Horsesdaily News: USEF Talent Search Finals West

USEF Talent Search Finals West

Burbank, CA - “This is show jumping,” exclaimed George Morris as 41 riders tackled the stadium jumping phase of the 2007 USEF Talent Search Finals West at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center (September 19-23). Unseasonal rain poured throughout the day, and to make matters worse, a severe power outage meant that the Los Angeles Equestrian Center was without electricity for most of the weekend. However, the USEF Talent Search riders had to compete in the adverse conditions, much like their counterparts do when representing the United States at various international competitions. “This is how jumping is,” said Morris as he hunkered down in his rain coat. “This is Dublin, this is Aachen, this is Spruce Meadows. This is what it is like to be a real show jumping rider.”

The riders braved the rain and the top riders put in stellar performances. Navona Gallegos held the lead going in to the stadium jumping phase, but three refusals put her out of contention. Tina Dilandri stepped up to the plate. After winning the gymnastics phase, she put in an aggressive, but stylish show jumping round to take the lead. Joining her in the top four were Natalie Rae Medlock, Allison LaJoie and Michelle Morris.

The top four riders jumped a shortened course on their own horses, and then they each rode the other horses. Previous scores were erased and they started from zero. The competition quickly became between Dilandria, who rides as a 15 year old and is emerging as a top junior rider, and Medlock, who at 20 rides like a professional and competed in her first grand prix this past summer. Both LaJoie and Morris had a few mistakes that placed them third and fourth respectively.

Dilandri was a bit conservative on two of her horses, while Medlock put in one excellent round after another. “She rides like a professional,” declared Morris. “I like her forward, soft, yet determined style of riding,” said Jeffrey Welles, who assisted Morris in judging the competition.

Trainers Hap Hansen and Leslie Steele joined Medlock for the win photo. Hansen was doubly honored when his horse, Y2K was honored as the Best Horse of the competition. The top four riders concurred with the judges’ decision as they all agreed that Y2K was their favorite as well.

“George told us in the riders’ meeting not to be perfect and get caught up in the picture. He reminded us to ride,” said Medlock of her experiences in the four phase competition. “He told us to be definite, and I knew I had to go to Plan B if necessary to make things work,” said Michelle Morris. “I think this class shows true horsemanship.” “You really have to adapt,” added Dilandri. “It shows a true test of a rider’s ability.”

While the USEF Talent Search Finals was a highlight of the 24th annual Los Angeles International Jumping Festival, the severe rain combined with the extended power outage was devastating to the show. After meeting with his key show staff and the key staff of the Los Angeles Equestrian Center, Larry Langer made the difficult decision to cancel the show. With the exception of three jumper classes that ran on Saturday morning, all of the weekend’s classes, including the $50,000 Los Angeles International Grand Prix were cancelled. Robert Ridland, an FEI representative said he would contact John Roche at the FEI to discuss the ramifications and options caused by the cancellation since the grand prix served as a World Cup qualifier.

“I have been putting on horse shows since I was 15 years old,” said Show Chairman Larry Langer. “I have never had to cancel in the middle of a show. I have never seen anything like this. If we just had to deal with the rain, we could have made the show work. If we just had to deal with the extended power outage, we could have made the show work. The fact that we had both situations made it impossible to hold the show.” There was no way to notify all of the ticket holders for the sold out grand prix, so parking staff had to break the news as cars began to stream in on Saturday evening.

Despite the disappointment of cancelling the balance of the show, everyone enjoyed beautiful weather and keen competition the first three days of the show. Elizabeth Dickinson won the USEF Zones 8, 9 and 10 Adult Regional Equitation Class. Laura Wasserman’s Red Label (Archie Cox, rider/trainer) took the Conformation Hunter championship, while Keri Kampsen piloted Lexus (Fastball Farm LLC) to the Regular Woking Hunter championship. In preparation for the grand prix, Rich Fellers won the $5,000 Welcome Stake aboard Flexible (Harry & Molly Chapman). Since many of the sections could not be completed, a majority of the show championships were not awarded.

Complete results are online at: www.langershows.com.