​The Capital Challenge Horse Show named two new equitation championship winners on Sunday, September 30, to conclude the show’s Equitation Weekend, presented by BigEq.com, at the Prince George’s Equestrian Center in Upper Marlboro, MD. The 25th anniversary edition of the horse show continues with hunter, jumper, and equitation competition through Sunday, October 7.
 
Sunday’s victors were Grady Lyman of San Diego, CA, who won the Palm Beach International Academy (PBIA) North American Junior Equitation Championships, and Avery Glynn of Petaluma, CA, who topped the Taylor Harris Insurance Services (THIS) National Children’s Medal Finals. 
 
From a field of 138 entries, Lyman was one of the top 20 to return to the ring for a second jumping round in the North American Junior Equitation Championships. When she returned, she executed the highest scoring round of the weekend – earning a 96 from one of the three panels of judges and an average score for the round of 94.66. 

​Upper Marlboro, Maryland – Eleven new champions were crowned on Saturday, September 29, at the 25th anniversary Capital Challenge Horse Show, at Prince George’s Equestrian Center in Upper Marlboro, MD.
 
Among the winners on the second day of the BigEq.com Equitation Weekend was Jessica Stone of West Bloomfield, MI, who clinched victory in the second annual United States Hunter Jumper Association (USHJA) 3’3” Jumping Seat Medal Final – East.
 
In order to secure the win, Stone had to top 121 entries over three phases of competition, including flat and gymnastics phases held on Friday and a final, jumping phase held on Saturday.
 
Coming into Saturday, Stone sat in third on a score of 216.80, while Breanna Bunevacz of Calabasas, CA, held the lead with a score of 220.12. However, Stone soon shot to the top of the leaderboard after earning a score of 89 from judges Mark Jungherr and Sissy Wickes. That score, multiplied by a coefficient of two and combined with her score from Friday, gave Stone a 394.80 total that would prove to be untouchable by the final two riders to return. Bunevacz, 15, finished the round with a score of 84.50 in the jumping phase for a 389.12 total. 

​The 25th anniversary edition of the Capital Challenge Horse Show began on Friday, September 28, at the Prince George’s Equestrian Center in Upper Marlboro, MD, with the start of Equitation Weekend, presented by BigEq.com, and the naming of the show’s first three 2018 champions.
 
Adam Edgar of Leesburg, VA, riding Magnolia, and Lily Walton of Shelbyville, KY, aboard Callahan, claimed championships in the Adult Amateur Equitation Section A and Section B, respectively, and the North American Adult Amateur Equitation Championship title was awarded to Martha Ingram of Nashville, TN.
 
Ingram, 21, of Nashville, TN, made the trip from Furman University in South Carolina to Capital Challenge, just long enough to top the 26 total entries in the championship class.

“I actually skipped school today to be here, but I fly back tomorrow!” said Ingram, who is currently in her junior year. “This is my first time doing the amateur equitation here. I did the juniors; I did the Taylor Harris [National Children’s Medal Final]; I didn’t even make it to the second round in the Taylor Harris, so really coming here I just wanted to have a good time.”

​Since its inception 25 years ago, the Capital Challenge Horse Show has been home to prestigious year-end finals showcasing the best in the sport. For the past decade, Capital Challenge has also shined a spotlight on the up-and-coming professionals in the hunter industry. This year’s event will be no different, as the Capital Challenge Horse Show returns to Prince George’s Equestrian Center on September 28-October 7, 2018, in Upper Marlboro, MD.
 
Each year, the top developing professionals who meet certain criteria are invited to contest the World Championship Hunter Rider (WCHR) Developing Pro Challenge, to be held this year on Wednesday, October 3, and offering $5,000 in prize money, presented by The John R. Ingram Fund.
 
The class gives less experienced professional riders a chance to compete against their peers on center stage for a coveted title. For many of the past WCHR Developing Pro Challenge winners, the class has served as a valuable springboard for their professional careers. 
 
“It put me onto the hunter stage a little bit; it got my name out there,” said Tara Metzner, of Rancho Santa Fe, CA, who won the class in 2011 and went on to win the WCHR Professional Challenge in 2014. 
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​“Capital Challenge is one of the biggest stages for the hunters,” continued Metzner. “For a young, developing rider to go in the ring there following a Scott Stewart or a Liza [Boyd] can be super intimidating. To be able to have a class where you’re still on a national stage, but that is specifically for developing pro riders where you’re competing against your peers instead of those really seasoned riders, gives a nice opportunity for developing pros to really shine on that bigger stage.”

On September 28, 2018, the 25th anniversary edition of the Capital Challenge Horse Show (CCHS) will kick off at the Prince George’s Equestrian Center located in Upper Marlboro, MD. 
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In the last two and a half decades, Capital Challenge has grown exponentially, largely due to the generous and continued support of its esteemed roster of sponsors. Since its inception in 1994, CCHS has established itself as a premier year-end horse show destination for competitors throughout North America. 
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​“It’s quite incredible to look back on the first year of the Capital Challenge Horse Show in 1994, and then witness the magnitude and relevance of the show today,” said CCHS Manager, Oliver Kennedy. “Thanks to all of our sponsors and loyal exhibitors, we’ve been able to really expand what we offer in terms of classes, prize money, and hospitality.”

​Atop the list of Capital Challenge’s 25th anniversary sponsors is the World Equestrian Center (WEC), which returns in support of the show for its third consecutive year. This year, in addition to the organization’s generous sponsorship support, WEC will offer on-site shopping through the World Equestrian Center/Chagrin Saddlery Mobile Boutique.