Daisy Farish Claims Early Lead at 2016 Talent Search Finals East

© Elaine Wessel: Daisy FarishDaisy Farish and Ganjana Lead Talent Search Finals East

Gladstone, NJ – Oct. 8, 2016 – The first day of the Platinum Performance/USEF Talent Search Finals East will conclude with the same leader as two years ago. Daisy Farish, then 13 years old and now 15 years old, rode to a pair of 92-point scores to put her atop the leaderboard after two phases of competition at Hamilton Farm.

The historic event, which has been held at the beautiful headquarters of the USET Foundation now for 35 years, is the pinnacle of the Talent Search Program. The Program itself plays a central role in the rider pipeline, as well as provides an opportunity for junior riders to showcase their abilities as potential future representatives of American show jumping. Emphasizing the principle that “form follows function,” riders are expected to navigate their horse over a jumper style course while maintaining the forward style of riding, demonstrating both correct equitation as well as speed and precision.

Judges Kirsten Coe and Karen Healey wasted no time in challenging the riders this morning, asking the 63 entrants to perform an extensive flatwork test that included collection and lengthening of each gate in a variety of seats, both shoulder-in and haunches-in on a circle, a change of lead, a reverse turn into a hand gallop, and working on a long rein, among other tests. Though the testing was no easy task, horses and riders proved to be up to the challenge, as nearly half of the entries garnered a score of 80 or above from Coe and Healey’s watchful eyes. It was 15-year old Daisy Farish who earned the top score of 92, followed by McKayla Langmeier, the 2015 USET Talent Search runner-up, and the only other entry to score in the nineties during the flat section.

© Elaine Wessel: McKayla LangmeierMcKayla Langmeier and Skyfall

I thought the flat phase asked just the right amount from both horses and riders, and also set you up perfectly for what was then asked in the gymnastics. I thought specifically that the judges emphasized in the meeting yesterday that the extension and hand gallop were going to be crucial in both phases, and it showed today,” stated Farish.

The afternoon brought a new test for the riders in the form of the gymnastics phase. Judges and course designers Coe and Healey left no confusion as to what they were looking for from the riders with the track they created.

“Riding skills. We are looking for riding skills,” commented Healey. “Not just connecting the dots, but creating a good jump and getting the horse to jump to the best of its ability. There are better horses than others, but being able to create as good a jump as you can get out of the horse that you have is important.”

© Elaine Wessel: USET Gymnastics Course Gymnastics Course

Horses and riders began their lengthy 23-effort test by jumping the first obstacle on a long approach, followed by a right-hand turn to an oxer, three strides to a sizable bounce, and another three strides to a second oxer to complete the line. Obstacle five was a simple vertical on the diagonal that led way to a one-stride oxer combination, after which riders had to immediately navigate their horses right to fence seven. A left-hand turn then had horse and rider pairs jumping fence one the opposite direction as fence eight, followed by the same one-stride oxer combination as fences 9a and 9b.  To contrast the previous right turn after the combination, entries were now asked to quickly turn left, testing their abilities to balance their animals in both directions. The eleventh and twelfth obstacles, set along the outside line, asked horses and riders to jump a one-stride vertical combination, followed by a forward five strides to a two-stride oxer combination. An easy turn to fence thirteen, a nondescript vertical, then had riders navigating their mounts to the penultimate test of the course, taking obstacles 11a, 11b, 12a, and 12b in the reverse direction, only this time they were challenged to fit a steady six strides into the 76-foot line, previously done in a forward five. Finally, the last test was a hand gallop to obstacle 16, after which the riders were supposed to immediately turn either right or left before a set of parallel hedges, marking the end of the gymnastics phase.

© Elaine Wessel: Daisy Farish_vertical

Though Farish (left) and a number of other riders managed to keep all the rails in their cups, that certainly was not the norm. More than half of the entries knocked a rail, and although the judges granted a degree of leniency today, tomorrow’s marks may not be so kind.

“Today we took into consideration what part of the rail the rider had, and what part the rider had in it, what their role was in the knockdown,” noted Coe. Healey went on, saying that, “Tomorrow they really have to jump clean. We are going to be much harder on rails tomorrow than we were today.”

Not only did she leave all the jumps standing, but Farish also showcased her abilities by executing a seamless trip to secure the day’s lead with another score of 92, pushing her to cumulative marks of 230 aboard her mare Ganjana. Just 3.50 points behind the leader sits Vivian Yowan and Whisper Z (below) with a 226.50 score. Though Yowan earned the highest score of the day, a 93 in the gymnastics phase, it was not enough to overtake Farish.

The modest 15-year old leader attributed her day’s success to not only her ability to master the judges’ track, but she gave praise to Ganjana, who surprisingly is a new ride for Farish.

© Elaine Wessel: Vivian Yowan“I think the course had to be ridden a very specific way, especially the double oxers and the outside line. They asked for a lot of scope from the horse and a lot of help from the rider because of the way you jumped in both directions. We were able to do that,” commented Farish. “I am also very lucky to have a very over-qualified horse. I just rode her for the first time last week. I did not know that I was going to be showing her. It was sort of last minute, but she is absolutely incredible.”

No stranger to the lead, Farish finds herself in the same position that she was in two years ago during her first USET Finals. Though she fell in the ranks to finish in fifth place overall in 2014, she believes that two years has definitely made a difference, and hopes for a better outcome Sunday.

“I think that I have matured a lot since two years ago,” said Farish. “That was actually my first USET Finals that year, and I was lucky to be in the lead, but I definitely didn’t know how to handle the pressure. I hope I can overcome that this year. I’m really excited for tomorrow. We all have our fingers crossed. I just have to try to stay focused and stay consistent with my riding.”

Farish is followed closely by Vivian Yowan, who earned a 226.50 score, as the current second-place holder. With a total score of 226.13, McKayla Langmeier is hot on the heels of Yowan, and she and her mount Skyfall, the same horse she rode at the Finals last year, will surely try to overtake the two pairs above them come tomorrow.

© Elaine Wessel: Taylor St JacquesTaylor St. Jacques

Taylor St. Jacques, who earned a score of 89 on the flat, improved her score in the irons aboard Charisma in the second phase to a 90.50, finishing out the day in fourth position with a total 224.75. TJ O’Mara rounds out the top five with his total 223.25 after earning marks of 86 in the flat and 91.50 in the gymnastics. Similar to Langmeier, O’Mara also returns with the same horse he rode last year, when he and Kaskade finished a respectable fourth overall.

© Elaine Wessel: TJ O'MaraTJ O’Mara

The 2016 Platinum Performance/USET Talent Search Show Jumping Finals East will return to Hamilton Farm on Sunday with two more phases of competition. The morning will begin with Phase III: Jumping, followed by the afternoon’s phase four ride-off. The top four competitors will return to the ring, following a format modeled after the World Championships final ride-off; the four riders will first navigate their own horses, as well as the other three competitors’ horses, over an abridged course to determine the new champion and winner of the prestigious title.

© Elaine Wessel: Sophie SimpsonSophie Simpson

© Elaine Wessel: Madison GoetzmannMadison Goetzmann

© Elaine Wessel: Jordyn Rose FreedmanJordyn Rose Freedman

© Elaine Wessel: Katherine BundyKatherine Bundy

© Elaine Wessel: Coco FathCoco Fath

© Elaine Wessel: Hunter HollowayHunter Holloway

© Elaine Wessel: Robert Sean LeckieRobert Sean Leckie© @file: 2016 USET Results Day 1

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