new score. I thought it’d be fun; it’s something a little different. 

“I would say the part of the test I’m most happy with was the final [trot] extension to the halt,” he continued. “From the corner he took me to the centerline. I didn’t say go. He took me right to the halt at X.”

Rebekah Mingari and Elzarma TF. Photo by Lisa Slade.

This was Mingari’s first time on the podium this week with the 7-year-old Elzarma TF. 

“I had a really awesome ride today,” she said. “My mare really put her heart out for me. The music was her dam’s [Allure S], and she used it for her Intermediaire I freestlye, so we tweaked it to fit hers. We’ve been having issues with our three tempis in every test this week, but tonight we did it. She gave me five perfect threes in a straight line.”