Lexington, Ky.—Aug. 7

Though they may be among the youngest teams in the competition, the Zone 7/8 squad earned gold in the USEF Small/Medium Pony Jumper National Championship held at USEF Pony Finals at the Kentucky Horse Park.

The three youngest members of the team—Sophie Liebert, 7, of Elizabeth, Colorado, on Sugar Rush, Cora Greenstreet, 9, Erie, Colorado, on HV Remy and Genevieve Ralls, 11, of Dallas on Applause—all put in two perfect rounds. The “senior” member of the team, Povi Gosnell of Longmont, Colorado, who rode KCS Harmony may be 15, but she’s only been riding for nine months. She ticked a single rail in Round 2 as the drop score for that round.

“It’s been my dream to come to Pony Finals, and I was not expecting to win the gold medal, but it’s amazing,” said Gosnell.

“I was definitely nervous,” she added. “A couple shows before coming, my pony was stopping and not wanting to go over the jumps, but I had a lot of faith in her and coming here was just amazing.”

Zone 10—Lavinia Ecclestone (Annandale Miss Saigon), Grace Green (Bjerregards Katja), Seattle Lajoie (Hollywood Diva) and Sloan Der Boghossian (Jack Attack)—finished with silver and Zone 3 Team 2— Tenley Jones on Penny (Penny Lane), Alexis Rock on Liberty Bell, Hannah Tucker on Raindrops On Roses and Louisa Perry on Razzle Dazzle—claimed bronze. All three of the medal-winning teams finished on 0 faults, with cumulative time from Round 2 separating them.

After a tough year of competition last year in which nine of the 26 rounds in the team competition ended in elimination, this year the Pony Jumper National Championships got a major revamp. Previously all ponies jumped 1.05 meters. Now there are four height sections: small ponies jump .65 meters, medium ponies jump .75 meters, larges jump .85 meters, and an open 1.05 meter section. At this year’s competition the small/medium ponies have been combined, with a little less than 50% of the competitors aboard small ponies. Larges and the 1.05 meter divisions have been combined as well, with 10% of the entries competing at the 1.05 meter height.

Entries are way, way up, from 13 last year to 141 this year, with 68 in the small/medium division—18 teams—and 71 in the large/1.05 meter division that competes on Friday. The lower heights have meant fewer problems for ponies and young athletes, with just eight of the riders being eliminated in a round out of 68 entries, a much better ratio than last year.

Want more USEF Pony Finals? Get all the Chronicle’s coverage here. Make sure you’re following along with the Chronicle on Facebook and Instagram @chronofhorse. You can get more Pony Finals in the September issue of the Chronicle.