October 18, 2026 – Harrisburg, Pa. – Five new champions were crowned in the junior and amateur jumper divisions on Saturday, October 17, and Sunday, October 18, at the 80th Pennsylvania National Horse Show in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Georgina Jewell, Anleigh Ahlert and Reilly Canard led the way, each claiming both the championship and the $10,000 classic in their divisions. Kelsey Cruciotti and Kinsley Nolte rounded out the list of champions, while Jean Sheptoff and Hayden Moody also topped two of the week’s five $10,000 junior and amateur classics.
Fourteen-year-old Jewell rode Kybalia SMH/SVN to victory in the $10,000 1.25m Penn National Junior Jumper Classic before also being awarded the 1.20m Penn National Junior Jumper championship title, sponsored by Geraldine Nesbitt.
After opening the week with a single rail on Thursday, Jewell scratched Kybalia the following day to save the mare’s energy for the classic. The strategy paid off.
“That set her up really well to go today,” said Jewell, who trains with Danielle and Jimmy Torano at JET Show Stable. “In the first round, she was jumping great. I was definitely nervous coming into the jump-off because last year we were third here, so I definitely wanted to win.”
“I started out two summers ago in Michigan with [Kybalia], and we were doing the 0.80m,” said Jewell of the 11-year-old Dutch Warmblood, owned by JET Show Stable. “[Kybalia] has kind of taken me all the way up.”
Jewell’s second mount, a mare she acquired about two months after Kybalia, also won on opening day of the division at the PNHS. It was the same horse that carried Jewell to reserve champion honors in the 1.10m division in her Pennsylvania National debut last year, and this year, they returned to earn the reserve championship in the 1.20m division.
“She’s also grown with me over the years,” Jewell said. “She’s amazing, and she jumps great.”
In the Penn National 1.20m Amateur Jumper division, the championship went to Kelsey Cruciotti and Far West du Hus, owned by Pony Lane Farm. Cruciotti and the 11-year-old Selle Français gelding were clear and consistent through all three rounds of the division, finishing second, third and fourth before being presented with the tricolor.
The reserve championship and the win in the $10,000 1.25m Penn National Amateur Jumper Classic went to Jean Sheptoff and Chalk de Moyon, owned by Beyaert Farm Inc.
In the pair’s final season together, Ahlert and Mademoiselle-A won the $10,000 1.35m Junior/Amateur Jumper Classic and the 1.30m Junior/Amateur Jumper Championship on Sunday, October 18. The reserve championship in the division came down to a tie between Jaime Auletto on I Am PP Z and Julia Rice on Freaky.
“It took a lot to get here,” said Ahlert, who graduated from the Grier School in 2025. “I definitely want to thank Geoffrey Grier and the Grier School for letting me ride her. She’s amazing, and I have a lot of trust in her. It feels really good to end up champion,” she said. “We had a little bit of bad luck at this horse show in the past, so it feels great to finally get this win here.”
Ahlert has been partnered with Mademoiselle-A for about two years, moving up from the 1.20m to the 1.30m. Her bond with the 14-year-old Belgian Warmblood mare, owned by the Grier School, gave her the confidence to take some chances in the jump-off.
“She’s a horse that I trust with my life, which is why I was really able to take those risky turns in the jump-off,” said Ahlert, who has trained with Chrystal Coffelt-Wood for nearly eight years, beginning in the Interscholastic Equestrian Association.
“She’s taken me from the IEA up to the 1.30m, which is really awesome,” Ahlert said. “We’ve really become a true team over all of these years.”
For Ahlert, the Pennsylvania National is also a hometown favorite. “This horse show is only about an hour from home, so it’s super convenient,” she said. “They do it up so nicely, and it’s really beautiful here. It’s an awesome show to compete against top riders in the nation.”
The third pair of the week to take home both a classic win and their division championship was Canard and Fresh Start in the Penn National 1.10m Amateur Jumpers. Canard and the 15-year-old Zangersheide mare, owned by Wesley Dunham, topped a competitive field of 25 entries to take home the classic win on the final day of the 2026 PNHS. The reserve championship in the Penn National 1.10m Amateur Jumpers went to Sarah McCombe on Linsy-Minka.
The final win of the 2026 PNHS was presented to Moody and MTM She’s An Icon, owned by Moody Sport Horses. The pair took the top spot in the $10,000 1.15m Penn National Junior Jumper Classic, sponsored by EPIC Sporthorses, and that result also earned Moody and the 11-year-old Dutch Warmblood mare the reserve championship in the Penn National 1.10m Junior Jumper division. The championship went to Kinsley Nolte and her own Diablo Z.
For all results from the 2026 Pennsylvania National Horse Show, visit pnhs.showmanagementsystem.com.
