A new era in the 43-year history of the Platinum Performance/U.S. Equestrian Federation Show Jumping Talent Search Finals began this weekend.
The “Final Four,” in which the top quartet of competitors would jump a course on their own mounts and then with each of the other riders’ horses, has been scrapped. That development followed the lead of the World Show Jumping Championships, which originated the concept, then considered it outmoded after the 2014 World Equestrian Games.
Instead, the top 10 riders from the Talent Search East field of 33 — winnowed out over two days by flat work, gymnastics and a show jumping round –came back on their own horses for a final test over a new route. That segment was ridden and judged similarly to a jump-off, with a time allowed and points for rollbacks, leaving out strides and similar strategies.
It enabled the judges/course designers, Olympic medalist Chris Kappler and rider/trainer Michael Tokaruk, to place the riders with the goal of the class in mind, as a step toward preparing team prospects who can someday represent the U.S. in international competition.
If there had been betting on the class at the U.S. Equestrian Team Foundation headquarters in Gladstone, N.J., the odds-on favorite would have been JJ Torano. And the 16-year-old superstar didn’t disappoint.
JJ Torano with his parents, Jimmy and Danielle Torano, Missy Clark, John Brennan, Maggie Gamfert, Eleanor Rudnicki and judges Michael Tokaruk and Chris Kappler.
Although going into the final round he enjoyed a big lead, which was compared to having a fence in hand, JJ didn’t have the top score in each round on Oak Grove’s Carlyle.
Adriana Forte on Commander Bond earned the winning mark of 95 in the first two phases, while JJ was one point behind in both the flat and gymnastics segments. That put Adriana 2.5 points ahead of him going into Sunday morning’s jumping. But after that segment, JJ soared with the top mark of 94, while Adriana had a rail down to earn 85.5. He went into the final segment with a total score of 423 after a multiplier was applied, while she had 408.5.
Talent Search runner-up Adriana Forte at the water.
Team members need to exercise judgment and restraint when they’re competing to represent their country. JJ demonstrated those qualities by not going all out in the final phase. There was no need to.
“I didn’t totally want to take all chances,” explained JJ, who competed in the Young Riders classes at Aachen during the summer. So he went easy on the speed and rollbacks with his mount, a former 5-star jumper. He wound up on a score of 87 for that phase, which was won by Parker Peacock with 94. But his total for the competition was 597, to Adriana’s 584.5. Third went to Baylee Rowan, with 580.75. She also won the Hollow Brook Wealth Management Sportsmanship Award, and her mount, Watermelon, took the Grappa award as the Best Horse of the final.
Baylee Rowan and Grappa Award winner Watermelon.
It was JJ’s third time competing in the Talent Search.
“The first year, to be honest, I felt a little bit like a fish out of water here,” he recalled.
“I was a little bit overwhelmed,” noted JJ, who finished fourth that time.
Having already won a series of championships, including the USEF Medal and ASPCA Maclay, there’s little left for him to do on the equitation roster. All that’s left is the Washington International class this month. Then, he said, it will be time for him to focus entirely on the jumpers.
But the Talent Search (which is far more jumper-oriented than focused on equitation) is a major milestone.
“It’s definitely a good feeling knowing that people like McLain (Ward), who have represented the U.S. on the biggest stage, have won this final. So I hope to make it there one day,” he said.
JJ, the son of rider/trainers Jimmy and Danielle Torano, had lots of support. He is trained by the team from North Run, which includes Missy Clark; her husband, John Brennan and Maggie Gampfer.
“What he’s accomplished at his age is, I’d say, fairly unparalleled,” said Missy. In addition, she cited, “The fact that he’s able to play ball and beat the big boys when he goes in the jumper ring.”
Missy, who also co-trained last year’s winner, Eleanor Rudnicki, appreciates the changed Talent Search format.
“We’re in a new world, 2026. It’s a new era. Horses are very very valuable,” she said, citing one reason why a catch riding competition is no longer viable.
“I think the format was very good, especially for this event. It’s about jumper riding, it’s not hunter seat equitation. That mindset is not applicable to this. The new format will accentuate that even a little more. Some people could have rolled their dice a little more heavily, some played it a little safe because they were thinking equitation,” she noted, critiquing the final phase.
Judge Michael noted, “A nice part of this weekend was you could see some good progression, even if there’s still some mistakes. I think overall the riders and horses are better now than they were before they started.”
One fan of the new format is Peter Wylde, who coached eighth-place Eleanor Pieters (Eleanor’s grandfather, Joe Dotoli, had been Peter’s trainer).
Peter actually rode in the Final Four at the 2002 WEG, where he earned individual bronze, but doesn’t see the Final Four concept as “applicable.”
What’s important, he explained, is “The work that you do with your horse.”
He called all the riders in the top 10 “amazing. You can see these kids representing the U.S. in the future. These are good riders. We should be proud as a country that we have this talent that can ride as sophisticated as is asked for them to ride.”
And there’s more! The West Coast segment of the Talent Search will be held in California this December with the same judges.
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