A three-ring circus is synonymous with a confusing level of activity. And with more than 800 competitors in seven different disciplines, the U.S. Pony Club Championships at the Virginia Horse Center in Lexington, Aug. 3-7, was a nine- or 10-ring circus full of mounts of all sizes, shapes and breeds.

Colorful might be the best way to describe the horses on the Central New England training level eventing team. A palomino, Paint and Appaloosa joined forces with a bay to create a victorious squad.

Allison Blood, Amanda Brem, Michelle Realmuto, Claire Williams and Leigh Davis made the trip south from Massachusetts.

It was Williams’ first time at championships aboard Top American Paint. She’s owned “Merlin” for seven years and won the American Eventing Championships junior/ young rider novice title with him last fall in her first event outside of New England.

“He’s my best friend,” said the 16-year-old C-3 from West Newbury, Mass. At only 14.3 hands, he won’t be moving up to preliminary, but Williams plans to take him back to the AECs at training level.

Unlike most horse sports, USPC rallies are all about teamwork. They don’t even award prizes for the top-placed riders. And the CNE team proved they worked as well together off their horses as on by also winning the horse management portion of the rally.

Competitors are judged on the cleanliness and care of their horses and equipment throughout the rally. An unpolished boot, empty water bucket or sweat mark will cost them points.

Davis, a B from Carlisle, Mass., was the team’s horse manager because back trouble prevented her from riding this year. “I’ve always loved helping out,” she said.

The 16-year-old was serious about her tack room organization, making several trips to The Home Depot so that every piece of equipment would have its place, as well as scaring up matching coat bags and tote bags for the team. Blood actually built wooden tack trunks for each team member, complete with brass nameplates.

“We had a bake sale to pay for it all,” said Davis. “We worked really well as a team, and there was no friction. We know what the standards are and how to meet them.” The team only lost 3 points for their horse management.

This is Davis’ third time at championships and it was also her favorite. “We would have had a good time even if we were losing,” she explained.

Although the CNE team wasn’t tested on that statement, cheerfulness through adversity is something USPC is known for, and Hayley Barbato, a C-3 from Danville, Ky., exemplified good sportsmanship when her horse pulled up lame before the qualifying novice level rally.

Her friend Lisa Thomas agreed to lend her the 6-year-old Abby Roads for the rally. You have to go to championships on the horse you qualified on, so Barbato, 17, focused on forging a new relationship quickly.

Her team from the Midsouth Region went on to win the novice level eventing championships. Marty Whitehouse, Laura Burns, and Katie Shiplett made up the team with Barbato’s younger sister, Kelsey, as the horse manager.

Hayley credited their low dressage scores for paving the way to victory. “We were the only team to all have dressage scores under 40,” she said proudly.

“It was a really strong team going in,” said Whitehouse, who, along with a handful of others, had stayed on after competing in the North American Young Riders Championships the week before with her preliminary level horse Final Score.

Whitehouse, of Lexington, Ky., has competed at championships for six years, winning in eventing training and preliminary levels. But this time she was just pleased that her young horse, Wedlock, jumped the ditch on the novice course. “For a long time he thought they weren’t necessary,” she said with a laugh.

Whitehouse, 17, planned to take her A rating at the end of August. As captain of her team she mentored her teammates, who hadn’t competed at championships before. “It’s always fun, and I enjoy meeting people,” she said.

Scrambling Ahead

Meeting new people at championships often includes your teammates. The winning team in the modified show jumping division was a Capital/South scramble team.

Alexandra Ammenheuser, of Frederick, Md., was the captain, but she’d never met her teammates–Julia Ward, Alexandra MacLeod and Lauren Mundy–who hail from the Seneca Valley Pony Club in Poolesville, Md.

And then there was Kelsey Barber, the lone South Region member, from Atlanta, Ga. But she wasn’t concerned. “I’m outgoing and like meeting new people,” she said.

Barber, a C-2, focuses on hunters and jumpers at home, although she does a bit of eventing too. She was riding Sherlock Holmes, an 8-year-old Thoroughbred who’s only been off the track for one year.

“We’ve really bonded,” said Barber, 13. “I’ve taught him everything.”

Competitors rode five show jumping rounds over three days, at 3’3″ for the modified division. The second round was also judged on equitation and required a halt near the end of the course before trotting a low vertical.

“I was working on trying to get over the fences because he’s a little bit green,” admitted Barber. “But I thought it was a good challenge and showed who’d been working on their equitation.”

Ammenheuser, 15, also had a bit of trouble in the equitation round. “He wasn’t listening to me for the halt,” she explained. “But after that he started listening to me!”

Ammenheuser, a C-2, had hoped to qualify in eventing, but her horse got sick before the rally so she couldn’t go. Teammate Julia Ward earned a team gold medal at the NAYRC in the CCI* on Squeezable Softly and used a different horse, Flying Without Wings, for show jumping.

Lizzie Wisner, 16, is another active eventer who ended up competing in show jumping. This is her sixth year at championships, and she’s competed in games, eventing and show jumping so far.

Wisner, a C-2 from Upperco, Md., rode for the winning Maryland team along with teammates Jamie Lee Schwallenberg, Julia Hickok, Lisa LeVan and Samantha Hopkins in the regular division of the show jumping competition. The team all rode Horse 2 with a maximum height of 3’6″.

“Our team got along really well,” said Wisner. “When one of us had problems on course, the others came through, and it worked out well.”

Hickok, a 15-year-old from Upper Marlborough, Md., and the team’s captain, actually wished the courses had been a bit more difficult. She lowered one rail throughout her five rounds and was the only one on her team to make the jump-off after the last round.

Her rail came in the “choose your own line” class, but that ended up being Hickok’s favorite. “Jamie Lee made the course for me, and it was really twisty and turny–the way I like it,” said Hickok.

Let The Games Begin

Perhaps Hickok’s love of sharp turns comes from her prior championship experience in USPC games. This year it was her sister, Stephanie, a C-2, who earned the games glory, riding on the winning Hot Ice team in senior games.

Joining Stephanie, 17, were Rebekkah Korn, Tamara Malm, Mark Schmid and Adrien Clay, who’ve all competed on the USPC international games team.

Games are reminiscent of the classic gymkhana, where team members compete in relays to drop various objects in buckets from atop their ponies, pole bend, pop balloons, and ride a variety of other races.

The riders build balance and courage as they learn to vault on from either side while their pony is in motion, or lean down and pick something up off the ground.

Stephanie couldn’t say enough good things about her pony, Copper Penny. “She can do the balloon race in 4 seconds,” she gushed.

An ex-race pony, Penny is a full Arabian. The mounts used in games are mostly ponies, and according to the games players, the best ones usually don’t belong to any particular breed.

The Hot Ice team jokingly took credit for the Psychos who won the junior games. Aly Raynor, Jennifer Porter, Jessica Reed, Shana Jones and Stephi Raynor hail from the Heartland Region in Indiana and Illinois, and Clay lives in the same town, Peoria, Ill., as Jones.

The Psychos are serious about their games, winning this year’s Prince Philip Cup at the Rolex Kentucky CCI**** in Lexington. They meet to practice together once a week.

As an added bonus, the Psychos also picked up first place in horse management, a difficult task in games because the teams don’t have horse managers.

Raynor, Jones and Porter will have to compete in senior games next year because they’ll be 14 by Jan. 1. The rest of the team may join them, or they may end up finding some new members.

Age is also an issue for Valerie Brown, a C-2 from Woodbine, Md., who was on the winning advanced team with Jennifer McCready of Great Falls, Va. Brown is 20 and was going to age out of USPC this year, but a new rule has extended the age limit to 25, so Brown could have a few more years.

“I was looking forward to it being over, but now I’m looking forward to continuing,” said Brown with a laugh.

Their team, the Smurfs, is part of a larger team that competes in the Mounted Games Across America league. Brown won last year at championships with her boyfriend Jonathon Hoke, but he aged out, as did McCready’s partner. So the two decided to join forces.

“It was a little hard,” said Brown. “We’re the hot riders on the MGA team because we have the hottest ponies.”

This got them into difficulty in the fishing race when McCready’s pony refused to stand still and Brown’s pony got tired of waiting around.

Finding Focus Amidst Chaos

As the audience screamed and yelled for their favorite games team in the Coliseum, the dressage riders had a bit of a challenge keeping their mounts quiet and focused on the hill above.

It was their first look at show jumpers or polocrosse for many sheltered warmbloods, but they made the best of it.

Caitlin Hitt had to convince her 7-year-old Swedish Warmblood mare, Poloma, that the other disciplines wouldn’t eat her on the first day, but she quickly grew accustomed to the bustle. Jo Anna Faircloth, Lauren Smith, Amanda “Kate” Myers and Meredith Baker joined her on the winning Maryland team in the first level dressage championship.

The show was especially challenging for Hitt because she’d only returned to the country five weeks ago after spending five weeks in Russia, studying Russian. “My horse wasn’t worked while I was gone,” she said. “She’s still really green, and it was only her third show at first level.”

Hitt, 20, and Myers attend Wake Forest University (N.C.). Hitt started focusing on dressage in 2002 and found the regiment of an overnight rally a bit difficult this year. “I have my routines at horse shows, and I can’t follow them at Pony Club,” she explained. She intended to school her horse late in the day when it was cool on Thursday, but the barns closed at 6 p.m.

But, “there’s something about Pony Club and the team bonding,” she said with a smile. And winning helps too.

“We were in shock when we won,” said Hitt. “We didn’t know before the awards ceremony, and we expected our scores to go down.”

Smith’s horse, Romeo Reflection, came up lame in the warm-up before their freestyle, so the team had no drop score.

The musical freestyles were the highlight of the winning training team performances. Shannon Pitt, Chelsea Gammon, Rebecca Przywara, Emily Walkup and Rachel Leyna Rosenberg from the Eastern Pennsylvania Region earned three top-10 placings for their freestyles.

Pitt, a 15-year-old from West Chester, Pa., rode her Dutch Warmblood, Match Maker, to a jazzy circus theme. “My best test was my freestyle because it’s easier for me to ride to music,” she said.

Pitt, a C-1, knew most of her teammates already. She even sold her last horse to Walkup. But that didn’t stop them from growing even closer over the week, spending all their free time together in the evenings too.

These Kids Are Multi-Talented

Tetrathlon is the only USPC sport where competitors aren’t placed on teams, but that doesn’t stop them from making new friends and supporting each other.

“I came this year to visit my friends from the international team,” said senior girls winner Angie Binkerd.

Binkerd, 19 from Heber City, Utah, was the senior girls champion in 2004 and the junior girls champion in 2001. Tetrathlon consists of running, riding, swimming and shooting. Riders are allowed to borrow mounts, and this year Binkerd shared Robin Coulter’s horse.

“It’s a great program and got me into high school sports,” raved Binkerd. “It’s been the thing that kept me in Pony Club.”

Binkerd is attending Utah State University and exploring the Olympic sport of pentathlon, which adds fencing to the mix.

Senior boys winner Larry Goodwin also made the jump to pentathlon. “I’m in non-stop training,” he said.

The 16-year-old joined his high school swim and track teams to improve his scores and plans to try out for the international tetrathlon team next summer if he gains his C-3 rating.

Goodwin competes in all the different USPC rallies near his home in Pittstown, N.J., borrowing horses for games and polocrosse, but tetrathlon is his firstlove. “This is the most fun I have in Pony Club,” he said.

Only 15 competitors competed in tetrathlon this year, but that drew them even closer and made it an inviting atmosphere for newcomers like novice girls winner Adrienne Clark. Just 10 years old, it was Clark’s first time competing at championships and only her second time doing tetrathlon.

A D-3 from Street, M d., Clark joined USPC because of her older sister, Meredith, who competed in eventing this year. Clark competes in hunters with her pony Jazz Fest and had a perfect score in the riding phase.

Clark had a great time this year, but she doesn’t think she’ll be graduating to the junior ranks of tetrathlon. “I can’t swim eight laps fast enough!” she said with a laugh.

And Special Recognition Goes To:

 In show jumping, Sasha Milam from the Tri-State/New York/Upper Connecticut team won the equitation award for the modified division. Jamie Harris rode on the South/New Jersey team in the regular division and won the Veiva Scribner Memorial Award for horsemanship, given to the rider who best exemplifies the classical principles of horsemanship and “the American jumping style” during show jumping.

 U.S. Pony Club graduate Robert Dover donated his mother’s “I Love Pony Club” pin as an award for the dressage competition. Reproductions were given to freestyle winners Caitlin Heller of New York/Upper Connecticut region in the training division and Amanda “Kate” Myers of the Maryland region in the first level division.

 In tetrathlon, senior boy August Torselieri won the equitation award, and Nichole Fisher and Katie Thompson picked up Purple Hearts for surviving their show jumping rounds. Larry Goodwin won the Kathryn K. Strassburger award as the winning senior boy.

 The Frank Bierman Challenge Cup was presented to Christa Gandolfo from the New Jersey Region for excellence in eventing at the training level. The award is given to the competitor who demonstrates excellence in the cross-country phase with a mount that is properly fit and conditioned.

 In games, the Frances E. Pitts Memorial Games Trophy for excellence in horsemanship, sportsmanship and leadership went to Elizabeth Kennedy who rode for the Psychos In Pink. She struggled with a kicking pony, but kept her composure throughout the competition.

 A sportsmanship award was awarded to Shannon Molsky, who played for Nick With Chix in polocrosse. Emily Balogh’s horse turned up lame, so Molsky shared her horse with Balogh. Adrianne Gill won a best horse award for Shawnee in the advanced division, and Lea Huggins picked up the same award for Ice Queen in the intermediate division.

Carolina Corners The Polocrosse Competition

Polocrosse is only in its eighth year at the U.S. Pony Club Championships, but it’s exploded in the Carolina Region, and they fielded four of the 12 teams, collecting top honors in both divisions.

Aaron Bennett, Mel Minery, Andrew Diemer and Erin Huber made up the Storm Warning team that won the advanced division.

Bennett, of Greensboro, N.C., was exposed to the sport at a previous championships, when he went to watch his sister ride. “I said, ‘Wow, what are they playing?’ “

That epiphany of the racket sport played on horseback has kept the 17-year-old riding when he otherwise would’ve given it up.

Diemer, of Raeford, N.C., has been playing since 1998, when he saw a demonstration of the sport, and they all play in the American Polocrosse Association as well as in USPC.

The conditions at championships weren’t ideal this year because the field was 10 yards short. It should be 160 yards by 60 yards, but it was held on top of the hill at the Virginia Horse Center, and a longer field would’ve sent horses reluctant to brake tumbling down into the dressage rings.

And heavy rains on Friday and Saturday nights made the field too slick for Sunday play.

The wet weather played havoc on the brilliant colors of the Carolina Crush team that won the intermediate division. Fluorescent orange quickly turned to mud brown as Lea Huggins, Lightsey Laffitte and Jordan West fought for the ball, making horse manager Karla Wright’s job much harder.

It was an especially meaningful win for Huggins, of Walterboro, S.C., because her Argentinean Thoroughbred, Ice Queen, won the award for best horse.  Ice Queen has been a very difficult ride for Huggins.

“I got her from a polo player who told me, ‘If you can ride her, you can have her,’ “said Huggins. “She’s had every problem in the book.”

Huggins, 15, credited some fancy bitting and a lot of individual attention with the mare’s turnaround.