Morgan Moog didn’t come to the USEF Pony Finals in Lexington, Ky. expecting any ribbons. She and her parents drove her pony Goodnight Moon from Newfoundland, N.J. to contest Moog’s first USEF Pony Medal Final on Aug. 17, hoping to get around the course nicely. When she remained consistent throughout two difficult courses and two tests to earn the championship, she was beyond thrilled.
“Today we had a spectacular trip, and we were sitting and watching and all the sudden a call-back seemed possible. Then all the sudden a ribbon seemed possible and then the final four seemed possible,” said Caitlin Githens, who co-trains Moog along with Anna Greenfeld. “It was completely out of nowhere.”
After a flawless first round, Moog came back for the second trip ranked fourth in the medium section. She laid down a gorgeous round to earn a spot in the test and stayed consistent to win the championship ahead of Lillie Keenan. Hayley Anderson took third.
“I wasn’t expecting this at all,” said Moog. “I’d never even ridden a test where you had to go into the ring without your trainer before.”
The day’s challenging courses tripped up plenty of competitors. In the first round, riders had just one fence to get their ponies on the rhythm before galloping up a long line away from the in-gate. Many of the course’s fences didn’t have groundlines, and a few rollback turns allowed riders to demonstrate a handier ride. One of the most difficult lines of the day came halfway through the first round, as riders had to jump a spooky in-and-out on the pace, then immediately transition to the trot to jump a natural log.
Twenty riders came back for the second round, which included many of the same lines and turns, but in the opposite direction. The day’s top riders flowed through the challenging final line, but some strong contenders fell out of the race as they attempted to show off their skills. Shawn Casady, called back second from the top in the large section, gave his mount a bold ride, but a few mistakes led to an uncharacteristically uneven round, which dropped him out of contention. And Chloe Reid, ranked third in the mediums, ran into trouble at the last line to knock her out of the running.
The judges invited four riders into the ring for the final test: Isabelle Caccamise, Anderson, Keenan and Moog. The riders had to hand gallop a single fence, roll back to an oxer and trot out of a broken line, then demonstrate three lead changes on the quarter line in front of the judges and halt.
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“We never thought in a million years that the kids would do flying changes,” said Susie Schoellopf, who judged the class along with Jimmy Torano. “But they all tried them and it didn’t work.”
As the only competitor on a large pony, Keenan came back first and rode three beautiful fences, then ran into trouble with the lead changes. She swerved off a straight line and missed several behind—ending up with an extra change—and forgot her halt completely. The jumps didn’t come up right out of stride for Anderson and she had a late lead change, but she did execute her test correctly. Caccamise ran into trouble at the trot jump, when her pony hit the brakes and she had to try again. But the 11-year-old was clearly thrilled with completing her test, giving her pony a big pat on her way back to the line, Moog repeated Keenan’s mistake and ended up with four swaps instead of three.
The leaders’ mistakes forced the judges to come up with another test, and after a few minutes, the top four returned to the arena to work off on the flat without their stirrups.
After the judges made their decisions and the announcer read off the awards in reverse order, Moog waited to hear her name called out, expecting the third or fourth award. When it came down to the final two and he announced Lillie Keenan in the reserve spot, 11-year-old Moog burst into tears, realizing she’d won the championship.
RESULTS:
1. Morgan Moog
2. Lillie Keenan
3. Haley Anderson
4. Isabelle Caccamise
5. Emma Mandarino
6. Caroline Adelson
7. Phebe Scott Jenkins
8. Ashton Alexander
9. Colby Wood
10. Meredith Darst
