Early Spring Rankings for Washington International Horse Show Heat Up

The first set of rankings have been released for the Washington International Horse Show (WIHS), running October 22-27 at Capital One Arena in downtown Washington, D.C., and competition is already fierce from coast to coast.

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.

New leaders for the Lindsay Maxwell Charitable Fund WIHS Equitation Finals include Alexandra Pielet of Highland Park, IL, for the East Coast and Kaitlyn Lovingfoss of Canton Country, CA, for the West Coast as anticipation heats up for this year-end equitation final. Additionally, after a championship at the 60th Anniversary WIHS in 2018, Stephanie King of St. Augustine, FL, and Co-Starr are poised for another banner year with 2,082 points already in the Adult Jumper ranks.

As the summer competition season kicks off, WIHS congratulates all of the top competitors in the WIHS rankings as of March 1, 2019. Current leaders include:

Alexandra Pielet of Highland Park, IL – 2,128 points – Lindsay Maxwell Charitable WIHS Equitation East
Kaitlyn Lovingfoss of Canyon Country, CA – 1,134 points – Lindsay Maxwell Charitable WIHS Equitation West
Greatness VDK ridden by Harper Peterson of Vienna, VA – 1,638 points – Children’s Hunter
Glyndon ridden by Pattie Schindler of Reistertown, MD – 1,350 points – Adult Hunter
Miss Moneypenny ridden by Hunter Kava of Parkland, FL – 1,946 points – Children’s Jumper
Co-Starr ridden by Stephanie King of St. Augustine, FL – 2,082 points – Adult Jumper
Mae Mannis of Woodbury, CT – 617 points – WIHS Pony Equitation

With six months remaining in the qualifying period, which ends August 31, there is still plenty of time to qualify for a chance to compete at WIHS and experience an event like no other in the heart of D.C. Riders must be active WIHS members in order for points to count. Membership can be obtained here: www.wihs.org/membership.

"The WIHS Finals have cemented their place on riders' calendars as a truly unique and special culmination of a year's hard work. The experience of showing in front of thousands of fans in a professional hockey and basketball arena is unforgettable," said WIHS Executive Director Mary Helen Shaughnessy. "The summer qualifying season always shakes up the rankings and this year's finals are shaping up to be a showcase of the best horses and riders across the country!"

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 2019 and encourages all riders to continue their drive to qualify. The qualifying period runs from shows starting on or after September 1, 2018, through shows starting on or before August 31, 2019.

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 10 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 www.wihs.org/wihs-rankings.

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