Maddie Tosh Dazzles in Final Phase to Win EMO Insurance/USHJA 3’3” Jumping Seat Medal Final – East at Capital Challenge

Six new champions were crowned on the second day of Equitation Weekend, presented by BIGEQ.com, on Friday, September 30, at the 2022 Capital Challenge Horse Show in Upper Marlboro, Maryland. The day in the Show Place Arena at the Prince George’s Equestrian Center culminated with the final phase of the sixth-annual EMO Insurance/United States Hunter Jumper Association (USHJA) 3’3” Jumping Seat Medal Final – East, where Maddie Tosh of Milton, Georgia, piloted Daktari 38 to the high score of 87 to secure the overall lead and don the winning ribbon sash.

Tosh was in seventh after scoring 85.1 in the flat phase and moved up to second place with an 85.5 in the gymnastics phase, in which scores are multiplied by a coefficient of 1.5. Her 213.35 total was just .325 points off of the lead, and with scores in the final phase multiplied by a coefficient of 2, it was still anyone’s game.

“My horse was really great all the way through,” said Tosh, who trains with her father, professional hunter rider Hunt Tosh. “I thought the flat was good, and in the gymnastics phase he couldn’t have been any better, so I felt like we had a strong start coming into today. I’d honestly rather come back in second than on top–it gives me a little wiggle room.”

She continued, “I thought the jumping phase was a forward course, which was good for my horse because he has a big stride. I was able to pick up a gallop and keep it the whole time. It’s always nice in an indoor like this, because I feel like the horses know it’s a little bit different and special.”

Daktari 38, a seven-year-old Hanoverian gelding by Diacontinus, is owned by Missy Clark of North Run and Betsee Parker leases him for Tosh to compete with. The 2021 Capital Challenge Horse Show marked the pair’s second show together, competing only in the age group equitation classes that year.

“He’s just so fun. He’s so sweet and has such a great personality,” expressed Tosh of the striking grey who was awarded Best Equitation Horse. “This has been a lot for him this week, being his first final. He just handles it like a champ. He’s so young, but he’s so brave. I just couldn’t ask for more from him. He’s such a great partner, and he tries so hard for me every time.”

While Daktari 38 might still be relatively new to Capital Challenge, Tosh, at just 16 years old, is already a veteran.

“I’ve always loved Capital Challenge. I’ve been coming here since I was a tiny little pony kid on small ponies, and there’s something about winning here that’s just extra special,” she concluded.

Vivian Golden of Wyomissing, Pennsylvania, who was champion of the Section A 12 and Under Equitation earlier in the day, was last to contest the Ken Krome-designed final jumping phase aboard her own Cap Ferrat, a 10-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding by Quasimodo VD Molendreef. Golden, who trains with her mother, Olivia Golden, at their Double G Stables and with Amanda Lyerly at Madison Hills Farm, scored 84.3 from judges Robin Rost Brown and Tammy Provost for a 382.275 total score and the overall reserve championship title.

Third place went to Isa Jensen of Albany, New York, riding her own Happy Boy, a 10-year-old KWPN gelding by Spartacus TN, with a final score of 376.75.

Earlier in the day, five Section A age group equitation division champions and reserve champions were named as follows:

• Champion Vivian Golden of Wyomissing, PA, and Reserve Champion Emi Richard of Middlefield, CT, in the 12 & Under Equitation
• Champion Anna Markcrow of Manchester Center, VT, and Reserve Champion Emily Jernovoy of Woodstock Valley, CT, in the 13 & 14-Year-Old Equitation
• Champion McKayla Brombach of Wimberley, TX and Reserve Champion Maddie Tosh of Milton, GA in the 15-Year-Old Equitation
• Champion Grace Shipman of Ridgefield, CT, and Reserve Champion Joe Craver of Shelby, NC, in the 16-Year-Old Equitation
• Champion Victoria Zahorik of Bartonville, TX, and Reserve Champion Ruby Ransco of Paradise Valley, AZ, in the 17-Year-Old Equitation

Equitation Weekend, presented by BIGEQ.com, continues Saturday, October 1, with the Section B age group equitation divisions followed by the THIS National Children’s Medal Finals. The Capital Challenge Horse Show features top hunter, jumper, and equitation competition through October 9.

EMO Insurance/USHJA 3'3" Jumping Seat Medal Final - East Results
Place / Rider / Horse / Overall
1 / Maddie Tosh / Daktari 38 / 387.35
2 / Vivian Golden / Cap Ferrat / 382.275
3 / Isa Jensen / Happy Boy / 376.75
4 / Cecelia Perry / Surely / 374.35
5 / Abigail Gordon / Breckenridge / 373.5
6 / Maxine Boeding / Jalabert / 371.75
7 / Lily Epstein / Cumano Boy Z / 371.5
8 / Eva Mackenzie / Demonia GS Z / 369.4
9 / Annabelle Brown / Nemesis 11 / 368.4
10 / Grace O’Connell / Calavino / 368.4
11 / Cassidy Exner / S&L Cellestino / 376.625
12 / Isabella Mullan / Coltino / 366.55