AUBURN, Ala. – The Jumping Seat crew of the Auburn equestrian put an exclamation on a successful summer away from the Plains.
Representing the Tigers all over the country were seniors Emma Kurtz and Meghan Knapic, junior Paige Matthies, sophomores Genevieve Cullen, Ellie Ferrigno and Grace Pearson and freshmen Mary-Grace Segars and Sophee Steckbeck.
Ferrigno had a busy summer, starting with the Great Lakes Equestrian Festival (GLEF) IV in Traverse City, Michigan, July 27-Aug. 1. She finished third in the Dudley B Smith Equitation Challenge and winner of the Low A/O Jumper Classic.
The Newtown, Conn., product then headed to the Derby Finals in Lexington, Kentucky. She was the High Point Amateur Rider in the Green Incentive Finals and finished in the Top 25 in the International Hunter Derby Finals. Also in Lexington, Ferrigno was champion and classic winner in Low A/O Jumpers at the Bluegrass Horse Show.
Steckbeck, of Clarksburg, N.J., also competed in Traverse City this summer. She was part of the silver medal Zone 2 Young Riders Team at the North American Youth Championship, Aug. 15.
Kurtz recently competed at the HITS Horse Show in Saugerties, N.Y. where she came in third in the $100,000 Platinum Performance Hunter Prix Final.
Fellow senior Knapic also had a busy summer away from Auburn. She also competed in Saugerties, N.Y., winning the $5,000 National Derby and was runner-up in the $7,500 Adult Jumper Classic. In addition, Knapic was winner of the USHJA Jr/Am North East Region Championship and was reserve champion in Amateur Owner Hunters.
Segars, a freshman from Canton, Georgia, was Zone 4 Junior Jumper Champion at the USHJA Jumper Championships in Tryon, North Carolina.
A pair of sophomores in Pearson and Cullen also picked up championships this summer. Pearson won the Adult Hunter 18-35 at the Oregon High Desert Classic I in Bend, Oregon (July 21-25). She finished second in the Adult Classic at the same event.
Cullen took home the top prize in the Ariat Adult Medal at the St. Christopher's and Blue Rock Horse Shows in Littletown, Pennsylvania.
Matthies, of Lake Leelanau, Michigan, finished seventh in the Medium A/O Jumper Classic at the Great Lakes Equestrian Festival.
