When 14-year-old sisters Vivian and Nora Erickson go to a horse show, most exhibitors do a double take in their direction. Not only do the girls ride matching chestnut jumper ponies, but they are also identical twins. And this year, they’re ready to take on the USEF Pony Finals at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington for the first time with their ponies Book Smart and Chance Of A Lifetime in the large pony jumper division.

“It was not intentional for the girls to have matching ponies; it just happened that way,” said the twins’ mother, Mary Erickson. Although the girls qualified for Pony Finals last year, the Ericksons elected to skip so the twins could spend another year gaining valuable miles in the show ring.

“As a mom, I think we all hope that our kids will find something they’re passionate about. There were several times that I wasn’t sure Vivian and Nora’s dreams of Pony Finals were going to be a reality, but the universe has found a way to make it happen for them,” Mary said.

The Erickson family lives in Appleton, Wisconsin, and finding an experienced hunter/jumper trainer in that area hasn’t always been easy. Most of the time, the girls have learned to adapt to their ponies and their challenges by themselves.

Before her daughters learned how to ride, Mary was not a horse person. Now she owns a four-horse trailer and hauls her daughters’ ponies for lessons and to horse shows. Because there are no hunter/jumper barns based near them, the Ericksons board their two ponies at a saddle seat barn called Blue Ribbon Stables, owned by Jen Campshure, in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, about 30 minutes from their house. Mary drives them to and from the barn daily so that Vivian and Nora can take care of and ride their ponies.

“Jen is so supportive of the girls, even though no one else at her barn jumps,” said Mary. “We had to buy our own jumps and equipment to help the girls practice at the farm.”

Although Vivian and Nora have only been riding for five years, they’ve already learned how to get the best out of several green and unconventional ponies. Both riders are shorter in stature for their age, which is an advantage for riding ponies.

“My kids really enjoy green ponies, and I have no idea why,” Mary said with a laugh. “There was a pony last week at [HITS Lamplight Equestrian Center (Illinois)] who was bucking in the show ring, and they wanted to get on it. They enjoy bringing ponies along and working through their issues. They’ve never had any other choice.”

The twins got their first pony, a Welsh Pony cross mare named Clover The Rainbow, in early 2021. “Clover” was a lesson pony who the twins fell in love with, and she had reportedly been rescued from a hoarding situation two years prior to purchase. Clover helped the girls develop valuable experience in both the hunter and jumper rings.

The twins shared the ride on Clover for a while, but then Mary felt it was time to add another pony to their string.

“Vivian told me she wanted a green chestnut mare that no other kid could ride,” Mary said. “And then Chelsea Sherman happened to have that, so we bought Book Smart in 2022.”

The Erickson family purchased “Carma,” a now-13-year-old chestnut Welsh Pony Cross mare of unknown breeding, for $5,000. For the past three years, Carma has been Vivian’s sole project.

“When I first got Carma, she was hard in the mouth, and you couldn’t pull,” Vivian said. “She also wasn’t great at turning, she only liked going straight. I’ve helped get her more confident with jumping too. We do gymnastic exercises to help her confidence.”

In 2024 Vivian and Carma finished fifth overall in the 2024 USEF Channel I Pony Jumper Horse of the Year standings, topping the USHJA Zone 6 standings.

“I’m excited to get Carma to Pony Finals and see what she does in the big ring,” Vivian said. “I’m very competitive with everyone, and I’m eager to see how Carma will place against everyone else.”

In February 2024, the Erickson family came across another chestnut Welsh Pony Cross named Chance Of A Lifetime, and Mary knew they had to have him. She originally purchased “Chance” as a project for the twins’ older sister Lauren, 17, who competes in 0.90-meter jumpers. Lauren rode Chance to seventh overall in the pony jumper national rankings last year. Lauren recently passed down Chance to Nora, who has only competed the gelding three times prior to this year’s Pony Finals.

Nora’s favorite thing to do with Chance is to take him out on trail rides.

“At Pony Finals, my goal is to have fun with Chance,” Nora said. “I’m trying to be realistic with my expectations because there are a lot of ponies competing.”

Nora has struggled with hearing loss for part of her life, and she has been approved to wear her hearing aids while showing in U.S. Equestrian Federation competitions.

“Sometimes I cannot hear the buzzer [at the start of the jumper class]. Sometimes I can’t hear my trainer in the schooling ring,” she said. “Background noise can be distracting for me, and then I can’t hear. I also wear my hearing aids when I take lessons—it really helps.”

Vivian and Nora are not strangers to hard work: The girls do all their own care and training on their ponies. They have also immersed themselves in learning as much about horse care as possible.

“Sometimes I go through their math notebook, and it’s full of pages and pages of horse information,” Mary said. “I’m like, ‘Is anyone paying attention at school?’ The girls’ horse knowledge is incredible for their age.”

Often the girls will spend hours at the barn after riding or showing, taking care of their ponies. In preparation for Pony Finals, Vivian and Nora body clipped the ponies themselves.

“The more days our ponies show and the harder they work, the more tired they get,” Vivian said. “I think horse care is important; we always ice them after showing and cooling them down. We’ll come back at night and liniment or poultice them, pack their feet, hand graze them, and stretch their legs.”

Mary notes that the Erickson family is on a smaller budget than many of their competitors. The girls have a limit on how many shows they can attend per year, but they make the most of it.

“A lot of times, the girls win,” Mary said. “I think it just proves that kids without trust funds can make it in this business and be successful. You don’t have to have five horses in Wellington every winter and spend $50,000 a month for all of them to show. Obviously, you have to have some type of money to do this sport and own horses, but it’s nice to see these kids without huge financial backing be successful.”

Over the years, the twins have worked with a slew different trainers at clinics and shows, including Archie Cox, Matt Piccolo, Linda Radigan, and Courtney Hayden-Fromm.

“The girls have taken something from every single trainer they’ve worked with,” Mary said. “It’s been a great opportunity to learn from all of these trainers; it’s made the girls well-rounded riders. They always write thank you notes to the trainers for their time. The girls are so appreciative of anything they get, whether it’s lessons or help from grooms at a horse show.”

At Pony Finals this year, the twins will be riding with Patricio Rodriguez, who is based in Lexington.

 “The girls are very naturally talented, and they are willing to listen and learn,” Rodriguez said. “When you have students that are willing to listen, then my job becomes that much easier. They are both very competitive and want to win, but my main goal is for them to have a positive first experience at this big championship.”