Reese Merna leads at the World Equestrian Centre

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The opening day of competition at the Capital Challenge Horse Show, held this year at the World Equestrian Center, also featured the flat and gymnastics phases of the fourth-annual EMO Insurance Agency/United States Hunter Jumper Association (USHJA) 3’3” Jumping Seat Medal Final – East.

?Following the first two phases, Reese Merna, 14, of Mendham, NJ, leads the 120-rider field.
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Merna and her own Utrillo du Soleil finished fifth in the gymnastics phase with a score of 88.50 and within the top 25 of the flat phase with a score of 83.20. With all gymnastics phase scores multiplied by a coefficient of 1.5 before being added to each riders’ flat phase score, Merna sits atop the leaderboard with a 215.95 overall score.

“It’s crazy; this is my first year coming to all these finals so I would have never expected that I could place let alone be on top!” said Merna, who trains with Lindsey Mohr of WinMohr Show Stables. “I was really just excited to be here, and I wanted to be happy with my rounds and maybe place.”

Merna has been partnered with Utrillo du Soleil or “Fluffy” for the past year, and she prepared for Capital Challenge by focusing on no stirrup work, bending lines, and tight rollbacks with the 12-year-old warmblood gelding.

“Fluffy’s amazing; he’s like my best friend,” said Merna, who is competing at Capital Challenge for the second time. “He’s a bit strong sometimes, but he’s very confident and knows his job. He’s just a great horse to have in the ring.”

?Sitting very close behind Merna in the overall standings with a score of 215.875 is Samantha Takacs, 15, of Oldwick, NJ. Takacs and her own Cooper bested the flat phase with a score of 88 and finished 14th in the gymnastics phase.

“It feels so amazing. I really wasn’t coming into it expecting to win or anything because my horse Cooper and I are both very new to the equitation,” said Takacs, who trains with New Hope LLC. “I was just coming and hoping to have a good experience.

“It’s so amazing here at World Equestrian Center, and I’m so thankful to the Roberts for hosting this amazing show. The facilities are beautiful,” continued Takacs.