Onassis Shows Off At Pennsylvania National

Sarah Ward finishes her junior career with the grand junior hunter championship.

Sarah Ward has a pretty simple plan for riding Onassis: “He knows his job—I just have to keep up with him!” she said.

Keep up with him she did. At the Pennsylvania National Junior Weekend, Oct. 9-14 in Harrisburg, Ward claimed the grand junior hunter and large junior hunter, 16-17, tricolors.

“He’s so amazing. He just went in and did his thing,” Ward said.

The pair won the first over fences class and then followed that effort with a blue in the handy class. A second place in the under saddle and fifth in the stake class clinched the tricolors.

“He loves this show. He likes it when he can tell it’s a big deal. He likes this show better than Capital Challenge [Md.] or Washington [D.C.] because the ring’s bigger, and I can really open his stride up.

“I was super nervous, but I knew he’d take care of me. After the first class, I was so excited that I just wanted to have another good round. I didn’t really expect to win the handy class, but I took a couple of shots and it paid off. I was very proud of him. He loves those hand gallops and shows off,” she said.

This is Ward’s third year riding Onassis, but it hasn’t always been this easy.

“He’s really springy, and the first time I tried him I picked up the trot and almost fell off!” Ward said with a laugh. “It took me a while to get used to him, so we practiced a lot. He was a lot different than my other horses.”

Ward started showing Onassis in the children’s division but moved up quickly. “He was one of my first junior hunters, and he really taught me how to ride the 3'6". I had trouble in the transition from 3' to 3'6", staying with the jump. And he, with his spring, really made me work on it,” she said.

Ward, Atlanta, Ga., took the year off from school to concentrate on her riding. She trains with Jack and Hardin Towell and Liza Towell-Boyd of Finally Farm in Camden, S.C.

“It’s been a lot of practice and no-stirrup work, and it has really paid off,” she said.

Ward, 17, plans to attend Oxford College at Emory University (Ga.) next fall.

Vanity Fair Repeats

Lillie Keenan found the perfect way to wrap up her career with Vanity Fair when she won the grand pony and large pony hunter championships at the Pennsylvania National again.