Lexington, Ky. – Nov. 5, 2022 – The final day of show jumping competition at the 2022 National Horse Show kicked off Saturday afternoon in the Alltech Arena with the $25,000 Show Jumping Hall of Fame Amateur-Owner/Junior Jumper Grand Prix. Serving as the Show Jumping Hall of Fame (SJHOF) Year-End Championship, the National Horse Show is the final stop on the East Conference for the prestigious program. Capping off their year with a win, Hailey Royce and Sonic Boom bested the 23 horse-and-rider field to lead the victory gallop at the conclusion of the class.
The Show Jumping Hall of Fame Jumper Classic Series has held its championship final at the National Horse Show for more than 30 years. The series is designed to provide junior and amateur riders with opportunities to compete at the highest level of their divisions, and hosts separate divisions for junior and amateur riders across two conferences: the East Conference, presented by Rood & Riddle, and the West Conference, presented by LAURACEA. The series culminates in year-end finals; west coast conference finals are held at Blenheim’s International Jumping Festival, while east coast conference finals are held at the National Horse Show. Winning riders receive an engraved Tiffany crystal trophy from the Show Jumping Hall of Fame.
Over the years, the prestigious title and Tiffany trophy has been awarded to riders such as Brianne Goutal, Laura Chapot, and Reed Kessler. Recognized for their excellence throughout the 2022 series, Zayna Rizvi with her mount Excellent earned the tri-color in the 2022 junior division, and Emma Catherine Reichow rode her own Forever Alve to victory for the series’ amateur division.
Guilherme Jorge (BRA) set a technical first round track, challenging the talented field of athletes to apply all of their well practiced skills from the season. At the end of the first round, seven horse-and-athlete pairs advanced to the jump-off. The short course consisted of three options for inside turns and a long, unrelated bending line with an option to leave out a stride.
Baylee Mckeever and McLain Ward’s Formidable were first to jump clear in round one. Returning first for the jump-off, they immediately turned up the pressure on their competitors, posting an incredibly quick, clear round. Mckeever demonstrated experience beyond her years as she piloted the 12-year-old KWPN mare to an easy double clear effort, ultimately crossing through the timers in 37.131 seconds. They duo held a short lead until Royce and Sonic Boom came in to challenge their time.
Royce rode two confident and powerful rounds aboard the 10-year-old Belgian Warmblood gelding owned by Double Clear LLC. The duo galloped into the Alltech ready to challenge Mckeevers time. Making every inside turn, Royce left a stride out of each turn and rode Sonic Boom perfectly to the base allowing him to pat the ground and jump an effortless clear and fast round to take the lead. They landed over the last careful vertical and made it through the timers in a blazing 36.691 seconds.
Augusta Iwasaki and Fresca were the fourth pair to jump off. To claim the blue in the competitive class, they needed to best Royce’s time and leave all of the rails intact. Though Iwasaki rode the KWPN mare the fastest time in the jump-off phase, they had an unfortunate rail that ultimately secured their third place position.
The two Junior champions are here with us so please welcome to the ring Skylar Wireman, who won the West Conference on her horse, Karen, and Zayna Rizvi, the East Conference champion for the second consecutive year. Zayna won the division on Chaplin W, while also placing second on Excellent, the horse with whom she won the division last year.
For more information on the Show Jumping Hall of Fame and the Show Jumping Hall of Fame Jumper Classic Series, please visit ShowJumpingHallofFame.net.
RESULTS
Horse / Rider / Owner / R1 Score / R2 Score / Total Score
$25,000 Show Jumping Hall of Fame Amateur-Owner/Junior Jumper Grand Prix
Horse / Rider / Owner / R1 Faults / R1 Time / R2 Faults / R2 Time
1. Sonic Boom / Hailey Royce / Double Clear LLC / 0 / 71.080 / 0 / 36.691
2. Formidable / Baylee Mckeever / McLain Ward / 0 / 69.910 / 0 / 37.131
3. Fresca / Augusta Iwasaki / Iwasaki & Reilly / 0 | 70.36 / 4 | 38.01
4. Diamanto JT Z / Ansley Wright / Ansley Wright / 0 / 73.020 / 4 / 44.660
5. Forever Alve / Emma Catherine Reichow / Emma Catherine Reichow / 0 | 70.10 / 8 | 40.03
6. Nashville Hero / Amira Kettaneh / Leigh Kettaneh / 0 | 72.73 / 8 | 41.06
7. Noche De Ronda / Kate Hagerty / The Hagerty Family / 0 | 72.88 / 8 | 41.06
8. Isabelle / Tessa Downey / Horse Orchard LLC / 4 | 66.95
9. Excellent / Zayna Rizvi / Peacock Ridge LLC / 4 | 69.54
10. Gray’s Inn / Mallory Vale / Thinks Like A Horse / 4 | 69.87