The Event at Rebecca Farm results

California duo takes top honors at Kalispell equestrian event

The Area V Junior team adopted a trademark Texan attitude to 'Get It Done' and take the lead after dressage in the first day of mounted competition at the Adequan/FEI North American Junior and Young Rider Championships hosted this year by The Event at Rebecca Farm in Kalispell.

The team, comprised of riders from Texas and Louisiana, competed throughout the day against six other teams from across the United States and Canada. Ringside, cheers could be heard across the arena as excited teammates celebrated and supported each other. Last to go for Area V, in the anchor position, McKinsey Wickman and Dassett Profile fought against nerves to produce the best test of the day, scoring 43.1 penalties.

 McKinsey Wickman on Dassett Profile  Photo courtesy of official event photographer, Shannon Brinkman Photography

McKinsey Wickman on Dassett Profile 
Photo courtesy of official event photographer, Shannon Brinkman Photography

"I was extremely nervous, but overall I was happy with how we both dealt with the nerves. He was super soft and supple and did everything I asked of him. I can't be any more proud of my horse," said Wickman. "I think this has been a dream of mine for the last nine years. A year ago today we were still doing Training Level. There has been a lot of learning and ups and downs but I am really proud of where we are today and how hard we worked to get here. It just means a lot to me."

 Team members Kit Ferguson (Yoshi), Adriana Beruvides (Consensus), Arden Stephens (Ultra T), and Wickman edged out the northeastern U.S. team from Area I of Natasha Knight (Harbour the Truth), William Jarrell (Grey Area), Sloane Pierpont (Indie), and Erica Jarrell (Uni Sprite), totaling 140.0 penalties to 146.4 to take the late lead. Area III teammates Carson Richards (Sandhills Brillaire), Maddie McElduff (Loughnatousa Caislean), Ivie Cullen-Dean (Five-star), and Gigi Hogan (Samba Dromo) from the southeastern U.S. are a close third with a score of 150.1 after today's dressage.
 
The leaderboard saw Area V teammates McKinsey Wickman and Arden Stephens finish in first and third positions on scores of 43.1 and 45.1 respectively. Megan Loughnane (Linford) riding as an individual from the eastern seaboard states of Area II, held the morning lead on a score of 45.0 until being edged out by Wickman later in the afternoon.
The NAJYRC teams and individuals will tackle Ian Stark's beautifully presented cross country course on Saturday. Area V team member Ryan Hall remarked about the course, "There are a lot of combinations, I'm excited to see the difficulty of the course. Maybe it will be influential this year and I'm excited about that, because going out on cross country, it's like 'Get it Done!'. It's tough but I'd rather not see it just be dressage competition."
 
Hall continued, "It's going to be exciting, it's going to be fun, but It's also going to be a little stressful, there are some combinations that will be a little bit difficult, but that is the whole point of this championship. The decorations, oh my gosh! And the technicality. Coming from Texas we are just sheltered. Its lovely to have this much decoration put into a course."

In The Event at Rebecca Farm international CCI1* division, Rebecca Braitling riding Lauren Burnell's Santana II exhibited a precise test to take the lead over Sara Sellmer and Amy Click's Rubia, who scored 44.7. Haley Dwight and her own Donna Mira are in third place with a score of 47.5.

 

The popular Training and Novice Three-Day divisions, which test a more comprehensive level of fitness and training of horse and rider for the level completed the dressage phase, with top rides achieved by Leah Forquer and Ainsleigh Mitchell's Chance Affair leading the Training Three-Day A division on a score of 26.8. Finishing on top in the Training Three-Day B division with a score of 23.4  is Jordan Lindstedt and Janine Jaro's Staccato, and Kate Helffrich and her own Coquette round out the top of the three-day divisions, leading the Novice Three-Day on a 25.5.

 

Admission for this family-friendly spectator event is free, with full concessions and a large multi-interest trade fair, as well as a free Kid Zone that includes pony rides, PonyUp! (Horsemanship 101 classes for kids), face painting, arts and crafts, bounce houses and more. A one-time, recommended $10 parking donation per car to support Halt Cancer at X.

 

To access Rebecca Farm, from the junction of Highways 93 & 2, travel 2 miles north on Highway 93 to Reserve Loop and go west 2 miles, then south on W. Springcreek Rd. The entrance is 3/4 mile on the right.

 

For more information, visit www.rebeccafarm.org.

 

Remaining Schedule

 

Friday, July 21, 8 a.m.- 6 p.m.

Dressage phase all day. CCI2*, CIC3*, CCI3*. CICOY2* (Young Riders). Senior and Junior Open Training.

Cross-Country phase all day. Preliminary, Open Intermediate, Training 3-Day, Novice 3-Day. Junior Ospen Training.

Show Jumping all day: Junior & Senior Open Novice.

Junior & Senior Open Training.

Trade Fair & Food Vendors: 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.

Halt Cancer at X Challenge:  5:30 p.m. in Arena 1

 

Saturday, July 22, 8 a.m. -6 p.m.

Cross-Country phase all day. All FEI levels. CH-J CCI*. CICOY2*.

Show Jumping: Open Intermediate. Open Preliminary. Junior Open Preliminary. Junior Open Training. Training 3-Day Novice 3-Day.

Trade Fair & Food Vendors: 10 a.m. -6 p.m.

Kid Zone: 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.

 

Sunday, July 23, 8 a.m. - 6 p.m.

Show Jumping phase all day. All FEI levels. CH-J CCI*. CICOY2*.

Final Horse Inspection: 8 a.m.

Trade Fair & Food Vendors: 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.

Kid Zone: 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.

Rebecca Farm to Market 5k: 9 a.m.

ABOUT THE EVENT AT REBECCA FARM

The Event at Rebecca Farm presented by Montana Equestrian Events is held every July in Kalispell, Montana. One of the largest equestrian triathlon in the United States, The Event is also considered to have some of the world's finest scenery. Each year it draws hundreds of riders of all levels, from amateur to Olympians.

 

The Event at Rebecca Farm features ten courses ranging from novice to Olympian qualifier, which were originally developed by world-renowned course designer, Mark Phillips. In 2012, Scottish equestrian Ian Stark redesigned the Rebecca Farm courses. Known for his immense contributions to Eventing, Stark has won multiple Olympic medals and was inducted into the Scottish Sports Hall of Fame in 2010.


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