HARRISBURG, Pa.--Paige Buzby won the USEF/NCEA Junior Hunter Seat Medal Final – East on Sunday, Oct. 18, at the Pennsylvania National Horse Show.
Paige Busby on Kathmandu WV (Photo by Andrew Ryback)One day earlier, on Saturday, Busbt had won the inaugural PNHS Children’s Medal Final.
“This is my home state,” said Buzby of Chester Springs, Pa. “I know a lot of people and have a lot of friends who come here, so it just means a lot to win where I’m from.”
The Junior Hunter Seat Medal Final is competed over three phases, which mirror the phases and format riders face in collegiate equestrian competition.
A field of 71 riders contested the opening jumping phase, set over a 3’3” course, and from there, judges Britt McCormick and Lyman Whitehead narrowed the field down to the top 15 for the flat phase.
Buzby on Kathmandu WV scored an 89 in the jumping phase,
“That horse is very, very dear to me,” said Buzby. “She’s been given to us to make up as a bit of an equitation horse, so she’s been climbing the ranks with me. We got her at the end of Florida; I’ve had her since then, and we’ve been working together.”
“I WAS SO nervous going into the first round,"said Busby. "Knowing that I came out on top meant that I could have a breath of relief, but at the same time, not. I know my flat isn’t my strongest suit, so I had to make sure I worked very hard at that. I thought it went very well.”
Following the flat phase, the field was narrowed again to only the top four riders.
In this final phase of the class, riders compete on horses they have not ridden before, again echoing the NCEA style of competition.
The fourth and first place rider compete on the same horse, while the second and third place riders also share the same horse.
The winner of those two head-to-head rounds then complete a final course on another shared mount.
“I ride a couple of the clients’ horses at home because my mom’s my trainer, and I get a lot of opportunities to ride different types of horses,” said Buzby, who trains with her mother, Kim Buzby of Windfall Farm in Chester Springs. “So, I felt confident going into the horse swap.”
Buzby’s first match-up of the final phase had her go up against Kinsley Nolte of Downington, Pa.
Riding Invictus, ridden in the first round by Stella Cross, Buzby and Nolte earned scores of 87 and 86, respectively, advancing Buzby to the final ride-off.
This time, it was Buzby and Cross, of Malvern, Pa., who faced off on Phantom van de Lindehoeve, ridden in the first round by Hadley Hoeft.
“I thought Invictus was kind of my ride,” Busby said. “He was soft. He required leg, but not too much. The second one was a lot more leg. He was tired, so I had to be stronger than on the previous ride.”
In that final ride, Buzby earned a score of 84 to clinch the win.
Cross received a score of 82 to finish as the reserve champion.
Nolte placed third, and Hoeft was fourth.
