UPPER MARLBORO, Md.--Emi Richard, 15 of Middlefield, Conn., on Diaceur won the Washington Equitation Final on Saturday, Oct. 24 at the Washington International Horse Show.

Emi Richards on Diaceur (Photo by Erin Gilmore)The country’s top 40 junior riders competed in a hunter phase, a jumper phase, and a final work off with a horse swap to determine the winner.

Richards won the Hunter phase with a score of 91.5 from judges Katie Dinan and Sloane Coles, placed second to JJ Torano in the Jumper phase with a score of 89.125 and scored 90.375 in the final phae in which she rode Torano's Oak Grove's Carlyle to win with a total score of 271.

Kaitlyn Linck, also just 15 of Clinton Corners, N.Y., on Don Touch de Tiji Z, finished in second with a score of 270.875, qne Elizabeth Rinehart of Carmel, Ind., on Charlie Brown placed third score of 265.875.

The opening hunter phase which was held in a handy format for the first time, a course which Richards described as “one of the most challenging handy courses” she’s ever done.

 

“I WENT later in the handy round so I saw a lot of the mistakes being made," Richards said. "I knew my horse could rise to the challenge because he can make super tight turns and comes back to you super fast.”

“I knew I could lock in the win with the horse swap because I'm pretty comfortable with switching on to other horses, and the horse I swapped to was my ride,” Richard said of riding Oak Grove’s Carlyle. “I thought the final round went pretty smoothly, but the horse was incredible; he went around like he knew me, and I rode him like I knew him. I think that's really all we can do as riders at the end of the day.”

Torano, who was trying to win the fourth of the most important equitation finals after winning the Medal, Maclay and the Show Jumping Talent Search Final, rode Richard's Diaceur, but the grey stopped and reared just after entering the ring, meaning that with a refusal Torano's score dropped him to10th overall.

Earlier in the afternoon, Torano had won the 2* Grand Prix against most of the top riders in the world, and he has said that this class was his last equitation competition as he will now concentrate on riding jumpers.

Linck dropped from second to third at the completion of the jumper phase, but a solid performance in the final work off on Rylynn Conway’s Castlefield Spartacus bumped her back into the reserve spot.

“I knew Castlefield Spartacus a bit because he's at Beacon Hill, but I've never actually ridden him,” said Linck. “I'm extremely familiar with catch rides because I catch ride almost every day.”

Linck, 15, said that her original plan was “just staying consistent; I really wanted to put in the best round I could, and give it all I had.”

Rinehart made a big move up from sixth to third after a performance that earned her a 90.5 in the work off on Brooke Hagerty’s The Original. 

“The jumper phase is definitely Charlie’s strong suit, so we were able to move up nicely there,” she said. “Just qualifying for this final is so special. Coming here was really exciting for us, and we just wanted to have a good performance.”

"Qualifying for this final is on the harder side, with only the top 40 juniors in the country making it," she said. "When you are doing the work off, all of the riders that are about to do the grand prix are watching, and it's really exciting to get to show off and have your day in front of them.”

For first-time judge and international competitor Katie Dinan, the placings were a true result of the multiple phases of competition versus a single round.

“This is a competition where all three rounds count equally, and I think that it can be easy to forget that watching the last round,” she said. “I also thought Kaitlyn Linck’s ride in the last phase was a hands-down beautiful round, but really what set the winner apart was the performance across all three phases.”

“This Final also showed that it really isn’t over ‘til it’s over, and there was a lot of moving around in the placings,” she added. “The vibe was that if you really dug in, even if you didn't have the strongest start, you could make it to the top 10. I think that's a good lesson for riding and life in general.”

Richard’s trainer, Andre Dignelli, won the Leading Equitation Trainer Award.