Whitney Weeks and Subliem edged out Jennifer Waxman to win the $25,000 ARIAT North American Junior Amateur Challenge Cup, presented by the Oken Family and Hi Hopes Farm. The class was the final phase of the $45,000 North American Junior Amateur Owner Challenge Cup.

Weeks commented on Saturday night’s course designed by Conrad Homfeld saying, “It didn’t look super big, and then when you got in it was a true Conrad course – there was no time to take a breath. You landed in the corner and then got swept immediately to the next jump.”
Weeks won the class by tightening up a turn to a problematic vertical. It saved her enough time to finish in 40.083 seconds – less than a tenth of a second faster than Waxman’s 40.147-finish on Venturo.
Waxman was the first of ten riders out of the field of 37 to qualify for the jumpoff. Waxman set a fast enough pace that the nine riders following her had to turn up the heat if they wanted to win.
Waxman said, “I thought the jump-off was a little tough today. I figured if I could go clear, I’d be up there. If I went too fast and had a rail, that would be silly, especially if I wasn’t chasing anything. I really wanted to win. I was trying to go fast. That’s definitely the fastest I’ve gone on him, maybe ever!”
Tracey Weinberg came in aboard Cromwell and as she navigated the course it looked like she would give Waxman a run for her money. Cromwell kept the rails from hitting the dirt but they couldn’t beat Waxman’s time. Stopping the clock in 43.240 seconds would be good enough for third.
Weinberg went on to win the Ariat Congressional Cup for her three-phase 96-point finish riding her second horse Larone. The stallion had won a first and second in the two speed classes held on Thursday and Friday, but had a rail in Saturday’s class that kept him out of the jumpoff.
“I’m thrilled,” said, Weinberg. “It is always exciting. I love when it is something new – an inaugural year. I always love to be a part of that. And the sponsors really stepped up to the plate. The awards were incredible.”
Weinberg liked the unique format of the class. She said, “It is something different for the juniors and amateurs, and I think it is all about consistency. While the horse I was on top with pulled a rail, my second horse did well and because of the format…it affects everything. It certainly gives them a taste of what international competition is like.”