Hoch Is Highest in Ariat National Adult Medal Finals
The Ariat National Adult Medal Finals are one of the few events that highlight amateur riders in an equitation class, and joining the list of winners in 2025 was Hannah Hoch (22) of Whitefish Bay, WI, who competed in the finals for the first time. Hoch piloted Congran PS, an eight-year-old Oldenburg gelding by Conmiro owned by Heritage Farm Inc., through three rounds for the top prize.
Hoch and “Connor” had a first-round score of 89.33, the same score as Brendan Weiss and Audi 2000 Z, but with a higher score from the Panel 1 of judges, sat in second place. Sitting in first after the first round was Hannah Klinedinst on MTM Brando, who would finish in third place. Moving up from fourth place to second after a round two score of 90.66 set up Xavier Gomez and Baloucci well. Gigi Phillips moved up from fifth place to finish in fourth place riding Dante’s Inferno, while Weiss slotted into fifth place.
Hannah Hoch and Congran PS triumphed through three rounds to win the Ariat National Adult Medal Finals. Photo by Shawn McMillen Photography
Hoch moved up from second to first with a cleanly executed ride in round two that scored 89.33 for a 178.99 total. With Xavier Gomez’s strong second round of 90.66 for a 178.66 total, he and Hoch ended up within two points of each other, which necessitated a test. They returned to tackle the test, which included questions such as a trot jump, a simple lead change through the walk to the counter canter, and choices for inside turns.
When Gomez had an unfortunate refusal at the trot jump, Hoch entered the ring knowing that a clean test would give her the win. She did just that, scoring 89.33 to finish in first place.
Hoch started riding Connor in December 2024 and picked up more rides this past summer when home from school, where she studies Finance and rides on the equestrian team as a senior at Southern Methodist University in Texas. “He's really a special horse,” she said. “I think we have a special partnership. We just click — we kind of think the same way — so I'm really grateful that I've gotten to continue showing him all the way through the indoor season.”
In 2021, Hoch won the individual gold medal in the Prix des States at Pennsylvania National Horse Show and finished in the top eight in the USEF Hunt Seat Medal Finals, WIHS Equitation Finals, and ASPCA Maclay Finals. When she aged out of the junior division, Hoch showed in the adult equitation but then didn’t compete for a few years.
She explained, “This last year, I realized that before I started working post-grad, it was probably the last year I could do these finals. Heritage was kind enough to let me show Connor throughout the season, and we just kept getting better and better. Then, the Ariat finals became a goal.
Hannah Hoch and Congran PS in their winning presentation.
“I think it's really special for me to win here, especially because I'm in school and I'm an amateur, just to know that I can still do both and have fun showing and continue to improve,” continued Hoch. “I've been coming to Capital Challenge since I was 13, and I actually won the 13-14 year old equitation here. It's very full circle for me to come back as an amateur all these years later.”