Lauren Padilla made a bit of a last-minute decision to call on her 1.45m jumper mount, Dior P Z, for this year’s CPHA Style of Riding Championship – South, and by the end of Friday night, November 7, she was sure glad that she did. The 16-year-old from Palos Verdes Estates, Calif. rode away with the win in the class after leading through two rounds of competition at Desert International Horse Park.
“It feels like a dream come true!” said Padilla. “I honestly never thought I would win a medal final. Everyone who has put the effort and time into helping me win this tonight is incredible. We actually weren’t planning on using this horse. He’s my 1.45m jumper, but I have a green equitation horse. He wasn’t quite ready yet to do it under the lights in this big stage…So, it was just quickly put together that we decided, ‘Okay, we’re going to do Dior,’ and he was amazing!”
Padilla and Dior P Z’s path to the win during DIHP’s National Sunshine Series 2 began on Friday afternoon as 67 entries took on a first-round, jumper-style course in the Grand Prix Stadium. From there, judges Steven Rivetts and Steven Wall narrowed the field down to the top 12 to return in reverse order of their standings for round two under the lights.
“In the first round, we just wanted to make sure we were within the time with no rails,” said Padilla, who works with a number of trainers including Paige Dendiu. “Obviously it’s a jumper medal, so we were wanting to be kind of on the pace on a click – moving around the course, just seeing every distance.”
Padilla’s plan worked as she immediately took over the top spot, where she would remain through the end of the night.
“Coming in as the leader was a lot of pressure, but I really, really wanted this!” said Padilla. “I wanted to win, so I was like, ‘I have to step up to the stage, and I have to do this!’ My horse was amazing. He felt perfect, so I knew we could be as tidy and handy as we were…In the last line, I felt like the weight lifted off my shoulders. I knew he was perfect, and I could feel the victory.”
With Padilla taking home the win, second place went to Lily Grosz and Constable, and Jayme Omand and Edesa’s Donovan finished in third. For full results of the CPHA Style of Riding Championship – South, click here.