Chloe Johnson and Chilli Bean. Photo by Leslie Potter/US Equestrian.
With last month’s West Coast Final in Temecula, California well in the rearview, US Equestrian has crowned its 2021 overall champions in the Adequan/USEF Eventing Youth Team Challenge series, which aims to provide the country’s stars of the future with valuable opportunities to gain team mileage and ride under pressure. This year, we’ve seen eight legs throughout the season at events around the country, which have hosted classes at CCI1*, CCI2*, and CCI3*.
This year’s overall CCI1* Champion is Chloe Johnson, who lives in Dallas, Texas, and represents Area V with her spring-heeled New Zealand Sport Horse mare Chilli Bean (Chilli Morning x Curtain Call). While en route to total domination as an individual, she also played a valuable part in her team, which was made up of riders from several areas and ultimately took second place.
“It was a wonderful experience to be on a team with such supportive people,” Chloe says. “While Area V didn’t have our own team in the 1*, everyone else from Area V encouraged each other and helped each other out in the barn. Our combined area 1* team allowed me to meet new, incredibly nice people from areas other than Area V that I may not have had the chance to meet otherwise.”
Rebecca Roth and Chapter Two. Photo by Leslie Potter/US Equestrian.
The overall CCI2* title goes to Rebecca Roth of Malone, Wisconsin, who piloted the Thoroughbred gelding Chapter Two (More Than Ready x Winds of March) to the top spot, helping her area IV team to second place in the process. This adds another title to the pair’s collection — they were the Area IV Preliminary Champions in 2020.
Audrey Sanborn and OBOS Quality Time. Photo by Tina Fitch Photography.
Finally, Area VI rider Audrey Sanborn proved the increasing strength in depth of the West Coast scene, taking the overall CCI3* top honours with her Irish Sport Horse gelding OBOS Quality Time (OBOS Quality 004 x Diamond DI). Though the San Luis Obispo-based rider’s team didn’t finish on the podium this year, they’ve got plenty to be excited about for the seasons to come.
Area II riders swept the boards in the team rankings, taking the win at all three levels.
This will be the last time we see the Youth Team Challenge program in this format, however: following extensive feedback from Area Coordinators and athletes, the USEF Youth Team Challenge Task Force opted to propose a singular championship, which would combat issues of low participation at some legs. The proposal was approved by the Eventing Sport Committee, the International Disciplines Committee, and the USEF Board of Directors, and bidding opened yesterday for prospective hosts of the new championship, which will host the CCI1*-L, CCI2*-L, and CCI3*-L championship in the latter part of the season. We’ll be sharing more information on the bids soon, but in the meantime, inquiries can be directed to Christina Vaugh, Director of Eventing and Program Support, at [email protected].
2021 Adequan/USEF Eventing Youth Team Challenge series results
CCI1* Overall Individual Standings:
- Chloe Johnson
- Ella Braundel
- Claudia Oppedisano
- Grace Mykityshyn
- Juliana Cassar
- Camryn Chung
- Matthew Heinzle
- Crockett Miller
CCI1* Overall Team Standings
- Area II
- Area III, Area V, Area VII (tie)
CCI2* Overall Individual Standings:
- Rebecca Roth
- Jackson Dillard
- Jack Curtis
- Lea Adamas- Blackmore
- Kiera Kenny
- Pip Hayes
- Claire Strehlow
- Eliana Thompson
CCI2* Overall Team Standings
- Area II
- Area IV
- Area VI
CCI3* Overall Individual Standings:
- Audrey Sanborn
- Madison Temkin
- Alexandra Baugh
- Meg Pellegrini
- Sydney Solomon
- Sarah bowman
- Isabel Bosley
Ben Noonan (tie)
CCI3* Overall Team Standings:
- Area II
- Area V
- Area III
