Traverse City, Mich. – U.S. athlete Baylee McKeever clinched the final gold medal at the 2023 Gotham North FEI North American Youth Jumping Championships Presented by USHJA, bringing this year’s event to an exciting conclusion at Flintfields Horse Park.

Photo:  Baylee McKeever and Formidable at 2023 NAYC FEI Young Riders Jumping Individual Championship.  (©Matt Turer_US Equestrian)

Baylee McKeever (Brewster, N.Y.) came into the final two rounds ready to fight for clear rounds with her own Formidable, a 2010 KWPN mare.

“I was just trying to take it jump by jump, and obviously try not to get caught up in how the other class was going,” said McKeever. “I just wanted to focus on my round and how my horse was going—everything I could control because I can’t control anything else.”

McKeever has been riding Formidable since January of 2022, who she received as a graduation gift from her trainer, McLain Ward.

“I’d say we have a pretty strong partnership,” said McKeever. “She’s special to me. She kind of brought me up the levels from the medium juniors all the way up to here.”

Her Coaches Helped Keep Her Calm And Focused

McKeever said her coaches helped keep her calm and focused ahead of the final round where she entered in gold-medal contention.

“My trainer was talking about how nice it was that we were in this situation,” McKeever said. “Everyone wants to be at the top and you’re going to lose sometimes, and it’s just where you are right now. You just have to appreciate that.”

Augusta Iwasaki (Calabasas, Calif.) stayed near the top of the standings throughout the week, and finished with the individual silver medal riding Fresca, a 2010 KWPN mare owned by Chris Iwasaki and Elizabeth Reilly.

Team Day Was Incredible

“She’s been amazing all week,” Iwasaki said of her horse. “This is my first championship with her, and my first championship in general. Team day was incredible. It kind of caught me by surprise; I wasn’t expecting it to go so well, so that was really amazing. Today I wanted to just have consistent rounds. She’s not a super hot horse to begin with, so I knew I was running out of steam a little bit, but she was amazing and she really fought for me, so I couldn’t be happier.”

Canada’s William Martin finished with the bronze medal riding Ricore Courcelle, a 2008 Selle Français gelding owned by Lesley Martin.

“It was a super week for Canada. It’s been a while since we won [team Young Rider gold],” said Martin. “Winning the team gold medal is a great feeling and I was just happy to put in a few clear rounds to help that, and fortunately I ended up in bronze position overall.”

2023 FEI NAYC Junior Jumping Individual Results

Gold: Baylee McKeever and Formidable (Zone 2)
Silver: Augusta Iwasaki and Fresca (Zone 10)
Bronze: William Martin and Ricore Courcelle (Canada)

Full Results

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