Lexington, Ky.—Aug. 9

It was a tough day of show jumping at the USEF Pony Jumper National Team Championship. From the 26 rounds tackled by 13 riders, nine ended in elimination—including several falls—over Jasen Shelley’s track. Only two of the four teams finished, and the silver medal team finished on 52 faults.

But the combined team of Zones 2/3/4 rose to the top, with Melinda Slous on Twilight Van De Vrijboshoeve, Kinser Vale on Praise On and Raines Gammon on The Girl Next Door all contributing a clear round to earn gold. All three were first-timers at USEF Pony Finals.

The team competition was run under traditional Nations Cup format, so all riders jumped the same course twice.

“Our first clear round was really good,” said Slous, 14 of Wrightstown, New Jersey. “ ‘Twilight’ was on point, and then he got a little tired in the second round, but he was still really good and he tried his best.”

Fourteen-year-old Gammon of Brookville, Maryland, started out with a 4-fault round then came back with a crucial clear.

“I was a little nervous going into the first round, and I made one little mistake at the second to last jump, but we fixed it in the second round,” she said.

At 10 years old, Vale was the youngest on the team, but the Williston, Florida, rider wasn’t intimidated by the tough course.

“In the first round it was very good until we came up at jump 8,” she said. “We had a little oopsie there, and then when we went into the second round, I made my pony wait and we got over that jump just fine.”

Vale’s father, U.S. team rider Aaron Vale, served as the chef d’equipe, and he said the courses were tougher than what the riders usually see week in, week out.

“It was a tricky course,” he said. “I mean, there were hard things, hard jumps, very technical, a lot of the jumps. You had … seven jumps in a row that were basically related. There was a lot of connection, which can be difficult. [There was] no time to regroup for seven jumps there in the middle of the course so it’s hard jumping for the kids. And not to take anything away from some of the kids that didn’t do as well today, but there were a few of them out there that were quite gritty and showed some potential.”

Find results here.

You can see all the Chronicle’s coverage from USEF Pony Finals here, and check out the Sept. 23 issue of the magazine as well. Be sure you’re following the Chronicle on Instagram and Facebook @Chronofhorse.