Temecula, Calif. — June 4, 2022 — On a chilly, but beautiful morning at the Nilforushan Equisport Event’s Temecula Valley National III, children and adult hunter competition closed out their second day of competition while vying for valuable championship points. Children hunter competition was the first to start the morning with the Taylor Harris Insurance Services Children’s 3’ Medal and the Children’s 3’ Hunter division wrapped up immediately afterwards. Taking home the championship honors in the Children’s 3’ Hunter Division with the most points after two days was Lauren Padilla riding Way Maker.
The riders today contested two classic rounds over fences. The first round included eight fences, while the second had nine fences and both rounds also included a two-stride. Padilla and the 7-yr-old gelding owned by Highland Farm LLC used the THIS Children’s 3’ Medal right before as a warm-up, where they laid down a solid round that proved to be beneficial later on in the Children’s 3’ division. On day one of competition the pair garnered a first and third place over fences and a win in the under saddle class. They brought that winning momentum back Saturday where they impressed a new judge and captured another first and third place over fences. In the end, they rode away with the most points and the elusive championship title.
Also rounding out their week nicely was Eloise Yuk riding Phantom. Yuk and Phantom, who was Yuk’s own entry, also impressed the judge the day before on day one of competition, earning a second place ribbon in the second over fences class. The pair brought back their momentum on Saturday and laid down two nice trips to earn two more top ribbons and tally enough points to win the reserve championship award.
The Taylor Harris Insurance Services Children’s 3’ Medal that happened right before also saw a class of stiff competition. 14 horse and rider combinations contested the 10-effort course which included a number of rollbacks and several places for riders to show off their swift equitation style. Ultimately it was Emma Post riding her own Camillo to the blue ribbon. The pair also took home third in Friday’s CPHA Foundation 3’ Medal class. Being the last combination to contest the first round went in their favor as they laid down the highest scoring trip of 87.
Following the first round, the judge asked the top four scoring entries to return for an over fences test. The test included cantering straight to a vertical from the line up around to jump one in the original course and then a rollback to a new trot jump and ending on an oxer. Post held her position after testing last and was ultimately crowned the winner. Brooke O’Malley and Calvandani Z finished in second place while Allyn Marie Creel and Cornelensky captured third.
FROM THE WINNER’S CIRCLE
Lauren Padilla — Champion of the Children’s 3’ Hunter Division
On Way Maker:
“He’s 7-yrs-old so he is really young and green. I have been riding him for about a year now and he has been a really good boy. I do the Children’s Hunters with him and some equitation. He was amazing today — I rode okay. We did the THIS Medal before and he was really good also.”
On Showing at TVNHS:
“I like that there is a lot of room and that people are really nice and everything is really organized so no one is rushing around. If there are ever any delays everyone is so calm which is nice because usually people get frantic and then it gets crazy.”