Thermal, CA – November 10, 2024 – One did not have to search far to find incredible talent in this year’s Platinum Performance/USEF Show Jumping Talent Search Final – West, but from among the field of 26 talented young riders, one stood out at the end of the four phases of competition: Avery Glynn. The 19-year-old from Petaluma, CA, rode Change Up PS to the victory, adding her name to a prestigious list of winners before her.
Avery Glynn and Change Up PS. Photo by High Desert Sport Photo
“I’m so happy, and I feel so excited to be included in the same list as so many other incredible riders,” said Glynn. “It’s really a pretty indescribable feeling.”
Finishing in second place in the final, held November 8-10 at the Desert International Horse Park, was Paige Walkenbach aboard Emi Initia. Third place went to Victoria Zahorik on Quiwian, and Katharine Reuter and Dior PZ took home fourth.
Those results were decided by judges Kirsten Coe and Michael Tokaruk over four phases of competition.
Avery Glynn and Change Up PS. Photo by High Desert Sport Photo
Phase I, held on Friday, November 8, saw riders tested on the flat, with the required flatwork exercises including flying lead changes, a turn on the haunches and a counter canter in each direction. At the end of the opening phase, Glynn sat in ninth place on a score of 83.8, and Walkenbach held the lead with a score of 90.
Next came Saturday’s Phase II, or the gymnastics phase. There, Zahorik made her move up the leaderboard, taking over the top spot with a Phase II score of 88.
Avery Glynn and Change Up PS. Photo by High Desert Sport Photo
At the conclusion of the gymnastics phase, Walkenbach held on to second place, and Glynn began to make her ascent up the rankings, moving into third place. Sitting in fourth place at the time was Reuter.
While Sunday’s Phase III carried the most weight – with scores from the phase multiplied by two before being added to riders’ cumulative score – it did not change which riders remained within the top four.
Paige Walkenbach and Emi Initia. Photo by High Desert Sport Photo
Glynn, Walkenbach, Reuter and Zahorik all excelled over the course, designed by Coe, Tokaruk and Anthony D’Ambrosio to replicate a course not unlike that seen at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
“It’s been a lot of work that Kirsten and I have put into [the course and testing in each phase] with Anthony [D’Ambrosio] and DiAnn [Langer],” explained Tokaruk. “We really tried to make it a rider contest, not just a horse contest. I think some of these equitation finals, you need massive scope to survive, and that’s not necessarily what we wanted to see. We wanted to see people ride and have the questions be fair and separate everybody without demoralizing anybody.”
Tokaruk continued, “Kirsten and I have been going back and forth, sending different courses to each other throughout the year and then trying to fine tune it over the last month or so. Some of the ideas for the gymnastics came honestly from a lesson that DiAnn [Langer] taught me 15 years ago that’s still relevant today. Then, we were able to kind of blend our ideas. Anthony helped bring it together with the appropriate distances and time allowed and fit it all into this great big, wonderful ring to get what we wanted to see and make it challenging but make it fair. We thought it would be really fun to jump a version of the Olympic course in a competition. [The top four] all really rose to the occasion.”
Victoria Zahorik and Quiwian. Photo by High Desert Sport Photo
At the end of the Jumping Phase, Reuter sat in fourth, Zahorik in third, Walkenbach in second and Glynn in the lead – and then it was on to the work-off phase. In this Phase IV, riders jumped a new course on their own horse before also jumping it again three more times on each of their competitors’ horses.
Ultimately, the win was Glynn’s with a Phase IV score of 356. With all of the top four positions remaining the same, Walkenbach finished on a score of 338, Zahorik on a score of 331 and Reuter with a score of 304.
“I really appreciated the versatility that all four of you showed in your flat work and in your gymnastics,” said Coe, addressing the top four finishers. “The way you approached the courses with your horses was intentional. It followed what we were looking for of being effective, not just being pretty, and it was impressive. I thought you all should be very proud of the weekends you had.”
For Glynn, her week first involved traveling from Alabama where she is attending Auburn University and competing on their National Collegiate Equestrian Association team. When she found out roughly a month ago that she was going to be able to make the trip back west for the Talent Search, her mom, Hope Glynn, jumped into action.
“[She] immediately picked up the phone and started making calls [to find me a horse to ride],” explained Avery Glynn. “As soon as I sat on [Change Up PS] last week to try him, I knew he was the one!”
In speaking of the 8-year-old Oldenburg stallion, Avery Glynn added, “He’s just such an incredible animal. I will say it time and time again, he’s one of the most talented horses I’ve gotten to ride ever. He’s really, really such a special horse. David Bustillos was nice enough to lend him to me, and I am so thankful to him and his whole team for letting me ride this incredible horse.”
For the win, Avery Glynn was presented with the Denali Memorial Perpetual Trophy. She also received the Hollow Brook Wealth Management Sportsmanship Award.
The Gulliver Trophy, given to the horse that the judges deem to be the best horse in the competition, went to Quiwian, ridden by Zahorik.