Ali Tritschler didn’t always want to ride. Her first riding lesson was at age 5, and she didn’t like it.
But when Tritschler told her mom that she didn’t want to ride again, she went against a generation of family equestrians and decades of USEF Pony Finals dominance.

“We were the McKinney girls,” Ali’s mom, Libby McKinney Tritschler said. “From 1967 to 1975 we were pretty competitive in the pony ring. We were fortunate enough to win, and we were just really lucky girls.”

In fact, Libby’s sister Lucie McKinney rode Cock’s Crow Flair to the grand championship at the very first Pony Finals at Deep Run (Va.), while Jean McKinney dominated the pony ring aboard Escort, and Libby rode Touch Me Not, under the tutelage of legendary pony trainer Emerson Burr.

A year passed after Ali’s first riding lesson, and, at age 6, she asked for another one. This time around she enjoyed it, and her family decided to lease a quiet schoolmaster for her. Two weeks later, the schoolmaster died, and Aunt Lucie promptly provided a new pony. A few weeks later that pony died, and Libby feared that Ali might not become the rider that she’d hoped.

“For my 6-year-old to have a pony die,” Libby said, “I thought, ‘This could break her.’ But she still said she wanted to ride. Now, she loves to ride.”

Today, Ali, 12, from Southport, Conn., has a six-day training regimen at the Rabbit Hill Farm with Abbi Ferrigno

and plans to compete four mounts at this year’s Pony Finals at the Kentucky Horse Park, Aug. 10-15. She’ll compete small Clovermeade Somebunny Famous, medium Clovercroft Honey Bunny and large Mookoo Jumbee in the regular pony hunter divisions, and she’ll tack up Clovermeade Bunny Side Up for the USEF Pony Medal Final.

But her strongest partnership is with Clovermeade Somebunny Famous, owned by Rabbit Hill Farm. She’s been riding “Topanga” for 31⁄2 years, but this year will be her last because she’s aging out of the division and outgrowing her favorite partner.

“The goodbye is approaching,” said Ferrigno. “They know each other so well. When Ali gets on Topanga, she knows her canter rhythm, and the pony knows Ali’s soft hands.”

“I’m going to miss her a lot,” said Ali. “I’ve ridden her since I came to train with Abbi. I will be sad, but I also want someone to have the same experiences that I had with her.”

Breeder Cheryl Patton, of Clover-meade Welsh Ponies in Nashville, Tenn., knew that Clovermeade Somebunny Famous (Clovercroft’s Brenin—Clover-croft’s Crystal) was a special animal right from the start. The filly looked so impres-sive that Patton originally planned to keep her for the breeding program. But before she was even weaned, Topanga showed her athletic prowess, so Patton knew she’d have a spectacular show career ahead of her.

“When I was trying to wean her the first day, I separated the filly from her mother and put them on opposite sides of my 600-acre farm,” recalled Patton. “Well, she somehow got out and jumped every fence between her and her mother to get back. Some of those fences must have been 4 or 5 feet high! At this point, I called Abbi and said, ‘She needs to be with you in the show ring.’ ”

Patton’s working relationship with Ferrigno stretches back a decade, when the Newton, Conn., trainer saw one of Patton’s ponies showing. Ferrigno promptly took a road trip to Tennessee and left with five barely-broke prospects on her trailer. As homage to her Rabbit Hill Farm, Ferrigno started naming the youngsters with tongue-in-cheek leporine titles. And the partnership with Ferrigno has proved so successful on both sides that Patton’s considering a special name for her newest stallion prospect: The Bunnymaker.

Patton will be on hand in Kentucky to watch Topanga and her other former charges at this year’s Pony Finals. Patton also has another reason to cheer on Topanga, as that pony’s sire, Brenin, died this spring.

“It’s my way of going to see my children,” said Patton. “I know Ali, she’s a great kid, and a lot of the kids who ride my ponies. Now that I have a website, often the kids will send me notes and pictures when they buy a pony and about how much they love their ponies. That’s the best part: the connection to the riders. It’s so great to meet them and see the ponies go with them.”

The Pony Finals was developed from an international competition that pitted the best British ponies against the best U.S. ponies. The USEF (then called
the American Horse Shows Association) held its first national pony competition—called the American Pony Hunter Championship—in 1967. About 14 ponies competed head-to-head for the title, and according to Lucie, most modern riders wouldn’t have recognized the competition.

“We came down to Virginia with Buddy Brown and everyone else from our barn,” she recalled. “My pony lived in the trailer for the weekend, and we jumped over an outside course over permanent jumps. And in the under saddle you had to go one at a time and demonstrate a figure-eight, and then a hand gallop down whatever area they told you to, followed by a halt.”

For today’s pony riders, Pony Finals means a trip to Kentucky, as the competition has enjoyed a five-year run at the Kentucky Horse Park. But until recently, the competition used to change locations every year, so riders looked forward to a new state and venue.    

“We used to love going to a new location every year, and that’s something that Ali hasn’t been able to experience,” said Libby. “But in a lot of ways it’s the same; the excitement is exactly the same.”

That atmosphere can translate to increased nerves for many competitors, but like a seasoned professional, Ali has tempered her expectations to prepare for the intense competition of Pony Finals.

“I’m not expecting to win, but I’d like to,” said Ali. “I’d like to see my friends win if I don’t. My family has really good luck at Pony Finals. It’s kind of lucky with two aunts who used to ride, and my mom who still rides. They tell me what I’m doing wrong.”

Despite her familial history at Pony Finals, her family has never imparted any pressure to excel in the confines of the championship. Rather, Ali’s been buckling down and practicing so she can ride her best.

“To get ready for Pony Finals we learn what each of the ponies is good at,” Ali said. “So when we go into the ring we can show off what they are best at.”

“She never gives up,” Ferrigno said. “She had six lessons yesterday. Some were fabulous, and some weren’t. After she’s had a not-great lesson or round, she doesn’t carry it over when she gets on the next pony. She wants to be the best she can be on every pony she rides.”

With experience beyond her years, Ali has become sensitive to how each pony likes to be ridden. Her mom occasionally warms up some of Ali’s ponies and finds herself checking in with her daughter to make sure that she’s preparing them properly.

“It’s so much fun when Ali goes out on three ponies and I go out on three ponies,” Libby said. “I will ask her advice about what I need to do with her pony.”