Lexington, Ky.—Nov. 9

His belly may just reach past the dressage letters, and it might take him forever to get down centerline, but 13.2-hand Welsh Pony Cartwheel Toccata has been holding his own at U.S. Dressage Finals this weekend.

With his 15-year-old rider Madelyn Yi, “Taco” scored a 63.24% in today’s junior/young rider first level championship. “It went pretty good,” said Yi, Houston, Texas. “I always love his leg yields. He’s been working on his extended trots, and they’re not perfect, but I’m so proud of him. He’s making an effort.” 

The 20-year-old gelding (Pecan Creek’s Polonaise—Pecan Creek Mazurka) was dwarfed by the larger warmbloods warming up at the Kentucky Horse Park, and Yi, who also rides a 15-hand horse at home, said it can be intimidating, but Taco puffs up when he arrives at a show.

“Sometimes I feel like we have to have double the steps!” she said with a laugh. “When I ride a bigger horse, everything feels easier, but with Taco, going down centerline feels like an eternity.”

Taco came to Yi four years ago. He’d spent his career as a hunter pony in the short and long stirrup and children’s hunter divisions. He was bred in Oklahoma by Janet Crouch of Heavenly Welsh Pony Farm.

“He was such a good, well-mannered horse. Kids could do anything on him. He was a polite horse,” said Yi of her first meeting with Taco. “He didn’t really know any dressage, but he was just naturally such a hard-working horse that it wasn’t really hard to get him to it.”

And now? “We just understand each other in a way,” she said. “We know when to perform and when to do what we need to do. It’s been really smooth. He draws so much attention. Everybody loves him, but sometimes he gets really mouthy about treats. He’s such a character.”

Yi has trained with Ashley Mendez of A&A Rosewood Sporthorses since she was 7. Mendez found Taco for her and was very proud of their performance today.

“They’ve been working on this since 2019, and they’ve come such a long way—from the time where she couldn’t even reach below to saddle to where they are now is awesome” she said. “She’s elegant. She’s an excellent student, and she tries very hard. She puts everything she has into it.

“I think Taco is the most awesome pony,” she added. “He’s wonderful—he tries so hard, he is so sweet, he’s literally my favorite in the barn, and I think pony power all the way! We’ll go after all the warmbloods.”

For full results, click here.

Follow along with all of the Chronicle’s coverage of the U.S. Dressage Finals here.

Are you riding a horse or pony at Dressage Finals with a cool story? Email Lindsay for a chance to be featured on coth.com.