Congratulations to Zone 5 members who competed in the 2018 Zone 5 Horsemanship Class at The Kentucky National September 21. Hailey Johns won the class after being consistent in all of phases, which were a written test, over fences phase and a flat phase.

"“I am very, very excited and grateful to have won the class," Johns said. "I couldn’t have asked my horse to be any better."

This was Johns' first time participating in the Horsemanship Class and she enjoyed the multi-phase format.

"I thought the (written) test is a wonderful addition to any class," she said. "I’m really big on horsemanship and I’m really grateful to have learned a lot from a lot of wonderful people. I really liked that phase. The over fences course was wonderful, and the flat phase was really fun.”

Overall award winners included Hailey Johns (1st), Katy Merchant (2nd), Paige Matthies (3rd), Annalise Reed (4th), Jordan Allen (5th), Celia Bresch (6th), Alivia Kohus (7th), Belle Zachary (8th), Alexis Ortiz (9th) and Isabela De Sousa (10th).

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USHJA has accepted more than 370 entries for the inaugural AON/USHJA National Championships at The Las Vegas National, CSI4*-W, which will take place November 13-18, 2018, in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The Championships offer Hunter, Jumper and Age Group Equitation divisions with $96,000 in prize money for the USEF/USHJA National Jumper Championships, and each Hunter section section offers $4,000 in prize money. The Championships also feature Affiliate Championships at fence heights of 2' and 2'6", which have received a wonderful response from Affiliate Organizations.

If you missed the entry deadline, we are now accepting late entries that meet the minimum qualifications for a section as space is available on a first-come, first-served basis after on-time entries. Entries close for the competition on October 15, and late entries for the AON/USHJA National Championships do not incur late fees.

Samantha Dolan was awarded the Zone 5 College Scholarship in Honor of Mindy Darst during the Zone 5 Horsemanship Class September 21.

"I truly was so surprised and feel so lucky and blessed to have received this year's scholarship," Dolan said. 

Dolan will be able to use the $10,000 scholarship toward pursuing her education and career goals at the University of Kentucky.

"This had allowed me to pursue my biology degree with pre-med track while continuing to compete on my mare in the jumpers. I am also now a member of the UK Equestrian team and therefore getting to compete with my school IHSA team. My furture plans is I hope to continue to grow as a rider and compete as college student and beyond."

Congratulations to Paige Matthies, who received the Zone 5 Sportsmanship Award in Honor of Patricia Haines.

Matthies was presented the award during the Zone 5 Horsemanship Class awards ceremony.

Special thanks to the Haines and Howard families for donating the perpetual trophy.

Good luck to our Zone 5 members competing in the World Championship Hunter Rider Finals at the Capital Challenge Horse Show in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, September 28-October 7.

WCHR members qualify for National and Regional Awards by earning points at Member Events held across the country throughout the qualifying year. Points from a rider's top four WCHR Member Events will be used to determine the National and Regional standings. Each year the top ten nationally ranked riders and top six regionally ranked riders in each category, come together to compete in the WCHR Finals at the Capital Challenge Horse Show

USEF Network will provide live stream coverage at Capital Challenge. Click here to catch all the action. 

Congratulations to Zone 5's Bella Canzano, who was selected to attend the Lindsay Maxwell Charitable Fund/ USHJA Emerging Athletes Program National Training Session! Elle Brady and Christina Meeks were selected to attend as stable managers!

Athletes attending the session will learn from lead clinicians Joe Fargis and Anne Thornbury at the University of Findlay November 8-11.

The Horsemanship Quiz Challenge Nationals, presented by The Plaid Horse, will once again be held concurrently with EAP National Training Session. Stay tuned to see who will be attending HQC Nationals.

Congratulations to members who competed in the Zone 5 Horse of the Year Championship September 12-16 at Showplace Fall Classic I in Crete, Illinois!

Zone 5 member Haylee Moore, of Huntington, Indiana, participated in her first USEF Pony Finals this year after working hard to qualify while also working hard taking care of horses and helping others.

"Haylee is a very big part of the total care of all of our horses. She works very hard feeding, cleaning stalls, conditioning horses, preparing for horse shows, and of course showing at shows. She also helps to show her younger sister the do’s and don’ts of the horse world," Haylee's mom, Brooke, said of her daughter.

Haylee qualified for Pony Finals at World Equestrian Center with her pony Fairfield's Lunar Landing. She had a great experience at her first ever finals and is thankful for her trainer Deborah Lapham's help!

"Pony Finals was a lot of fun! I am so proud of Lou and our performance," Haylee said. "It is a win just to qualify to be here!"

Congratulations and good luck to our Zone 5 team competing at the 2018 Neue Schule/USEF National Junior Jumper Championships Oct. 11-13 at Pennsylvania National Horse Show:

Special thanks to Zone 5 Chef d'Equipe Abby Blankenship for leading the team! USEF Network will live stream the event. Click here to catch all the action.