Lexington, KY – Excited children were all abuzz today at the Kentucky Horse Park with their favorite ponies by their sides, all hoping for an experience at this year’s Pony Finals that they will remember for a lifetime. This is the first year that Pony Finals is observing a five-day format instead of the traditional four days due to the growth of the championships in recent years. This year’s Pony Finals is the biggest ever by roughly 55 entries, with 705 total entries (some riders are campaigning two horses), with 400 riders, nearly 650 ponies and a record 205 entries in the USEF Pony Medal Final presented by Far Niente Stables.

Since 1984, the Finals have included the popular Pony Medal. To qualify for this championship, a rider must accumulate 30 points in USEF Pony Medal qualifying classes. In 2001, the USEF Pony Finals added the USEF National Pony Jumper Championships. Ponies and riders qualify by their placement as one of the top four pony/rider combinations in their zone standings.

In addition to the USEF Pony Medal Final, the championships include the 2006 Adequan/USEF Individual National Pony Jumper Championship, the 2006 Adequan/USEF Team National Pony Jumper Championship, 2006 Wild Horsefeathers/USEF National Green Hunter Pony Championship, and the 2006 Wild Horsefeathers/USEF National Hunter Pony Championship.

Today, the Green Pony Hunters (large, medium and small) completed the model and under saddle portions of the 2006 Wild Horsefeathers/USEF National Green Pony Hunter Championship. This championship will conclude tomorrow with the over fences portion. After the model portion of the class, 13-year-old Samantha Schaefer of Westminster, MD, was in first place in the large green pony division with a score of 247. Schaefer’s mount is Emerson, a five-year-old Welsh Pony gelding, owned by Grand Central, Inc. In the medium green pony division, 14-year-old Amber Henter, of St. Petersburg, FL, was in first place with a score of 250. Her mount is Cosmopolitan Girl, a six-year-old German Riding Pony mare, owned by Henter. In first place in the small green pony division was 11-year-old Alexandra Selldorff of Farmington, CT, with a score of 251. Her mount is Picante, a seven-year-old Welsh Pony gelding, owned by Elizabeth Benchoff.

In 1967, Pony Finals were created as a national event, open to all members who met the qualifying criteria. The current criteria for the hunter championships demand that a USEF-recorded pony win a championship or reserve championship in a “AA”-rated Regular Hunter Pony section, a championship in an “A”-rated Regular Hunter Pony section, or a championship or reserve championship in an “A”- or “AA”-rated Green Hunter Pony section.

Today, the USEF Pony Finals is the most prestigious and celebrated event of its kind in the United States. The Hunter Pony Championships are three-phase competitions judging the pony’s conformation, way of moving under saddle and jumping ability. The Pony Medal Final tests young riders in head-to-head competition, judging both their equitation and their ability to compete over a technical course of fences.

The American Hunter Pony Classic is an elite hunter pony auction that took place in conjunction with today’s kick-off of the USEF Pony Finals. The auction is presented by Professional Auction Services, Inc., and was held in the Kentucky Horse Park’s indoor arena.

For more information, please visit www.professionalauction.com or e-mail [email protected].
~~~For more information, please contact Jeannie Blancq Putney, National Marketing Manager, at (859) 225-6974, or via e-mail at [email protected].