Schuyler Dayner Dominates in North American Adult Amateur Equitation Championships

Riders and horses returned to the Prince George’s Equestrian Center in Upper Marlboro, MD, on Thursday, September 24, 2026, to contend the second day of competition at the 2026 Capital Challenge Horse Show (CCHS) Equitation Showcase, presented by BIGEQ.com. All eyes were on the adult equitation riders at the conclusion of the day as Schuyler Dayner of Odessa, FL, led the victory gallop in the North American Adult Amateur Equitation Championships.

Forty duos contested the course designed by Joseph Carnicom before the top 10 pairings advanced to the second round. The top two riders were then asked by the judges to return for a ride-off test. Dayner bested her first round score of 86 with an impressive second-round performance of 90 and found herself heading under the CCHS arch one final time alongside Xavier Gomez to vie for the winning spot.

No stranger to an equitation win, Dayner navigated one final successful test for the win aboard Bozzic, Wood View LLC’s 10-year-old Swedish Warmblood gelding.

“He marched right around and jumped like he had done this his whole life even though, to my knowledge, this is his first equitation final,” she remarked.

Dayner, who is a D1 athlete on the equestrian team at Southern Methodist University (SMU), has already crafted a successful career in the equitation, often while catch riding.

“I showed him for the first time today and only rode him for the first time yesterday,” commented Dayner. “I got to know him a little bit in the Adult Equitation division earlier today where we were champions, so I felt very confident going into the first round.

“Augusta [Iwasaki] and I went to school together at SMU, and she offered that I could come compete this week if I wanted,” she continued of the new partnership. “She arranged this with his owner Chrissy Kear, which I am very grateful for. This is my first equitation final as an adult, so I was very excited about that.”

Xavier Gomez moved up from his 2025 placing and accepted the second-place award with Fortis Equine’s Pynnock van Horst. Lanie Walkenbach rounded out the top three with Walkenbach Equestrian LLC’s Let’s Go.

Isabella Salas Wins Gymnastics Phase, Natalie Wheeler Leads Overall

The second phase of the Marshall + Sterling/United States Hunter Jumper Association (USHJA) 3’3” Jumping Seat Medal Final - East took center stage in The Show Place Arena again on Thursday. Designed by Meghan Rawlins and Ken Krome, the gymnastics course featured several bending lines, a bounce, trot fence, and a swedish oxer as just several of the elements meant to challenge the riders in the field. The 168 horse-and-rider combinations returned in reverse order of score, leaving those leading after the flat phase at the advantage of watching their peers conclude the track first.

Despite returning 92nd in the order, Isabella Salas’ performance with her 14-year-old Belgian Warmblood gelding, Mascotte vd Withoeve, immediately bumped her to the top of the leaderboard for the second phase. With the course proving challenging for several of the top contenders, Salas was comfortably in the lead with her score of 87.00 at the end of the class. She sits in sixth place overall after the two phases.

“I usually don't get nervous, but I instead try to think of the positives,” explained Salas. “It's a lot of pressure, obviously, but at the end of the day, I'm lucky to be here and show with all my friends and my trainers.”

Kara Horvath piloted her own Notorious SS for second place in the gymnastics phase, just half a point off of Salas with a score of 86.5, while Kathryn Padilla and Highland Farm, LLC’s Georgetown finished third-ahead of the final day with a score of 86.25.

The gymnastics phase scores have a 1.5 multiplier, and when added to the flat phase scores, riders are ranked overall. Natalie Wheeler of Wellington, FL, rode Quintago, owned by Sweet Oak Farm, to a gymnastics score of 86.5 and had a flat-phase score of 87.5 for an overall total of 215.90. She leads the standings going into the third jumping phase of the class.

Sabrina Miller of Dripping Springs, TX, stands second overall on a total score of 214.15 with Splender van de Achterhoek, owned by Knees 2 Nose LLC, while Kathryn Padilla of Palos Verdes Peninsula, CA, is third with 213.87.

The 2026 Capital Challenge Horse Show Equitation Showcase will resume on Friday, September 25, with highlights including champion presentations for the Section A equitation division 15,16, and 17-year-old age groups as well as the final phase of the Marshall + Sterling Insurance/USHJA 3’3” Jumping Seat Medal Final - East.