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After his hot performance in Ocala in 2009, earning him the #2 spot on last year's Index, it hardly seemed possible that Chase Boggio could actually improve upon his ranking. But improve he did! He got this year's #1 spot with a dominant performance in Ocala again. In ten years of calculating the Index, Boggio had the highest raw score we've seen. Ever. He pinned in seventeen classes over the six weeks we used in our calculation, and won more than half of them. HALF! He won an incredible nine classes. The closest anyone else has come to winning so much was Michael Morrissey, winning seven classes en route to his #1 spot a few years ago. Boggio didn't disappoint us last year. After snagging the #2 spot on the Index he won the North American Equitation Championship and took the reserve championships in the Washington Equitation Classic Final and the ASPCA Maclay Final. With his #1 ranking, he has solidified himself as the top finals contender for 2010. Last year's #4, and 2008's #1 Victoria Birdsall secured the #2 ranking in 2010. Ironically, by the numbers, she was actually stronger in 2010 than 2008. In any normal year, 13640 points would easily be enough for the #1 ranking, including 2008 when she topped the list with a number of 13000. But Boggio's historic success kept Birdsall from a repeat #1 ranking. Nonetheless, she was brilliant at WEF, placing in fourteen classes and winning six. Birdsall has been one of the most consistent riders every winter for five years now. She was an honorable mention on the 2006 Index, #18 in 2007, #1 in 2008, #4 in 2009, and now #2. She joins an elite few riders who've kept this high level of performance for so long. #3 Amber Henter is making her third appearance on the Eq Index. In 2007 she earned an honorable mention, then made her official debut at #31 in 2008. Last year she was a respectable #23. Her big jump into the top three, however, reveals she's ready to make a statement at the finals this year. Henter finished 8th in the ASPCA Maclay last fall, and looks to be in good form for more success. Henter was one of the riders who hit two circuits, WEF and Ocala. She did the bulk of her winning in Wellington, where she won five classes of the ten classes she pinned in. What's more incredible, however, is that in the classes where she ribboned, she never finished lower than third place. She placed first five times, second three times and third two times. Wow- when she's on, she's ON! Making his Index debut at #4 is top California rider, Theo Boris. It is noteworthy that boys were in the top spot on two of the three circuits, with Boris leading Thermal and Boggio leading Ocala. In addition, another talented young man, Michael Hughes, took the #9 spot. Boris earned his place on the strength of both his 2010 performances, and his bonus points for having won a final - the 2009 USET West. At Thermal, Boris won four classes, and was the most consistent rider on the circuit, pinning in fifteen classes. He also placed in the top three in 66% of the classes he placed in, also showing that when he's good, he's likely to be near or at the top. Catherine Pasmore took the #5 spot with a strong performance at Wellington. Pasmore won four classes and was among the most consistent riders, placing in twelve classes. Like Boris, when Pasmore ribboned, it was likely to be a high placing, since she placed in the top three in 75% of her classes. Pasmore is no stranger to equitation success, having earned an Eq Index honorable mentions in 2007, 2008 and making her debut at #34 last year. She also placed sixth at the 09 USEF Medal final and will look to add more finals winnings this year. #6 takes us back to California, where Lucy Davis had tremendous success. Davis is a very experienced equitation rider. She made her debut at #21 on the Index in 2009, but has been on the radar since much earlier, making the Index's HM in 2008 and in 2006. The years of experience are paying off, as Davis was one of the most dominant riders at Thermal, winning seven of the nine classes she ribboned in. That's a 77% chance that if she gets a ribbon at all, it will be blue! She's also shown the mettle to compete in the high pressure fall finals, placing 6th at the ASPCA Maclay and 4th in the WIHS Equitation Classic in 2009. In 2008, she was 9th in the ASPCA Maclay and reserve champion of the USET West. She's one to watch, for sure. Lucky #7 goes to Jessica Springsteen. There's not much for Springsteen to show in these days, which is likely the only reason she's not #1 again this year. She simply doesn't have enough classes to compete in to earn points because already won the ASPCA Maclay and the USEF Medal finals. So all that leaves her is the USET and the WIHS classes. Even so, of the two classes she ribboned in, she won both and earned bonus points for being a finals winner. She's got some stiff competition these days, but Springsteen is a surefire frontrunner for both the USET and WIHS Finals. Another finals winner, Samantha Schaefer made it into the top ten at #8. Schaefer is the reigning WIHS Equitation Classic winner. In addition, Schaefer was fourth at the USEF Medal Final last fall, and reserve champion in the WIHS Eq Classic in 2008. She won a class in Wellington, placed in another four classes and earned bonus points for being a finals winner as Boris and Springsteen did. #9 Michael Hughes was successful on both the Ocala and WEF circuits. In Ocala, he earned over 6000 points, then supplemented that with another 1200+ points from his winnings in Wellington. In Ocala, he won two classes and placed in fourteen classes overall. He was also second in five classes, and if those had been firsts, he'd be giving he fellow Ocala rider Boggio a run for his money at the top of the Index. He made his debut on the Index in 2008 at #34 then jumped to #15 in 2009. Hughes was 10th at the USET East in 2008 and seems due for some major victories in 2010. Rounding out the top ten is Katherine Schmidt. She earned an HM on the Index in 2009 and makes a high debut this year at #10. Schmidt won two classes and placed second four times. She placed first, second or third in every single class she pinned in. Those are pretty high quality finishes on the toughest circuit. She's a fresh face to watch for at finals time this fall! Cayla Richards made her debut at #10 in 2009 and stays consistent at #11 this year. She's proven she's a strong finals contender, having been the reserve champion at the USET West in 2009 and also at the North American Equitation in 2008. She also placed fifth in 2009 in the North American final. She's young and talented and we think she's poised for lots of strong performances this fall and beyond. She was the only rider to win a class on two circuits, winning one in Wellington and three in Thermal. The kid can compete with anyone. #12 is Charlotte Jacobs, making her debut on the list. Jacobs proved she can compete with the best, winning two classes in Wellington and placing in thirteen classes, establishing her as one of the most consistent riders there. Last year's #9, Kelsey Hart comes in at #13. She made her debut on the Index in 2008, at #45. Hart had another good winter season. She was the most consistent ribbon winner in Wellington, placing in fifteen classes and winning two. Lillie Keenan was an honorable mention last year and earned her first ranking this year at #14. Highlights of her circuit were two wins and two second-place finishes. Keenan is another young rider with some finals success under her belt (7th ASPCA Maclay 09) looking to become a contender. Taylor Ann Adams won four classes and placed in eleven over the course of the Ocala circuit to earn her rank of #15. It's her third year on the Index, having been #19 in 2009, and #26 in 2008. MISC THOUGHTS 16 AND BEYOND #21 Samantha Smith and #17 Samantha Ramsay both share a first name and similar equitation backgrounds. Both have won ribbons at finals: Ramsay was 5th at the 2009 USET East, and Smith was 5th in the 08 Maclay and 10th in the 09 USET East. Both had similar performances during the winter circuits, the difference coming in their locations. Ramsay rode at WEF, winning two classes and placing in eight. Smith rode at Ocala and won three classes and placed in eight also. Between Samantha Schaefer and these two Samanthas, it seems like the plausibility of a Samantha ribboning at the finals this fall is high! The last three former National Children's Medal Final winners made the Index: #15 Adams won in 2007, #25 Sylvia De Toledo won in 2009, and #40 Kristen Mohr won it in 2008. All those second round tests must've been good preparation for the big eqs! In addition, Cayla Richards was 2nd in the NCM and #35 Hasbrouck Donovan was third, and #32 Gabbi Langston was 5th in 2007. In 2006, #21 Samantha Smith was 2nd, #28 Paulena Johnson was 7th, and #13 Kelsey Hart was 8th. Speaking of Johnson, she deserves props for making the list four times: #38 in 2007, HM in 2008, #14 in 2009, and #28 in 2010. Those riders all had some years of experience in making into this year's Index. This makes Toledo's debut particularly prominent because this is her first year showing at 3'6"- and to rank as high as 25 is very impressive. She's got a very bright future ahead of her! Perhaps she will follow in Johnson's footsteps and become a consistent big eq rider year in and year out, right after making the transition to the 3'6" classes. We love to see siblings make the list... and there were three sets honored in some way this year: The O'Mara sisters were very close in the rankings, Meg at #22 and Abby at #18. The Tyree sisters came in at #34 for Catherine and an honorable mention for Lauren. Finally, the Coulter sisters saw Audrey finish at #39 and Saer with an honorable mention. The year of Olivia: We kept seeing Olivias as we were recording and calculating results. It must've been a popular name in the early 90s, as seen with #49 Olivia Dorey and unranked riders Olivia Esse, Olivia Smith, Olivia Champ, Olivia Hupy, and Olivia Jack. It was hard keeping all the Olivias straight! Overall, 220 riders earned a ribbon in our six week selection of classes at WEF, Thermal and Ocala. Which means that only 22% of the riders who won a ribbon made the 2010 Bigeq.com Equitation Index. This is an elite group here! CIRCUIT EQUITATION CHAMPIONSHIP CLASSES: GEORGE MORRIS EXCELLENCE IN EQ - WEF RONNIE MUTCH EQUITATION CHAMPIONSHIP - OCALA RONNIE MUTCH EQUITATION CHAMPIONSHIP - THERMAL Congratulations to everyone! Good luck with your summer showing and best wishes for success at the fall finals!! ©MedalMaclay.com |
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