[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]
Keely McIntosh to represent Texas in the
FEI* North American Junior & Young Rider Championships
SIRE has been very grateful to receive support (and horses) from Keely’s mother, Jenny Booth. We’re so proud of Keely, who as a youngster volunteered at SIRE and supported SIRE events.
By placing in four Grand Prix Show Jumping classes this spring, Keely and her Holsteiner Accordance earned a slot to represent Texas at the North American Junior and Young Rider Championships (NAJYRC) July 15th through 20th at the Kentucky Horse Park. 
Though Keely rode before she could walk and took Pony Club tests before she could read, her trip to the championships hasn’t always been smooth. While preparing to compete two summers ago in 2012, her horse stumbled a few strides after a jump, fell, and landed on top of Keely. Her helmet saved her life but it still took months of recovery before Keely could drive, start college, or even ride her beloved horses. Read more about Keely and Helmet Awareness Day here.
The NAJYRC is the premier equestrian competition for riders age 14-21. Young equestrians come from the United States, Bermuda, Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and the Caribbean Islands to vie for team and individual medals in the show jumping, dressage, eventing, reining and endurance.
The USEFNetwork will be live streaming everything from the Rolex Stadium on Friday July 18th, Saturday July 19th, and Sunday July 20th, 2014.
*Fédération Equestre Internationale, the international governing body for all Olympic equestrian disciplines
UPDATE:
Congratulations to a fine team and respectable results (top 20) in individual competition.
Keely’s team, Zone 7 (Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas), finished just out of the medals in 4th place. Hockley volunteer coordinator, Kimberly McDonell, was in the stands to cheer Keely and says Accordance went well except for a totally incharacteristic refusal when he seemed to have totally lost focus. Stay tuned, though, I’m sure we’ll see more great things from this pair.
Zone 3 (Delaware, Maryland, North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia) scored team gold. They finished on a total of 14 faults. Zone 4 (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee) claimed the Team Silver medal with a total of 35 faults. The Bronze medal went to a three-person team from Zone 2 (New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania). Team member Michael Hughes (18, Allendale, N.J.) and Luxina had the best day in the Young Rider team competition, being the only pair to go double clear. Read more here and watch on-demand videos here.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]