Edited Press Release
The 15th Annual Amy Ylvisaker Reistrup Equitation Challenge was held in the Anderson Coliseum Thursday evening at the Virginia Horse Center.
The event held in memory of Amy Ylvisaker Reistrup is open to the first and second place finishers in all Virginia A and AA shows competing in the US Hunter Seat Medal, the ASPCA Maclay, the WIHS Equitation Classic Hunter Phase, the WIHS Equitation Classic Jumper Phase, the WIHS overall winner, the USEF Show Jumping Talent Search Class, the VHSA Hunter Seat Medal, the Oak Ridge Medal and the VHSA Horsemanship Award.
As Virginia’s most coveted qualifying equitation Finals, riders are not permitted any coaching from their trainers surrounding the competition.
Of the sixteen riders competing in the class, Frankie Falise of Arnold, Maryland, took home the win with a final score of 85. “My horse Free G [Freedom G] did everything I asked of him tonight. I felt like we were really connected. He was so perfect and had the right amount of pace that really helped with the class tonight,” said Falise. “Every now in then he can be on the slower side, but tonight he was absolutely perfect,” she said.
Falise has owned Free G for a bit over a year. “I only heard about this class last year, but it was too late for me to try and qualify for it. My groom Katie qualified for it last year and won it,” commented Falise.
“I really couldn’t have done it without the training that Marylisa Leffler gave me. She’s been working with me so much, prepping me for the Finals because she knew I would be under a lot of pressure going in without a trainer. I’ve only been working with Marylisa for a couple of months, and we were really focused on this class,” she said.
“The AYR Equitation Challenge was great. My favorite part was talking with the other riders and making a plan. The competition was really friendly, and we all congratulated each other. The support and the atmosphere were really good,” she added. “The course was great. It wasn’t stressful, but it was challenging. And the footing was really good,” commented Falise.
Final standings saw Samantha Karp of Great Falls, Virginia earn a second place with their score of 82. Kellsey Stern of Marshall, Virginia placed third with their score of 77 and Sydney Callagy of Virginia Beach, Virginia earned a fourth place with their score of 76.
Kyra Jones of Round Hill, Virginia, placed fifth with their score of 73 and Devyn Borden of Richardsville, Virginia earned a sixth-place finish with their score of 69.
Seventh place was awarded to Natalie Wasson of Oakton, Virginia for their score of 68 and Brooke Ballhaus of The Plains, Virginia earned a score of 67.5 to secure an eighth-place finish.
For more information, please visit horseshowsonline.com.
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