Claire Marie Diamond made a long trip from Salt Lake City to San Juan Capistrano, California, count when she rode Stoneledge Special Request to win the USHJA Pony Hunter Derby Championship—West. They established a strong lead in the first round with a score of 86.25 and added an 82.50 in the handy to win. The class was held June 25 at Blenheim June Classic III.

Diamond, 13, commutes from Utah to Rolling Hills Estates, California, to ride “Bam-Bam,” a 15-year-old Welsh pony cross by Pengwyn. Diamond trains and competes under the guidance of Seahorse Riding Club’s Gabriela Pattinson.

We caught up with Diamond to hear about her win and the challenges she overcame to get there.

Claire Marie Diamond and Stoneledge Special Request jumped to the top of the USHJA Pony Hunter Derby Championship—West. Amy McCool Photo

What is Bam-Bam is like?
We’ve had her for about three years. I’ve always said she is not really the fanciest pony at the ring, but she’s super, super sweet. She’s such a good girl. She rarely ever does anything bad. She jumps really good, but she’s not a good mover. Sometimes we get the piece of the hack, and sometimes we don’t. She can get a little sassy through her lead change, and she has a swap. But other than that, she’s great.

Did you do anything special to prepare for the derby?
I’ve shown in a lot of big classes over the years, so we don’t really do anything different or do anything special. We just try to keep it super consistent because I do usually get really nervous, so changing things up can get tricky for me.

You have had quite a few successful shows on her and then a few bumps in the road. How did she go in the derby for you?
I was really nervous. I did compete in it last year, so I kind of did know what to expect, but I mean, she was really, really good. The first round, I wasn’t as nervous as the second because in the [West Coast Pony Hunter Classic, part of the Blenheim West Coast Pony Challenge], the two days prior, I didn’t do very well. So I wasn’t expecting anything big, but after leading the first round, coming into the handy, I definitely felt really nervous.

What was it about the first round that caused the nervousness?
She couldn’t have been better. That put pressure on for the second round.

Why do you think you get nervous?
I usually get really nervous when I go in. I just think showing in [front of] a big crowd of people, kids, I mean, it’s like going to a new school every time I go into the ring. Even though I have a lot of friends at the ring, it never gets easier.

What are some things you had to work through with Bam-Bam?
A couple years ago, soon after I got her, I taught her to smile [by curling her lips up for a treat], and this is before I even knew what conformation and modeling was. She would always do it for a treat, but the first time I stepped into a model, when I was crinkling the peppermint wrapper to get her to put her ears forward, and she smiled in front of the judge. That was a mistake. So then I definitely tried to un-train that out of her.

Cute in the barn, but maybe not in the show ring, Stoneledge Special Request shows off her “smile” on command. Photo Courtesy Of Claire Marie Diamond

I wonder what your trainer was thinking when Bam-Bam was perfectly performing the trick you taught her during the pony hunter model class. What other experiences caused you to really bond?
I’m from Utah, and we got her all the way back in Ohio. At my old barn, we didn’t have any grooms or anything, so I spent seven days a week with her, really getting to know her, and I really bonded with her. But I think the first time I showed her [in Thermal, California,] in 2020, that’s when everything just kind of started to come together.

Do you have any good luck charms?
Our braider likes to do a strip of rainbow in all of our horses’ braids, and she just started doing that this month, and that’s when I really started to do well. And when Bam-Bam didn’t have that strip of rainbow in her braid, I didn’t do very well. I consider that my good luck charm from now on.

Does anyone else in your family ride?
My mom rides. We have three horses down in Temecula, California, with Mark Kinsella. They’re all jumpers. I have two, and my mom has one. I think I’ve been riding for six years, and she’s been riding for five.

What are you currently working on in your lessons right now?
I focus on all the little details, working on the swap, strengthening her hind end, just kind of working on my upper body and my hands, riding to the right distance every time. It will be different every lesson, depending on whatever horse I’m on, but for Bam-Bam, that’s definitely what we work on.

What is one of your biggest fears?
It was back in 2020, and they gave us a derby warmup in the round ring, and Bam-Bam was really, really strong. She was cantering down a bending line, coming home. And I was trying to fit it in, but it was a little long, and I kind of pushed her to the long one, but then it was too short. And she tried to fit it in—that’s when she fell, and we both rolled. I broke both of my wrists and my nose. I didn’t end up getting to do the derby after the warm up because I had broken both my wrists. But luckily she was OK, and I recovered within three weeks, and within a month I was back at Thermal showing.

It’s something I’ve really been struggling with, cantering down to those bending lines [especially coming home], because she really kind of pulls me down to them. I definitely struggled with that when I went to Devon [Pennsylvania]. There were a lot of bending lines with Devon. You don’t really know what number it’s going to be.

Claire Marie Diamond faced her nemesis at Devon—bending lines heading home—aboard Stoneledge Special Request. Mollie Bailey Photo

Wow that’s a pretty significant fall, so this was full-on redemption for you.
Yeah we did [the derby championship] last year and got 10th, which was a big deal at the time, but this year was definitely redemption.

Tell me what a normal day looks like for you.
I used to ride full time in Utah, but we moved our horses to California to kind of be more competitive and show more and just explore other options. But my parents actually own the barn in Utah that we’re renovating right now. So every day for me is kind of just school and flying back and forth from California to Utah. Bam-Bam will stay, but once our jumpers come home to Utah, I think every day is just going to be riding and online school for me.

What’s something you can’t live without?

That’s hard. Probably riding is the first one. I’ll say Bam-Bam. And then probably movies, just TV in general. I love to watch movies, TV shows, whatever it is. Probably sweatpants. I couldn’t live without sweatpants. A phone charger. Steak. I love to eat steak.