Kait Meggenhofen Captures NAYC Young Rider Gold
The Young Rider category culminated Sunday at the Gotham North FEI North American Youth Jumping Championships, presented by USHJA, with a major victory for Kait Meggenhofen, who completed the three days of jumping on 12.99 penalties for the gold medal. She accomplished the feat on Diva de Talma, a 13-year-old Selle Francais mare who jumped two clear rounds over highly technical tracks across the three days.
“My mindset was really just to keep consistent and keep going start to finish,” Meggenhofen, of Zone 5, shared. “I was just happy to be here, let alone have my horse jumping clear. I’m not going to lie, the pressure is hard but I just trust my horse. She’ll do everything to jump for me.”
Like every athlete on the podium and beyond, Meggenhofen felt she had her horse to thank for the performance she put in at NAYC.
“She is a chestnut mare but doesn’t act like one unless she sees a jump and then she’s all game,” she said of Diva de Talma. “She’s perfect.”
Finishing in the silver medal position was JJ Torano of Zone 4, who piloted I Am Inge to an impressive finish as well, ending his championship run on 13.60 penalties. Torano finished with identical scores in each round as Meggenhofen, however his penalties from the Individual Qualifier put him slightly behind her for the silver.
“From start to finish I thought Inge jumped great,” Torano shared. “I was very happy with how I rode. Stepping up to this level you have to be pretty perfect to leave all the jumps up. In the last round I don’t think anyone jumped clear, but I was really happy with Inge; she dealt with it great. She stepped up at the last minute so for her to perform like that I couldn’t be more pleased with her.”
Torano was one of a handful of athletes over the course of the week to post a clear round, and he and Meggenhofen each posted two, the only two athletes to do so.
“I’d say the first round today was straightforward; it walked just how it rode,” Torano said of the course building for the day. “The height had an impact on everybody. Round two there were no clear rounds, so I thought it was pretty tough. I know my horse well so I knew where I could leave a little more room at the jumps. Mainly just knowing my horse helped me out today.”
Torano’s next move will be later this month, representing the United States as one of just two athletes selected for the Youth Jumping Competition held alongside the 2026 FEI World Championships.
In the bronze medal position was Isabelle Ehman, who proved that consistency could be invaluable on a stage like this. With her partner Darra du Soleil, she put in strong jumping rounds with little variation in scores that landed her on the podium after a tough week of jumping.
“I’ve had her for a while now and I know her pretty well,” Ehman said of Darra du Soleil. “This was our first championship together but I know what she needs to jump her best. That’s a big confidence booster for me to know what’s expected of me to help her jump. I was never really guessing about what I had to do to make it happen, so that kept me levelheaded throughout the week.”
For Ehman, the week was all about learning, plus having fun with teammates and friends.
“After my first championship with her, there were definitely a lot of things I needed to do better this week,” she reflected after her final round. “I learned a lot, and that will help me improve for the next championship we do.”
A Perfect Performance in the Pre-Junior Category for Brookelyn Roy
As the Pre-Junior category drew to a close Sunday at the Gotham North FEI North American Youth Jumping Championships, presented by USHJA, there was only one rider who stood alone on a clear slate over five rounds of jumping. Zone 10 athlete Brookelyn Roy piloted Carlo DC Stables Z to the gold medal after a flawless performance, finishing on just 1.65 penalties carried forward from day one.
Roy was already headed home to the West Coast with one gold medal, after helping the Zone 10 team gold on Friday, but now she’s bringing home two, capping off her week with the individual victory as well.
“In my last round I didn’t ride my best but my horse takes care of me,” Roy reflected on a tough week of jumping. “My biggest takeaway was probably the consistency that I had throughout the week with him and the memories with my team and my horse.”
Consistency proved key for all athletes on the podium, with the scores being very close to one another at the top of the leaderboard. Kaitlyn Linck, from Zone 2, ultimately took home the silver medal after winning the Individual Qualifier, then just having one rail down in the final round of the Individual Final aboard Frenesie de Mars, finishing on 4.00 penalties.
“I think the last round was a bit nerve wracking,” Linck reflected, as she was headed in the ring last as the overall leader. “My horse was tired at the end of the week so I wasn’t sure how it was going to go. I had to work quite a bit for the last round but she tried her heart out every round. It’s a lot about being consistent and anything can happen in a championship like this.”
Frenesie de Mars was a newer ride for Linck, who hopes to keep riding the mare as the year goes on and more championship opportunities present themselves.
Sydney Cummings, from Zone 1, was only a tiny fraction of a penalty behind Linck, taking the bronze medal with a nearly perfect performance. She rode Untouchable 34 to a double-clear effort in the Individual Final, and with just one rail down in the Team Competition, she finished on 4.04 penalties.
“The last round going into it I was in the middle of the pack and I was nervous but I didn’t have much to lose,” Cummings reflected. “I had to try my hardest and I had a lot of fun and it all ended up working out for us.”
With just one week remaining in the Great Lakes Equestrian Festival, presented by B&D Builders, the final week focuses back on CSI3* show jumping, with competition kicking off Wednesday. Fans and competitors can view full schedules, results, and live updates through the Traverse City Horse Shows Mobile App.
