Early Leaders Named in Washington International Horse Show 2018 Championship Rankings

The official early rankings for the 60^th Anniversary Washington International Horse Show (WIHS) championship events, running October 23-28, at Capital One Arena in downtown Washington, D.C. have been released.

Qualifying events for the WIHS championships are held at more than 650 horse shows in North America. Riders who earn the most points throughout the year are eligible to compete in the WIHS Championship Finals, which include the $10,000 WIHS Children's Hunter Championship, $10,000 WIHS Children's Jumper Championship, $10,000 WIHS Adult Hunter Championship, $10,000 WIHS Adult Jumper Championship, the Lindsay Maxwell Charitable Fund WIHS Equitation Finals, and WIHS Pony Equitation Finals. 

With six months remaining in the qualifying period, which ends August 31, there is still plenty of time to qualify for the 60^th Anniversary WIHS. Riders must be active WIHS members in order for points to count. Membership can be obtained here: www.wihs.org/membership.

“Riders from all over the country set the WIHS championship events as major goals each and every year,” said WIHS President Vicki Lowell. “This year, qualifying for WIHS is made even more prestigious as we celebrate our 60^th anniversary, and it is really special to see the passion and commitment that these riders put into competing throughout the season to qualify. We are humbled every year when watching these accomplished riders unloading their horses onto the streets of D.C. to compete at one of the nation’s most coveted events!”

As the season continues, WIHS congratulates all of the top competitors in the WIHS rankings as of February 16, 2018.

Current leaders include:

Ava Stearns of Chilmark, MA – 2,350 points – WIHS Equitation East

Isabella Bleu Baxter of Wright City, MO – 1,406 points – WIHS Equitation West

Hyde Park ridden by Lauren Katz of Potomac, MD – 1,000 points – Children’s Hunter

Pluto LWF ridden by Claire Taylor of Ellicott City, MD – 684 points – Adult Hunter

Umano de la Ruche ridden by Lauren McCaulley of Lake Charles, IL – 1,890 points – Children’s Jumper

Gold Lux ridden by Lindsey Tomeu of Wellington, FL – 2,823 points – Adult Jumper

Josephine Rose of Springboro, OH – 491 points – WIHS Pony Equitation

Don't miss the chance to qualify for the WIHS Championships! WIHS looks forward to hosting the best horses and riders from around the nation in 2018 and encourages all riders to continue their drive to qualify. The qualifying period runs from shows starting on or after September 1, 2017, through shows starting on or before August 31, 2018.

For the Lindsay Maxwell Charitable Fund WIHS Equitation Finals, invitations will be extended to the top 40 junior riders who are eligible to compete based on their points earned during the qualifying period in the East Coast and West Coast Leagues as follows: 30 riders will be invited from the East Coast League and ten riders will be invited from the West Coast League. Letters of invitation will be mailed in September. For the pony equitation, invitations will be extended to the top 25 junior riders who are eligible to compete based on their points earned during the qualifying period. Letters of invitation will be mailed in September. For the hunter championships, 29 horse/rider combinations will be accepted in each division, while 25 will be accepted for the jumper championships.

For more information or to sign up to earn points for the WIHS Championship Finals, visit www.wihs.org/membership.

For a complete list of current rankings, visit http://www.wihs.org/wihs-rankings/.

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