Rizvi Reaches New Heights in Young Rider Individual Final; Fruchterman and Nichols Win Dressage Freestyle Gold
Sunday marked a special milestone for Zayna Rizvi (Zone 4 – Wellington, Fla.) as she claimed her second individual gold medal at the Gotham North FEI North American Youth Championships for Jumping (NAYC) presented by USHJA, aboard Excellent.
On 3.02 penalties after day one, she saw herself lower on the leaderboard than riders who put in extremely quick rounds. A double-clear effort–one of only two–during the team competition, quickly shot the 16-year-old to the top. Pairing that feat with a double-clear effort in the individual final put her comfortably ahead of the next closest finisher, who incurred 8.41 total penalties.
“I think it has a lot to do with my horse, not just me,” Rizvi said of Excellent, a 2009 KWPN gelding owned by Peacock Ridge, LLC. “He’s amazing; every time we step in the ring he really tries his heart out for me. I think he especially likes it here because he always seems to do well here. It’s not just me, it’s the whole team behind me and obviously my horse who makes this all possible.”
As a repeat competitor, Rizvi knows what the experience at NAYC can provide in terms of preparing riders for upcoming championship events. “It’s a really nice thing to be able to practice being on teams like this to prepare for the future,” she said. “Being on a team, it is super important to work with your teammates. You learn how to grow as a rider on a team but also individually. I hope to one day be on senior teams, so this is a really great experience for me and my horse too.”
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