THE ROARING FORK HOUNDS PONY CLUB – ONE THE 31 TEAMS COMPETING IN LEXINGTON, KENTUCKY BRINGS HOME THE RIBBONS
Winning 5th Place Overall for United States Pony Club Championship
Winning 5th Place Overall for United States Pony Club Championship
With a combined score for Introductory Team B scores of 16.96 the team was merely .28 points behind the third place winners. Way to go, and congratulations from all of us in the valley and members of the ROARING FORK VALLEY HORSE COUNCIL!!
A simple explanation of how it works. The riders must qualify for the Championships; they practice; raise money for travel and their horses’ transportation; and they have to have their communities support. See below for information on how to help.
Bridget Strang of Carbondale coached the RFHPC Show Jumpers. Her sister Laurie Strang Cunningham was also there coaching for Tahquitz.
Here are RFHPC kids & their horses:
Rocky Mountain Region Show Jumping Team:
Olivia (Captain) on Awonder
Leah on Reeno
Wren on Eclipse
Callista on Rose
The Stable Manager was Madison from the Eagle River Valley Pony Club
Quiz team for Horse Management (unmounted) was:
Captain Francesca and Hazel with two team mates from the Arapahoe Hunt Pony Club in Denver.
Ella, Roaring Fork Hounds/Rocky Mtn, rode Sam on a team from Tahquitz Equestrian, El Camino Region, Thermal CA
We asked a few questions:
Q. What was most exciting part of your trip?
From Olivia- "I think that the most exciting part about arriving at the Kentucky Horse Park was seeing how massive and beautiful the park is and knowing that we would be riding and stabling there for the next week or so. To set up our horses’ stalls and our equipment and tackroom felt like we were making our little home away from home. We left a bit of the RFHPC in the well-known, national horse center!"
From Francesca- "My most exciting moment was when I got to the event, and as we were exploring and going around the Kentucky Horse Park and saw everything that was there! "
Wren- "I am very thankful to have had this wonderful opportunity to compete at the Kentucky Horse Park in Pony Club Championships. Our whole team learned a lot and I really enjoyed the experience."
Q. Were you nervous – on a scale of 1-5 ? Five being the most nervous.
Olivia – “ I don’t think that I was really feeling particularly nervous... I would rate myself maybe a 2 or 2.5. We have all been to rallies before, although they were not as big of a deal as what would lay ahead of us. I think that my biggest concern was during the long multiple day trip to Kentucky and forgetting something at home that could not really be replaced when we would arrive in Kentucky. Really, having the opportunity to send five horses clear across the country so that we all could compete in a nationwide competition was a bit much to swallow. It still seems sort of unreal! ”
Francesca- “ When the Horse Management Quiz first began, I was a 4 – I was nervous going into the written test.”
Wren- How nervous ? " I would say a 1."
Q. What are you most proud about now that it is over?
Olivia – “ I think that I was proud of how I rode during competition. We did not have the opportunity to ride in the rings prior to competition. On the day before the competition started, we hacked on a grassy track that circled the dressage complex. The next day we went straight into the show ring after a little warm up. I was pleasantly surprised as to how well Wonder, the horse I had the opportunity to take with me to KY, took to the new environment and how well he went around in the show ring. "
Olivia continues " I am proud of my team and how much effort everyone put into making this a successful trip. It surely would not have been the trip that it was without the fantastic team of people that we put together. Each of us rode really well and we had fun while doing it!”
Francesca- “I am most proud of doing very well in each phase of quiz.”
Wren- "I think that I am most proud of having no individual faults throughout the whole competition in both riding and Horse Management. I was clear in all five of the show jumping rounds and 3rd in the equitation. I am very grateful to all the generous people who sponsored all of our clubs competitors and helped make it possible for us to compete."
Coach Bridget Strang drove the horses from Colorado to Kentucky and they were arrive back home again safely yesterday.
Photos by Valery Kelly and families
Four parents on the trip shared duties of chaperoning the kids, feeding them, and driving them to the barn by 6 AM every day. We also shared the duties of care of the horses (Setting water buckets, mucking stalls, walking horses, etc) before and after Champs. Pony Club relies on the help of volunteers to run every event, so we helped build jump courses, and timed and announced during the competition.
To end this story, my thanks go to Valery Kelly for helping me get the names of the riders and competitors correct and their beautiful horses. As the days go by, we hope to add more depth to this story about a group of kids from our valley who went to the largest horse park in the United States and came home winners!
We are still raising money so please help! I am attaching their letter to this report.
Please click here to read letter.
Please mail the checks to:
Valery Kelly
Roaring Fork Hounds Pony Club
638 N Thomas Road
Carbondale, Colorado 81623
A simple explanation of how it works. The riders must qualify for the Championships; they practice; raise money for travel and their horses’ transportation; and they have to have their communities support. See below for information on how to help.
Bridget Strang of Carbondale coached the RFHPC Show Jumpers. Her sister Laurie Strang Cunningham was also there coaching for Tahquitz.
Here are RFHPC kids & their horses:
Rocky Mountain Region Show Jumping Team:
Olivia (Captain) on Awonder
Leah on Reeno
Wren on Eclipse
Callista on Rose
The Stable Manager was Madison from the Eagle River Valley Pony Club
Quiz team for Horse Management (unmounted) was:
Captain Francesca and Hazel with two team mates from the Arapahoe Hunt Pony Club in Denver.
Ella, Roaring Fork Hounds/Rocky Mtn, rode Sam on a team from Tahquitz Equestrian, El Camino Region, Thermal CA
We asked a few questions:
Q. What was most exciting part of your trip?
From Olivia- "I think that the most exciting part about arriving at the Kentucky Horse Park was seeing how massive and beautiful the park is and knowing that we would be riding and stabling there for the next week or so. To set up our horses’ stalls and our equipment and tackroom felt like we were making our little home away from home. We left a bit of the RFHPC in the well-known, national horse center!"
From Francesca- "My most exciting moment was when I got to the event, and as we were exploring and going around the Kentucky Horse Park and saw everything that was there! "
Wren- "I am very thankful to have had this wonderful opportunity to compete at the Kentucky Horse Park in Pony Club Championships. Our whole team learned a lot and I really enjoyed the experience."
Q. Were you nervous – on a scale of 1-5 ? Five being the most nervous.
Olivia – “ I don’t think that I was really feeling particularly nervous... I would rate myself maybe a 2 or 2.5. We have all been to rallies before, although they were not as big of a deal as what would lay ahead of us. I think that my biggest concern was during the long multiple day trip to Kentucky and forgetting something at home that could not really be replaced when we would arrive in Kentucky. Really, having the opportunity to send five horses clear across the country so that we all could compete in a nationwide competition was a bit much to swallow. It still seems sort of unreal! ”
Francesca- “ When the Horse Management Quiz first began, I was a 4 – I was nervous going into the written test.”
Wren- How nervous ? " I would say a 1."
Q. What are you most proud about now that it is over?
Olivia – “ I think that I was proud of how I rode during competition. We did not have the opportunity to ride in the rings prior to competition. On the day before the competition started, we hacked on a grassy track that circled the dressage complex. The next day we went straight into the show ring after a little warm up. I was pleasantly surprised as to how well Wonder, the horse I had the opportunity to take with me to KY, took to the new environment and how well he went around in the show ring. "
Olivia continues " I am proud of my team and how much effort everyone put into making this a successful trip. It surely would not have been the trip that it was without the fantastic team of people that we put together. Each of us rode really well and we had fun while doing it!”
Francesca- “I am most proud of doing very well in each phase of quiz.”
Wren- "I think that I am most proud of having no individual faults throughout the whole competition in both riding and Horse Management. I was clear in all five of the show jumping rounds and 3rd in the equitation. I am very grateful to all the generous people who sponsored all of our clubs competitors and helped make it possible for us to compete."
Coach Bridget Strang drove the horses from Colorado to Kentucky and they were arrive back home again safely yesterday.
Photos by Valery Kelly and families
Four parents on the trip shared duties of chaperoning the kids, feeding them, and driving them to the barn by 6 AM every day. We also shared the duties of care of the horses (Setting water buckets, mucking stalls, walking horses, etc) before and after Champs. Pony Club relies on the help of volunteers to run every event, so we helped build jump courses, and timed and announced during the competition.
To end this story, my thanks go to Valery Kelly for helping me get the names of the riders and competitors correct and their beautiful horses. As the days go by, we hope to add more depth to this story about a group of kids from our valley who went to the largest horse park in the United States and came home winners!
We are still raising money so please help! I am attaching their letter to this report.
Please click here to read letter.
Please mail the checks to:
Valery Kelly
Roaring Fork Hounds Pony Club
638 N Thomas Road
Carbondale, Colorado 81623