BY ABIGAIL WILDER AND TONYA RATLIFF-GARRISON
Team USA closed out the Youth World Cup Sunday in style. Jolene Wadds, 18, riding Principle Income, took the gold medal in hunt seat equitation.
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| Team USA's Jolene Wadds took the gold in hunt seat equitation on Sunday, July 2. Coming in second was Italy's Sara D'imperio and Denmark's Charline Eiberg was third. |
“Prince was amazing,” Jolene said. “He’s so tired, but that horse has a lot of heart to keep going. I could tell he was getting sore on his feet because he’s been showing all day. But he just kept going, and he was really good.”
“Prince” is owned by Joe and Karen Moran. The 12-year-old bay gelding is by Principle Income and out of Ms Belle Star by Skipa Star.
Jolene said she planned for the trouble spots in her pattern.
“In my rail work I just showed as hard as I could, and he was fabulous,” Jolene said.
Jolene said she didn’t know if she had won or not in the lineup. She said sometimes her heart stops when the announcer calls out the United Kingdom; the “united” throws her off.
“After they called the girl from the UK,” Jolene said, “I figured I was the only ‘united’ left. When they called Italy out second, I was thinking, ‘OK, who’s left?’ I’m glad I won; I came here wanting to do really well in the equitation because it’s one of my favorite classes.”
Jolene has been riding since she could walk. Her trainers are her parents, Gordon and Kim Wadds. She said Scott Jones has helped her in the equitation, and she said she has learned a lot from the Team USA coach and Professional Horseman Nancy Cahill.
“I couldn’t ask for a better Youth World Cup,” Jolene said.
Jolene said Team USA did not know each other well before the Youth World Cup, but they have grown and learned a lot from each other.
“It’s just been an incredible experience,” Jolene said. “Coming here and meeting different people from other countries has just been indescribable. I have loved every second, and I would do anything to do it again.”
Jolene is in her last year of youth eligibility, and she said she was glad to win the hunt seat equitation again for the United States.
“I know Jody (Hatchett) won the equitation last time for the US, so it was good to keep it up,” Jolene said.
ITALY WINS THE SILVER MEDAL
Italy’s coach Debbie Cooper has only three words to say about her team: Very, very good.
“They’ve been fantastic,” she said after 16-year-old Sara D’imperio won Team Italy’s fifth medal in hunt seat equitation Sunday, July 2. “They just have the greatest attitudes. They’re fun-loving, they’re hard-working, they’re organized, and they’re good riders. They’re great riders. I didn’t do anything. They did it all on their own.”
Debbie has coached two other Youth World Cup teams but this was her first time with Team Italy.
“I didn’t meet any of them until around the first of June when I went to Italy to do a clinic for a day and a half,” she said. “I thought they were a good group kids but you never know how well you’re going to do at the Youth World Cup until you get here because it’s basically the luck of what horse you draw.”
And luck was with the team when it drew Im Rusty Impression. The 16-year-old gelding was responsible for all of the team’s big medal wins. Since 1997, Im Rusty Impression has been a finalist in several Youth World Championship Show classes including hunt seat equitation, hunter hack and trail. He also received has several AQHA Superior awards.
“He really carried us all the way through,” Debbie said. “Sara and Steve (Oullet) also rose to the occasion and rode him really, really, really well. But none the less, that horse was our star. And that’s the bottom line about these World Cup horses.”
Debbie said the Youth World Cup was an excellent opportunity not only for her team to learn new horsemanship skills and compete against other top youth, but it was also chance for team members to make new friends and have some fun.
“Yes, it’s about competition, but it’s also about learning, having fun and making friendships,” she said. “That’s what Youth World Cup is really all about.”
To read all of Team Italy’s stories, click on the links below:
Saturday Trail
Sunday Trail
Saturday Horsemanship
Sunday Horsemanship
Sunday Western Riding
