The first day of the 2010 Adequan FEI North American Junior and Young Rider Championship presented by Gotham North kicked off at the Kentucky Horse Park’s Main Stadium July 29 with individual qualifiers beginning the competition for jumpers.

The NAJYRC features riders from North America (United States, Canada, and Mexico), and is considered an important contributor to future international competitions, such as the Olympic Games and World Cup Finals.

In the junior individual results, the United States had seven of the top 10 riders and while the Canadian teams had three.

The winner of the individual junior qualifier was Zone 4 rider Frances Land aboard Merlin, with the pair scoring a 80.41 with zero faults. Taking second was Alberta, Canada’s Jasmine Wiggins (Alberta) riding Little Milton, scoring an 85.34 with zero faults. Ben Asselin, representing Alberta, Canada, took third riding Lolita with a score of 90.0 and zero faults.

The young rider individual qualifiers followed the junior competition. The United States again dominated with seven of the top 10 finishers followed by Mexico with two and Canada with one.

Zone 2 rider Reed Kessler, aboard Mika, won the competition with a score of 86.97 and eight faults. Mexico’s Alberto Balas and Sylvana, representing Mexico, took second with a score of 87.29 with zero faults. Finishing third was Canadian (Alberta) representative Marshall Whyte, aboard Quinlan, with a score of 87.87 and four faults.

The awards ceremony ended with the United State’s National Anthem being played to an excited stadium. Afterward, the top 10 qualifiers took a victory lap around the ring to celebrate their accomplishment.

The 25 best-placed athletes according to the cumulative penalties of the first and second qualifying competitions will be in the final individual competition August 1.

The final medals in each discipline will be awarded during the closing ceremonies August 1 at the horse park’s Main Stadium.

This is the second consecutive year NAJYRC has been held at the Kentucky Horse Park, which will host the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games September 25-October 10.

The United States Hunter Jumper Association Headquarters are located at 3870 Cigar Lane, Lexington, KY 40511. Phone: (859) 225-6700 Fax: (859) 258-9033 Website: www.ushja.org.