The most testing of the national equitation championships, the four-part Platinum Performance/USEF Show Jumping Talent Search Finals East, will be held Oct. 7 and 8 in Gladstone at the U.S Equestrian Team Foundation headquarters off Pottersville Road.
There is no admission fee, so it’s a chance to see how some of the country’s best young riders face the challenges offered by the class. It starts at 8 a.m. Oct. 7 with the flat phase, then moves on at 1 p.m. to the gymnastics section, which is an interesting test of horse and rider. At 8 a.m. Oct. 8, all the riders will jump a course that tests their technical ability. At 1 p.m. that day, the top four will jump a shorter course, then switch off to ride each other’s mounts over the same route.
The class, which has 54 riders qualified to compete will be judged by grand prix riders Jimmy Torano and the 1990 winner McLain Ward, who is representing the U.S. in the FEI Nations’ Cup final the weekend before the Talent Search.