Harrisburg, Pa. – October 11, 2024 – The Zone 4 team of Olivia Sweetnam on HDB Quality, JJ Torano on Vitus K, Amy Krebs on Jabantos and Isabelle Ehman on Magnolia led the way from beginning to end in Friday night’s $15,000 Turnham Green/USEF Prix des States Team Championship at the 2024 Pennsylvania National Horse Show in Harrisburg, PA.
The Southeast-based riders finished the two-round, modified Nations Cup format competition on a zero-fault score to easily clinch the gold-medal spot. Taking home the silver medal with 8 faults was the Zone 2 team of Clara Propp on Cocolina, Kaitlyn Kiely on Mystic C Van T Heyveld, Alexa Elle Lignelli on Helium and Mia Bagnato on Florida N.
Rounding out the podium on 16 faults was the Zone 7 team of Ava Myers, Ava Le, Avery Griffin and Campbell Brown.
“We knew coming in that we had a very strong team,” said Zone 4 Chef d’Equipe Kim Land. “These kids are quite seasoned, and even though only one of them is aging out of juniors this year, they have a lot of experience; they’re excellent under pressure.”
Following the conclusion of the opening round, the pressure had already been lifted slightly off Zone 4, as each rider on the team had produced a clear round, putting them into the early lead. In the second round over the Anderson Lima-designed course, their margin of victory only increased, as Sweetnam, Krebs and Ehman each duplicated their clear round effort.
“I expected them to have a really good performance,” said Land. “Now, to jump seven out of eight clear rounds and to have only one round with four faults was very strong. Since 2011, I’ve been the chef d’equipe for Zone 4, and this is the strongest I’ve ever seen a team. They rarely win on zero faults. All of these kids are friends. They support each other. They really bring a lot of quality to the plate. They take good care of their horses. They prepare their horses well, and it’s just a great group. I’m very excited to continue with them into the future.”
Sweetnam, 16, was the pathfinder for the Zone 4 team, paving the way with two clear rounds aboard the 11-year-old Westphalian mare HDB Quality.
“I’ve had her for almost three years,” said Sweetnam of the horse that was previously ridden by her father, Shane Sweetnam. “She’s a bit quirky, but she’s crazy competitive and careful. She wants to win so badly, and I think it’s just about knowing her in and out of the barn. I have a really good bond with her in both, and I’m really, really, really lucky to have her.”
With Sweetnam showing how it was done, Torano was the next in the rotation for Zone 4. At just 14 years old, Torano made an impressive Prix des States debut, finishing with just one rail down in the second round aboard Vitus K.
“It’s definitely a good experience for young, up-and-coming riders to experience this team event and to be under pressure a little bit,” said Torano of the Prix des States. “For sure it helps if you want to grow up to be a grand prix rider or a big rider and trainer. [So many of them] have been through Prix des States and Medal Finals. There’s all this history here at the Pennsylvania National, so I think it’s a great class to have here.”
This year marked Krebs’ second year on the Zone 4 team at Prix des States, as she also competed on the team alongside Sweetnam in 2023. With a team silver medal already under her belt last year, Krebs returned to deliver every bit of a gold-medal worthy performance.
With her longtime partner Jabantos, she turned in back-to-back clear rounds to solidify Zone 4’s victory.
“[Jabantos] is so special to me,” said Krebs, 16. “I’ve had him for four years. We have an amazing bond, and we know each other so well. I trust him completely. He’s an amazing competitor. He loves his job. He’s very enthusiastic about it. I’m so thankful for him.”
While the gold was already guaranteed for Zone 4 following the third rotation of riders in the second round, Ehman still returned as the anchor rider, as the Prix des States competition also counted as Phase II of the Turnham Green/USEF Junior Jumper Individual National Championships.
With victory in Phase I already under her belt, Ehman returned to hold onto her lead in the individual standings with two clear rounds on Friday night.
“I’m feeling good; I trust [Magnolia] a lot,” said Ehman. “She jumped fantastic tonight, and Turnham Green put on a fantastic show for us. Thank you to them for sponsoring this class. Just being able to do this and gain experience before you step up is something that I think is really special. It’s something that is a stepping stone into the future.”
While Ehman holds the lead on no faults at all, Sweetnam is hot on her heels and as close as one can get on a score of just 0.01. To view the full individual standings, click here.