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Lexington, VA—August 5, 2006 – Both Areas II and I&III posted all double clear cross-country rounds today to maintain their overnight tie for the lead in the CCI** championship. The Area II team consists of Stephanie Boyer on Macloud, Ashley Adams on Vaunted, Emilee Libby on Golden Malt, and Alexandra Zavoyna on Merloch.

Zavoyna is currently leading the individual standings as well. (Alexandra and Merloch are pictured at the right jumping a drop at the Morven Park Horse Trials this spring.)

The Area I&III team consists of Dana Widstrand on Relentless Pursuit, Rebecca Barron on Oberon IV and Kate Luce on Fox in Flight.

Rebecca Barron moved up to second individually. Overnight individual leader Jessica Di Genova of Ontario, Canada posted 4.0 time faults, dropping her into third place individually (52.1), followed closely by Ashley Adams (52.3). It will be a close competition in tomorrow’s show jumping phase.

Di Genova said that her mare, who is a warmblood/thoroughbred cross, is not a fast horse and often has trouble making the time at the two-star level. “Maybe if I’d stayed closer to the ropes in a couple places we could have shaved off a couple seconds; but, she couldn’t have gone faster,” she said. “She jumped awesome, though, and her fitness was better than I expected. She was hot when we came into the box but her heart rate was normal in ten minutes and her temperature was normal in 20 minutes.”

Veterinarian Chris Newton, of Lexington, KY, said that the horses recovered well in general, and perhaps quicker today than yesterday, which he attributed to a decrease in humidity and the fact that today’s horses did not do a long-format event.

The new leader, Alexandra Zavoyna, 17, of Unionville, PA in Area IV is delighted by her current standing with her New Zealand-bred gelding, Merloch. A student of Bonnie Mosser, Zavoyna has had her horse for nearly three years and they have come up through the levels together.

“He was a good jumper when I got him but he wasn’t as experienced on the flat,” she recalls. “It took a good month for me to figure him out; in jumping it’s always been good if I just let him do his thing. If he has a rail in show jumping tomorrow it’ll be because I got in his face too much.”

Last year Zavoyna was on the gold medal winning team and previously she finished third in the non-championship CCI*. “It’s incredible being on a team,” she said. “Steve and DC McBroom, our team managers, make it a fun experience. Our training camp at The Fork (in North Carolina) was a lot of work but a lot of fun, too. We’re here to do well, but also to have fun and to have a lot of stories to tell later.”

Cross-country proved challenging; but, not overly so: out of 19 starters, one horse, Acacia Brush’s Bru Maguire, retired after a fall while every other horse completed the course, and eleven of them without adding any faults to their dressage score. Three horses had refusals and six added time faults to their scores.

Ashley Adams, 20, said she was tremendously pleased with her horse Vaunted, an off-the-track thoroughbred that she has brought up through the levels. A former working student for Kim Severson, Adams now works for trainer Holly Hepp, in Southern Pines, NC, as well as part-time work at other farms in the area. She has dedicated herself to eventing and said that she is enjoying the competition and spending time with her teammates. Still, she admits, “This is my vacation time and I am getting up before 5:00am every morning. I’d really like a shower and a nap!”

Adams, who also competed in the two-star championship last year, said that she liked the course. Last year she had a fall at the corner so she rode to that fence with extra determination this year and posted a double clear round.

Katlyn McMorris Leads CCI*

In the CCI*, Area IV held their lead with four double clear rounds from members Meachan Marinovich on Ahlerich, Callie Judy on Kilkenny Castle, Cassidy Lundmark on What’s Shakin’ and Katlyn McMorris on Clifton Peekachu, the latter pair leading the individual standings on their dressage score of 40.7. Second is Cassidy Lundmark, of Barrington Hills, IL, who has a two-phase score of 51 on What's Shakin'. Third is Melissa Miller, of Hamilton, OH, who has 51.2 penalties on Schotchfelder's Fantasy.

“Pikachu is a superstar,” said McMorris. “He’s taught me so much.” McMorris, of Barrington Hills, IL, said her horse came out of the barns feeling good this morning. “In the warmup he was swapping his leads and jumping up and down,” she said. “He was so ‘on’ on cross-country – he’s pretty game.” Looking toward tomorrow, she said, “I do get nervous going into show jumping; but, he’s super, so it’s on me to give him a good ride.”

The Canadians claimed another win – though not another medal – in an already successful weekend when Kendal Lehari and Understudy won the non-championship, long format CCI* today after a clear show jumping round.

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Press Release fromthe US Equestrian Federation

In eventing, Alexandra Zavoyna, of Unionville, PA, jumped a fault-free show jumping round on Merloch to win the Gold medal in the CCI** Young Rider Championship with a final score of 49.2 penalties. Also jumping clear rounds today were Silver medalist Rebecca Barro,of Monticello, FL, riding Oberon IV to a final score of 51.5 and Jessica DiGenova, of Norval, Ontario, who won the Bronze medal on Upolu with a score of 52.1.

“This is my third year to compete at Young Riders’,” said Gold medalist Alexandra Zavoyna, “but it is only the second two-star competition for both Merloch and me. I was thrilled with his dressage, and he’s just a machine on cross-country, but all I could think about heading to my first jump this morning was (last year’s winner) Jessica [Pye] speaking at the Opening Ceremony about doing well for her horse. I just wanted to be up on that podium for Merloch.”

The Gold Medal CCI** team of Area I and Area III was the only team to have every member jump without any faults on cross country and show jumping. The team of Dana Widstrand, of Richmond, MA, on Relentless Pursuit, Rebecca Barron, of Monticello, FL, on Oberon IV, and Kate Luce, of Mobile, AL, on Fox in Flight, was also the only team without a fourth member, so each team member’s score counted toward the team total of 159.2 penalties.

The CCI**Silver Medal went to the team from Area II, Stephanie Boyer, of West Grove, PA, on Macloud; Ashley Adams, of Southern Pines, NC, on Vaunted; Emilee Libby, of Sussex, NJ, on Golden Malt; and Alexandra Zavoyna of Unionville, PA on Merloch with a team total of 171.2.

Canada’s team from Ontario/Alberta won the Bronze Medal in the CCI** with riders Waylan Roberts, of Port Perry, Ontario, on Pale Face; Kelly List, of Bracebridge, Ontario, on Minstral; Laura Thompson, of Red Deer, Alberta, on Quinn; and John Thier, of Lexington, KY, on Everest with a final score of 175.0.

In the CCI* Junior Individual Championship, Gold medal winner Katlyn McMorris, of Barrington Hills, IL, had some breathing room going into show jumping with a 10-point lead. Only one rail down gave Katlyn a final penalty score of 44.7 on Clifton Peekachu. This was the second year the pair had competed at NAJYRC. Clear show jumping rounds moved both Silver and Bronze medalists Jessica Rice and Caitlin Silliman up in the placings. Rice, of Kingsburg, CA, rode I’m So Brite to finish on 51.7 penalties; Silliman, of Paoli, PA, moved up five places with her horse, Twain, finishing with a score of 53.8.

The CCI* Junior Team Championship winner was Area IV. Riders: Meaghan Marinovich of Edina, MI on Ahlerich; Callie Judy, of Columbia, MO, on Kilkenny Castle; Cassidy Lundmark, of Barrington Hills, IL, on What’s Shakin; and Katlyn McMorris, of Barrington Hills, IL, on Clifton Peekachu held their lead from the start, finishing on a team score of 159.6. The team had advice for aspiring young riders hoping to qualify for the championships. “Don't give up,” the girls said in unison. “We have learned so much and had so much fun meeting each other and becoming a team.” The Silver medal went to the Area VI and Area VIII team with a score of 168.2 and Area II won the Bronze with a score of 170.4.