August 13, 2021 
Who rule the NAYC world? ZONE 4.
The contingent from Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Tennessee and South Carolina captured three of the four team jumping finals at the FEI North American Youth Championships in Traverse City, MI this week—and the individual finals are still to come.
The USA Zone 4 streak started on Thursday with a team win in the 1.30m Pre-Junior division that saw all four riders contribute clear rounds to the team score, highlighted by a pair of double clears by Mia Albelo and Caia Watridge.
On Friday, the fabulous 4 added both the Junior and Young Rider team titles to its growing list of young rider accolades.
Zone 4 Junior Dream Team
After a precarious start to the Junior Team even that saw lead off pair Hailey Royce and Sonic Boom eliminated, Zone 4 jumped straight into the pressure pot when it was reduced to a three-rider team. You’d never know it from their rides, though. All three delivered—and then some.
Ansgar Holtgers Jr. (16) executed a pair of clears with the hot-blooded 12-year-old bay mare Elina. Eighteen-year-old Reid Arani and her 17-year-old mount Ziezo used the KWPN gelding’s experience and Arani’s ride to deliver a clear in the first round and a single rail in the second. While Zayna Rizvi (15) rode Excellent and excellently to two clear rounds under anchor-rider pressure.
“This is the Zone 4 Junior Dream Team,” said chef d’equipe Kim Land. “They are three very experienced and very good partnerships. All jumped clear and four [faults], or a clear and clear, and then we have one rider that’s just getting to know her horse and she’s here to support the team.
“I expect this team to be a force to be reckoned with the next couple of years, because they’re all young and they’re all really excellent riders and they have excellent horses.”
Holtgers Jr., Arani and Rizvi are all top 12 contenders for the individual medals in the Junior division. Holtgers Jr. leads the standings on a score of 0.54, with Rizvi in third on 2.46 and Arani, 11th on 8.19.
“Elina is a hot mare and she has a real personality. If she likes you, she fights for you. I hope everything can go my way in the next two rounds for the individual. But, you know, this [team gold medal] is already icing on the cake,” said Holtgers.
“Words can’t describe this feeling.”
Canada took team silver and USA Zone 5/6, gold.
Zone 4 Rookie Young Riders Rise to the Top
For the Zone 4 Young Riders team, the words they use to describe the feeling of winning gold in each of their first appearances at the NAYC are all only synonyms to “incredible.”
At the end of the first round of competition on Thursday, the team of Erika Jakobson (19), Riley Delbecq (17), Violet Lindemann Barnett (19) and Ashley Vogel (20) sat in fourth place. By the end of round one of Friday’s competition they had moved into second, and by the end of round two they had clinched the gold.
“It’s surreal!” said Vogel. “Obviously, when you’re coming into an event like this everyone wants to win gold, but we’d never competed together before. We didn’t really know what to expect; we didn’t really know each other before competing on the team together. We all really got along really well, and we pulled it together so that was really, really exciting!”
While Zone 2 held the gold-medal position going into round two on Friday, as rails fell the door opened wider for Zone 4 to move up the ranks.
With only one rail down apiece for Jakobson on Everton and Delbecq on Julesraimus de Barisy and just one time fault for Lindemann Barnett and her mount Alanine de Vains, anchor rider Vogel ensured the Zone 4 victory with final clear round aboard Bellissimo Z.
“[Bellissimo Z]’s a really cool horse,” said Vogel, who jumped double clear on Friday and currently sits sixth overall in the individual Young Rider standings. “The Individual Qualifier yesterday wasn’t my best round. I had mistakes here and there. I tried not to get in my head. My teammates were really encouraging. We all produced super rounds today.”
With Zone 4 taking the gold, the silver medal went to the Zone 2 team of Ned Cunniffe, Madison Rauschenbach, Sophee Steckbeck and Mimi Gochman, and the bronze medal went to the Canadian team of Sara Tindale, Lauren Esdale, Cassie Gorsline and Austin Krawitt.
In the individual rankings, Lindemann Barnett’s sole time fault on Saturday puts her tied in third place with Caelinn Leahy on a score of 3.28. Sitting in second with a score of 3.23 is Lauren Esdale, and Mimi Gochman leads on a score of 0.
“I’m kicking myself a little bit for my time fault, but the mare jumped incredible both rounds,” said Lindemann Barnett. “I couldn’t have asked her to go any better. She’s just so great, and I’m so lucky that I get to ride her.”
The Young Riders will return to vie for their individual medals on Sunday. Find full results here, and catch all of the action live on USEF Network. (Use promo code ‘nayc21’ for a free fan membership.)
