Linck and Richard Are Grand in Junior Hunter 3’3” and 3’6” Divisions
On the fifth day of WIHS, a spotlight shone on junior hunter riders as champions were named across all six divisions. Kaitlyn Linck of Clinton Corners, NY, and Mirage earned the Grand Junior Hunter 3’3” Champion after taking champion in the Large Junior Hunter 3’3” division; Linck was also named Best Child Rider on a Horse. Emi Richard of Middlefield, CT, capped off a victorious day as the Grand Junior Hunter 3’6” Champion aboard Capaldi, following her win in the WIHS Junior Equitation – Hunter Phase.
Linck was awarded the honors in the 3’3” division first, incurring a sense of dejá vu as she yet again piloted a catch ride to the win, this time aboard Charlotte Rossetter’s 14-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding, Mirage, who won all three over fences classes.
“He [Mirage] got into this show last minute and so his owners asked me at five p.m. the night before if I could do it,” Linck laughed. “The first time I ever rode him was at this show last year, and then I rode him for the first time again this year at the Pennsylvania National Horse Show.
“He’s very simple for me,” she continued. “He takes a bit of leg, but he is so easy to find the jumps on, and I’m used to riding so many different horses that it isn’t hard for me to get back into his rhythm.”
Linck was the recipient of the grand champion title for the Junior Hunter 3’3” divisions in 2025 aboard another catch ride, Sundown.
The award also put the cherry on top of a banner day for Linck, who was second out of the country’s top 40 in the WIHS Equitation Final – Hunter Phase earlier in the day.
Richard put in top performances over the course of two days aboard Capaldi, the nine-year-old Hungarian Sporthorse gelding owned by River’s Edge, in the Large Junior Hunter 3’6” 15 and Under division with two winning rounds and a second in the division’s under saddle class.
“I started riding him this winter, and he’s a first year horse, so he’s on the greener side,” she explained. “I really focus on keeping us both calm because I think we both get a little nervous before going into the ring.”
For Richard, WIHS is a long-standing tradition that has only gotten better over the years.
“I’ve been coming to a for a long time, and I think my first time was when it was still in the city, which was a super cool experience,” she said. “They do a great job. I think I’ve done the junior hunters one other time here, but I didn’t have this result, so it’s very exciting.
