Genevieve Munson and Bluebelle (Shawn McMillen Photography)
Cecily Coors and Genevieve Munson entered the Alltech Arena on Saturday tied with zero faults coming forward into the final phase of competition. Munson (Rogers, Ark.) riding the 14-year old mare, Bluebelle, owned by Carlie Beisel put the pressure on as she produced a beautiful clear round making easy work of the track. This effort would earn her the Gold medal as the only rider to finish with zero faults after the fourth round of competition.
“I knew I just had to go in and trust her, we have a good relationship and she is such a good jumper, I can’t even tell you how happy I am tonight” 10-year-old Munson noted. In preparing for the evenings Individual final she had confidence in the mare and stated, “I was pretty nervous and just tried to focus on riding like I’ve been practicing. I know she won’t stop at one of the jumps, she just loves it.” The Gold medal was the second for Munson this week as she was part of the winning United States Pony Club Team Championship effort last night.
Coors (Denver, Colo.) riding KC Sports LLC’s Thoroughbred/Welsh Cross gelding Monstarz Superfly was the final competitor to tackle the 13-jump course. Finishing with zero jumping faults, wide turns left her in the Silver medal position as she gained three-time faults towards her final score.
Although she wished that she had ridden a little bit quicker, Coors said, “I just wanted to do the best I could for my pony. It really is a team effort. It was really fun and the course designer did a great job making lots of questions that ended up being a big part of how you finished in the end.” Reflecting on her entire week at the US Pony Finals she said, “It all was an amazing experience, I have had such a fun time.”
A jump-off for Bronze saw two competitors come back who ended the fourth round on an overall total of four faults.
Individuals Jumping Medalists (Shawn McMillen Photography)
As the first rider in the jump off, Carson Ruff (Maple Park, Ill.) knew that if she could leave all the rails in the cups and post a competitive time with Jet Pilot owned by Sarah Ruff, she would have a shot at the final medal. The pair did just that, jumping faultlessly and stopping the timers at 37.792 seconds to clinch the Individual Bronze medal.
Catalina Peralta (Geneva, Fla.) riding Cookies & Cream owned by Wendy Ritter Peralta finished with four faults in the jump-off with a time of 40.587 to earn fourth-place honors.
The evening concluded with Julianna Empie (Chester Springs, Pa.) being awarded the US Pony Jumper Style Award as the competitor that the judges believed to display the best jumping style of riding throughout the week.
Earlier in the day, Charlie Orona (Manhattan, Kan.) riding Fox Creek’s Curious George, owned by Diana Orona, came out on top in the farewell competition.
To follow all the action from the US National Pony Jumper Championship and the 2014 US Pony Finals visit; http://usefconnect.com/ponyfinals/