The 2009 Capital Challenge Horse Show will take place September 26 – October 4 at the Prince George’s Equestrian Center in Upper Marlboro, MD. This year’s edition will feature the $40,000 North American Junior/Amateur Challenge Cup.

The North American Junior/Amateur Challenge Cup will feature three rounds of jumper competition in a World Cup-type format. The first round, sponsored by Heritage Farm and Kate Considine/Willow Brook Farm, is a $5,000 Time First Round class. The Time First Round format for the second round will offer $10,000 in prize money and is sponsored by Kocher Tack. The final round will hand out $25,000 in prize money and is sponsored by the Oken Family.

The height of the jumps on course will increase with each round in the North American Junior/Amateur Challenge Cup, starting at 1.35m, moving up to 1.40m, and finishing at 1.45m. Points are given in each round and after the third round the competitor with the highest point total will be named the overall winner. The winner will be awarded the Ariat Congressional Cup as well as an Antares saddle, Ariat boots and breeches, an Essex Classics show shirt and more.

The new class will give the juniors and amateurs the opportunity to compete indoors over courses designed by world-renowned designer Conrad Homfeld. Homfeld was a Team Gold and Individual Silver Medalist at the 1984 LA Olympics, as well as the team Gold and Individual Silver medalist at the 1986 World Championships in Aachen, Germany. Homfeld was also a two-time winner of the World Cup Finals and has designed the courses at two World Cup Finals. He has also been named course designer for the 2010 World Equestrian Games to be held in Lexington, Kentucky.

Homfeld will also design the courses for the children’s/adult jumpers. The $10,000 Children’s/Adult Amateur Jumper Challenge will take place on Thursday night in the Show Place Arena.

Last year’s winner of the North American Junior/Amateur Challenge Cup was Tracey Weinberg of Lovettsville, VA, on Larone. 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. It certainly gives us a taste of what international competition is like.”

Special awards will be given to the junior/amateur jumpers, including The Remy Martin Perpetual Trophy donated by Rolling Acres & Melanie Wright; the Best Junior Jumper Rider Award sponsored by Kingsmeade Farm, Inc., which is awarded to the Junior rider earning the most points on a single mount in the NA Challenge Cup; and the Best Amateur Jumper Rider Award sponsored by Lyman T. Whitehead & Eight Fences, LLC, which is given to the Amateur rider earning the most points on a single mount in the NA Challenge Cup.