Lexington, KY – When Amber Siegelman was the last to go in the jump-off at the 2006 Adequan/USEF National Pony Jumper Individual Championship, you would have thought you were at a Western event by the sounds of the crowd. All night the crowd was clucking on horses to help them over the fences. But, when Siegelman’s ride looked to be the only clean of the five in the jump-off, the crowd got increasingly louder. It was all hoots and hollers when she finished the eight jumping efforts in a time of 36.803 seconds—the fastest of five. This is only her second appearance at Pony Finals.

The 15-year-old Siegelman, of Versailles, KY, rode her eight-year-old, 14.1-hand Welsh/Dutch Warmblood pony gelding, The Waterboy, as one of 38 initial riders. She carried zero faults forward from the first two nights of competition. The initial course was a tricky one, ending many ponies’ nights early. The jumps were airy, the cups were shallow, and there were numerous tight bending lines. And in the jump off, it only got tougher and faster for five lucky ponies and their riders.

Siegelman and The Waterboy, affectionately called “the freakshow” have only been partners for two years and have a very distinctive style when entering the show ring that started here in Kentucky. “I have to gallop up that hill right there to get him in the ring. I canter in because he likes to get stuck at the in-gate,” said Siegelman. “He will get there and then whiz right around. I think he’d rather canter in. He just doesn’t like to walk right in.” Another thing The Waterboy doesn’t like—soap. “He doesn’t like to walk through soap. I fell off here once because he wouldn’t walk through some soap suds on my way back to the barn.”

Siegelman is a working student at River Mountain Farm where her trainer, Elaine Schott, said she works a lot harder than most kids. “It is especially exciting for me to see this happen for someone who works as hard as she works, day in and day out, 365 days a year…she never sleeps in. To see her take a pony that she’s brought along herself and win here was…words cannot describe how good it feels.”

“I’d really like to thank the sponsor Adequan and the Kentucky Horse Park,” Siegelman said. “It is awesome here; I come here almost every weekend for every show. I love it out here.”

When asked about her mount’s personality, Siegelman said, “He has the best personality ever. He is so funny,” Siegelman said. “He is always excited to see me, whenever I say his name, he always puts his head up and his ears are up. He is wild, but he loves his job so much.”

The Waterboy literally showed up at their barn one day, and they are all glad for it. “Somebody watched Amber ride and said, ‘I have a pony for this kid to ride,’ and it literally showed up at our farm without even a phone call,” said Schott. “They put it on the trailer and drove him four hours…it was a match made in heaven.”

The Silver-medal winner was 13-year-old Marshall Shear of Aspen, CO, riding Pikatchu, his 14.2, 11-year-old Irish-bred gelding. Shear was the only rider to wear a protective vest in the ring tonight and for good reason. “My mom makes me wear it. I think this makes her a little nervous.” When asked what it is like being a male in a very female dominated sport, Shear said, “It’s okay. It’s kind of cool being surrounded by girls sometimes.”

Taking home the Bronze medal was 11-year-old Claudia Billups of Gulfport, MS, riding Salsa, her 14.2-hand, seven-year-old Argentine-bred, strawberry roan gelding. This was her second showing at Pony Finals. Billups had nothing but praise for her pony. “She’s kind of green, but she loves to jump and will do whatever I tell her to. She’ll do it from her heart and never really looks at jumps.”

Earlier in the day, at the 2006 Wild Horsefeathers/USEF National Hunter Pony Championship, the nearly 300 riders participated in the model and under saddle portion of the championship. At the end of the day, the leader in the Small Pony division was 12-year-old Schaefer Raposa of West Palm Beach, FL, riding the 12.2-hand, nine-year-old Welsh gelding, Super Trooper, owned by Grand Central, Inc. The leader in the Medium Pony division was 13-year-old Samantha Schaefer of Westminster, MD, riding her 13.2-hand, eight-year-old Warmblood pony gelding, Rockport. The leader in the Large Pony division was 15-year-old Jennifer Waxman of Chagrin Falls, OH, riding the 14.2-hand, 10-year-old Welsh Pony/Thoroughbred gelding, Grey Goose, owned by Paulexi, LLC.