TRAVERSE CITY, MIch.--Skylar Wireman and Pillippa Ammann won the FEI North American Youth Championships and Junior Championship respectively at Traverse City Horse Show on Sunday, Aug, 3 after five rounds of competition.
Skylar Wireman on Barclino (Photo by Megan Giese Media)Zone 10’s Wireman of Bonsall, Calif., on Barclino won two gold medals, both the Team and Individual.
After winning the Team gold, Ammann of Wellington, Fla., on Zarina de Vidau led the junior category from day one, winning the individual qualifier on Thursday before jumping perfect rounds on Friday and Sunday to win the Individual title.
The Youth and Junior teams that will compete in the international championships in Lier, Belgium on Sept. 17-21 will be named from these championships.
"The teams of five will consist of the three medalists from the Youth and Junior competitions here plus two that I chose," said international chef d'equipe Anne Kursinski. "I think we will have two very strong teams to field again his year. The Junior team won the International last year."
An NAYC medal has been a long time coming for Wireman as her 2021 and 2023 appearances at NAYC were cut short due to injury, and she was chosen as the alternate in 2022.
The last year, she placed in the top 10 abut didn't make the team.
WIREMAN has already competed in the World Cup Finals and been on a senior Nations Cup team, so she is experienced in international competition.
Phillippa Ammann on Zarina de Vidau (Photo by Megan Giese Media)“To come in with the horse that I’ve only had for a year now is amazing. It’s been a long time coming, so it feels good to win it in my last year.
“Jumping that last jump, I was thinking about what my chef d’equipe, Mike Endicott said to me as I went in: ‘finish what we came here to do,’” said Wireman, who ages out of her NAYC eligibility this year. “As I came to the last jump, it was the most incredible feeling knowing that I just won my second gold medal of the week.”
Wireman also anchored Zone 10 to a team gold medal on Friday before jumping four clear rounds to take individual gold.
“Every time we ask Barclino to step up, he rises to the occasion," Wireman said. "This is my first time doing a Nations Cup format event with him, but he was very brave, and I was pleased with how he was right there with me for every round he did this week.”
Alexa Elle Lignelli of New York, N.Y.,on Xo Zadora won her second silver medal of the week after the Zone 2 team placed second in the Team event.
“For me, I had to get through the little things going on in my head, keep my cool and trust my horse and stay connected to her,” said the 18-year-old. “As soon as I jumped that first jump, I felt I had followed through with my plan."
“I love representing my country,” she said. “To have the platform at NAYC where we feel prepared going into Nations Cups abroad and know that we have the capability to win, it’s just a great springboard for many things.
Olivia Sweetnam, 16 of Wellington, Fla., on Epic won the bronze medal.
“I had the rail down in the final round, and it was my rail,” she said. “My horse performed amazingly, and I learned so much this week. I think this whole week is a learning experience. In every round, I like to remind myself that the sun will always come up tomorrow, no matter if I have two down or if I jump clear. There are always bigger things in the future and at some point, it will be over so I might as well do my best in the moment.”
Ammann, 18, led the junior category, which includes ages 14 to 18, from the first competition on.
“There was definitely extra pressure to go clear,” saic Ammann.who was jumping as an individual representing Zone 4 during NAYC. “We had a lot of amazing riders, but my horse was so amazing. She had so much energy for the last day, which was nice. Honestly, I just try to stay out of her way. She’s so good, and she knows what she’s doing; she was super.”
Ammann, who trains with Great Britain's Jessica Mendoza, will soon attend the University of Miami studying business.
Silver medalist Campbell Brown, 18 of Fayetteville, Ark., on Colina Z was barely inside the top 20 after the opening round of competition, but then with four clear rounds she steadily moved up in the standings.
“I was a little disappointed with my first round,” said Brown. “I didn’t come out as strong as I hoped to, but I knew if I was consistent the rest of the week, that anything can happen in a competition like this, so I just focused on riding my plan.
JJ Torano, 15 of Wellington, Fla., on Lyon 50 also made a substantial climb in the standings on the final day of competition.
He was13th going into the final day but with two clean rounds in the final climbed 10 places to finish with the bronze.
“I didn’t think I was going to end up here today,” said Torano. “I knew these were probably going to be the two toughest and biggest rounds, but I trust my horse and I knew he could do it. After I jumped the first round, I thought, ‘all right, maybe we have a chance.’”
