SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO — Kicking off the medal finals season, Blenheim EquiSports hosted the California Professional Horsemen’s Association Junior and Adult Finals at the Blenheim Summer Classic, and Abby Jorgenson and Leina King took respective Junior and Adult titles Aug. 17.

An impressive crowd gathered at Blenheim Farms’ indoor ring for the Final Round, as three experienced equestrians made up the judging panel in Stacia Madden, Rita Timpanaro, and Debbie Sands.

After two qualifying rounds, the top 10 juniors and top 11 adults came back to contest for the overall top prize in the finalround of their division. Jorgensen, a rider from Woodside, held on to her second-round lead and won decisively, and King, of Santa Barbara, topped the Adult section.

An impressive 55 entries contended for the Junior Medal champion ribbon, as Friday afternoon’s Round 1 kicked off the events. Less than a 10-point margin separated the top five after they had tackled the challenging course, with Halie Robinson in the lead with a 254.5 total. Melanie Selleck finished ROund 1 in second at 249, with Savannah Dukes and Jorgensen at 248 and Chandler Hopper infifth with 246.5.

The next day, the leader board changed, as Jorgenson led after two rounds with a 512 score following Saturday’s Round 2 scores of 89, 88, and 87. Selleck held second with a two-round score of 509, and Robinson had the third-highest two-round total of 482. Dukes and Hopper were sitting fourth and fifth respectively.

The Final Round contested the top 10 juniors over a course that required a smooth track in an intimate indoor setting that demanded accuracy. Despite the pressure of coming back on top, Jorgenson once again earned consistently high scores of 85, 88, and 90, to bring her grand total to 775 and a commanding lead. Halie Robinson earned reserve championship with a grand total of 731. Nina Vogel moved up five spots from eighth to round out the top three with a grand total of 713.

“This is my first medal final ever,” said Jorgenson, who trains with John French. “I thought the first course was really difficult, the second one I could relax on, and the third I had to stay focused because coming in on top is difficult.”

Jorgensen, an accomplished photographer as well as an equestrian, is usually competing on a jumper and often seen behind a camera.

“I was a little worried, but I trust my horse a lot,” said Jorgenson, who will attend Baylor University in the fall and will be a member of its riding team. “I knew he would go, as long as I encouraged him.”

In the first round of the adults division, Mackenzie Drazan was in first place, King was second and Serena Anand third.

The adults were on their game in Round 2, and with scores of 85, 84, and 87, King topped the round, and her total score from Round 1 and 2 of 511 sent her to the Final Round at the top of the leader board. Serena Anand was second after Rounds 1 and 2, totaling 498, while Drazen was third with 497.

The final round for the Adults was similar to the Juniors, including a serpentine bending line to two sharp rollbacks at the end of the arena.

Coming back on top, King maintained her cool and earned consistent scores of 80, 82, and 81 across the board, propelling her grand total to 754 and the overall championship. Anand earned a grand total of 742 and was awarded the reserve championship, while Drazan was third with a 723 total.

King was elated at her top placing, although her horse was even more thrilled. After King’s mount was so excited in the awards presentation, King led him out of the ring — and did her victory gallop on her own two feet, to whoops and applause.

Heading into her sophomore year at SMU, King sees riding in a new light.

“It’s funny now that I’m an amateur, there’s so much less stress because I feel like I have so much more time,” the Karen Healey student said. “I’ve done the final quite a few times before, so I know what to expect. But I’ve been away at school at haven’t showed much this summer.

“My horse, Santa, fits really well into Karen’s program and is just perfect,” she added.

CPHA Medal Finals
Aug. 15-17, 2014 * Rancho Mission Viejo Riding Park, San Juan Capo, Calif.

Junior Division
Place – Show # – Name – Trainer – Final Score
1. 181 – Abby Jorgenson – John French – 775.00
2. 349 – Halie Robinson – Jim Hagman – 731.75
3. 384 – Nina Vogel – Kost Karazissis – 713.00
4. 103 – Tylor Nowell – Nina Alario – 701.25
5. 150 – Melanie Selleck – Archie Cox – 699.00
6. 278 – Mckenna Skelton – Kasey Ament – 680.00
7. 394 – Chandler Hopper – Nathalie Marring – 655.50
8. 287 – Ransome Rombauer – Karen Healey Stables – 588.75
9. 581 – Savannah Dukes – Karen Healey Stables – 569.00
10. 430 – Ce Ce Manze – Joe Thorpe – 474.75

Adult Division
Place – Show # – Name – Trainer – Final Score
1. 223 – Leina King – Karen Healey Stables – 754.00
2. 617 – Serena Anand – Allison Sherred – 742.00
3. 220 – Mackenzie Drazan – Karen Healey Stables – 723.00
4. 604 – Clara Plestis – Ginny Plancke – 689.00
5. 268 – Natasha Pappas – Leila Ward-Maroney – 665.50
6. 422 – Nori Burby – Amy Self – 647.00
7. 122 – Juliana Ronn – Buddy & Vanessa Brown – 548.00
8. 439 – Kacie Doyle – Hap Hansen – 522.00
9. 631 – Belle Calkin – Joe Thorpe – 519.00
10. 420 – Holly Scapa – Holly Scapa – 492.00