Allentown, N.J. – Competitors in the USEF Preliminary Combined Driving National Championships enjoyed a cool and sunny weekend on the rolling hills of the Horse Park of New Jersey. The Garden State Combined Driving Event hosted National Championship competitors in the Preliminary Single Pony and Preliminary Single Horse divisions among their extensive slate of classes.
In the Preliminary Single Pony division, Sarah Reitz (Honeoye Falls, N.Y.) drove her own Fferm Gwenffrwd Onyx Star, a 2007 Welsh Pony gelding, to victory. Tied for second place after dressage, Reitz and “Onyx” had the best marathon of the division, which put them into first-place position. With a double-clear cones phase, they secured the win, and had a great time on the way to that National Champion title, said Reitz.
“He was on lease for three years to a junior driver, and I just got him back recently,” she said. “I thought, ‘Boy, I hope Onyx remembers how I drive!’ We hit that first water and I said, ‘You just gotta go, man.’ We’re lucky to have really great ponies. They just want to perform for you. We do have a lot of fun—that’s the thing. You’ve gotta have fun!”
Sonia Williams (Goshen, Ky.) drove her own Robin of Locksley, a 2004 Gypsy gelding, to a come-from-behind victory in the Preliminary Single Horse National Championship. The pair landed in third-place position after dressage and stayed there through the marathon phase. But a masterful double-clear cones round gave them a boost to the top of the podium at the end of competition.
Williams concedes that “Locksley” is a somewhat unorthodox sporthorse, but his willing nature and Williams’s dedication have helped him become a successful competitor despite his relatively late start in competitive combined driving.
“We didn’t even know if we would come to this show a month ago, but then we said, ‘Let’s go for it,’” said Williams. “Since he’s a Gypsy horse, we had to spend a lot more time on conditioning him at home, even putting him on an aqua-treadmill. I’m really proud of Locksley—my ‘sport cow,’ as we like to call him. He’s 18 years old and we only got serious about competing last year, but he’s been game every step of the way.”
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