Lexington, Ky—Aug. 9

Two and a half years ago, Elin Uhrig’s former trainer Alexia Honegger told her student to write down her future goals, and Uhrig didn’t hesitate. She wanted to go to USEF Pony Finals, and she wanted to win.

This year, Uhrig made that a reality when she rode Juan Bay to the top of the USEF Large Pony Jumper National Championship. She also earned a silver medal in the large pony jumper team competition yesterday as the anchor for the Zone 8/9 team, so she’ll head back to Greenwood Village, Colorado, with plenty of hardware.

“I’m so grateful to everyone who helped me get here,” she said, citing her father and her trainer, Michael Dennehy, in particular.

Uhrig had been to the Kentucky Horse Park once before when she watched her sister, Isabella Uhrig, win individual silver aboard Juan Bay.

Honegger imported the Irish Sport Horse of unrecorded breeding from Ireland, and Elin took over the ride a year and a half ago. They’ve been on a roll since then, most recently helping her team win gold at the Zone 7 and 8 USHJA Junior/Amateur Jumper Championships (Colorado).

“He just kind of needs a little leg to the jump,” said Elin, 11. “He’s just such a good boy. He loves to go fast.”

Seventy-one horses contested the large pony division, which was combined with the handful of entries—including Elin and Juan Bay—in the open 1.05 meter division. Fifteen horses kept a clean sheet all week to advance to the jump-off course, and when the pair marched in the ring for that round they stayed focused and efficient to shave over a second and a half off the leading time. Delta S Irish Storm and Zachary Sherer finished second, with Summer Smith on Sissi Mai claiming third.

Watch Juan Bay and Elin Uhrig’s winning jump-off.

Elin and her squad were over the moon with her win.

“He’s a grand prix horse in a pony body, because he does the horse strides, and he’ll leave out like the horses can and still make an inside turn,” said Dennehy. “He’s amazing, and he is just so honest and brave and careful and fast—just the best pony I’ve ever trained.”

Pony Finals pony jumper entries have ballooned from low teens last year to 141 total this year with a revamped format. Dennehy said it was a bit confusing at the beginning of the season to know what the riders had to do to qualify, but in the end moving from all ponies competing at 1.05 meters and going to a championship split by height seemed to work out.

“It was great atmosphere today,” he said. “It was wonderful theater to have them all together. And I think they’re going to tweak that just a little bit for this coming year. But I love that they have a lower fence height. And these kids now, like Elin and I [were] talking earlier, if they’d had this format a few years ago, she could have brought her little pony and competed in the smalls two or three years ago when her sister came.”

Find full results here.

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