Thursday, Aug. 12 Lexington, Ky.

Maddie Darst and Elation finished out the day at USEF Pony Finals the way they started it: at the head of the small pony division.

Betsee Parker’s gray clinched victory with a winning over fences trip when the pressure was on. Last to go, Darst kept her cool to win the small pony championship over Lands End Eros, ridden by Pony Finals first-timer Isabel Ryan.

“I was really, really nervous!” said Darst, 13. “I’m not sure why—I never really get nervous.”

Darst paired up with Elation at Capital Challenge (Md.) last year, where they claimed the small pony title their first time together. According to the Lebanon, Ohio, rider, the pony is her favorite one to ride, which says a lot considering her full catch-riding schedule (she has one in every division at Pony Finals).

“She’s not too lazy, but she’s not fast either,” said Darst of Elation. “I’ve been very successful with her, and she’s very fun to ride. By now I’m used to her.”

According to Darst, Elation’s standout quality is her beauty, and the judges agreed. The mare claimed the model with an average mark of 89, more than 4 points higher than the averages of the two ponies tied for second: P. Wynn Norman’s Yet Another Karacter and Hailey Livingston’s Sir Dragon.

Darst has stood centerstage at Pony Finals before. Last year she claimed two titles, including the grand green championship aboard Brownland’s Mr. Mack.

Greens Get The Spotlight

Elation’s title marked the second tricolor for Parker of the competition. Her Seven Steps claimed the large green pony and grand green pony titles yesterday with Victoria Colvin up. While that pony has scarcely set foot in the show ring—incredibly Pony Finals marked just the fifth show of his career—Parker can’t help but be excited for his future.

“I think he brings a new standard to the larges,” she said. “He’s just spectacular.”

Seven Steps may have edged out Jordan Coyle’s Grand Jeté for the grand title, but that small pony captured plenty of hearts at the Kentucky Horse Park. The final pair to jump, last-minute catch rider Parker Wright and the strawberry roan entered the ring just as the skies let loose a monster deluge. Despite the rain, Wright clocked around the course and topped the over fences to clinch the small green pony and reserve green pony titles. Grand Jeté also earned a new saddle as the winner of the high-scoring green pony Pony Finals Auction graduate.

Like Wright, Lindsay Levine didn’ t have much time to get to know her green pony partner. She paired up with Robin Hill’s Snapshot, owned by Redfield Farm, just two shows before Pony Finals. But with help from Scott Stewart—and a few pointers from barnmate Colvin—Levine took second in the medium green pony over fences class on her way to the division title.

Around The Showgrounds

-The USEF trotted out a new schedule this year to accommodate the ever-ballooning entries (93 smalls, 136 mediums and 102 larges this year.) The small regular pony model and under saddle sections showed Wednesday after the green ponies finished over fences, then jumped this afternoon. The medium ponies modeled and hacked this morning and will jump tomorrow afternoon, and the large ponies model and hack tomorrow morning and jump Saturday morning, with two new classes set to fill Saturday afternoon. The Pony Finals Top Model goes first—an invitational conformation class for the top two ponies from each division. (Yes, quips about reality T.V. shows abound.) Next is the Pony Finals Top Ten Handy Stakes, with the top 10 over fences winners from each division invited. The jumper timetable remains unchanged this year, with the individual championship slated for tomorrow night and the team competition for Saturday night. And the USEF Pony Medal Final will run as it has in previous years: Sunday in the indoor.

-The heat wave across Kentucky which plagued competitors at the Adequan FEI North American Junior and Young Rider Championships and USEF Junior Hunter Finals has continued, prompting the judges to issue a notice literally begging riders to forsake their coats. But there’s not a shadbellyless rider to be seen on the showgrounds, despite the heat index topping 110 yesterday.

-As always, the courses at Pony Finals are forcing the riders to earn their ribbons, with the usual bending lines and unrelated distances tripping up the more novice riders. Bobby Murphy laid a gorgeous course for today’s small ponies (then painstakingly photographed every fence and flowerpot to be sure each element would be in the exact same spot tomorrow’s mediums and Saturday’s larges.) He included several option fences, notably an option between two identical brush fences that has riders a plenty queasy but their ponies, by and large, clearing happily.

-Pony rider fashion remains largely unchanged from the last few years, with most riders (regardless of age or height) donning jodphers and pony straps rather than tall boots and breeches. So far not a single short coat has made an appearance in the over fences classes, with many young riders proudly wandering around the showgrounds in their tails despite the heat. Pink seems to be the preferred color for matching pigtail ribbons, shadbelly lining and vest points (and for the most coordinated, braiding yarn).

USEF Pony Finals Results-To-Date

Top 10 final overall results follow; please visit www.shownet.biz for full results and medium pony standings after the model and under saddle.

Pony/rider/score

Small Pony

1. Elation/Meredith Darst/1027
2. Lands End Eros/Isabel Ryan/1000
3. Carolina’s Shenanigans/Hana Bieling/998
4. Cardiff Mardi Gras/Sabrina Slagowitz/985.5
5. Rico Suave/Brittney Jarman/971
6. Rolling Stone/Sophie Michaels/969
6. First Edition/Bergen Sanderford/969
8. Sir Dragon/Parker Wright/964.5
9. Land’s End Lady Slipper/Abby Funk/952.8
10. Blueberry Hill/Hailey Livingston/947.4

Large Green Pony

1. Seven Steps/Victoria Colvin/1043
2. Best Case Scenario/Vivian Yowan/1019
3. Mapleside Dolcetto/Ashton Alexander/1012
4. Chakko/Allison Toffolon/1007
5. Just My Style/Emma Kennedy/993
6. Katydid Kiss Me/Elizabeth Butterworth/974
7. Carnival/Iris Harrison/965
8. Storyteller/Barbara Ann Merryman/964
9. Dream Blue/Sydney Shulman
10. Fairybrook’s Mr. Fox/Gretchen Zongailia/958

Medium Green Pony

1. Robin’s Hill Snapshot/Lindsay Levine/1011.5
2. Georgia/Sydney Shulman/1010
3. Newsprint/Victoria Colvin/1001
4. Goodnight Moon/Emma Kennedy/989
5. Mr. Australia/Alexandra Anderson/986
6. Gossip Girl/Kristin Anklowitz/967
7. Caramel Crunch/Anna Demetree/956
8. Woodlands Tallulah/Meredith Darst/951
9. Woodlands Thumbelina/Megan Blum/946
10. Crystal Acres Chocolatier/Spencer Brittan/936

Small Green Pony

1. Grand Jeté/Parker Wright/1027.5
2. Rafael/Ashton Alexander/1001.5
3. Wellspring’s Showbiz/Kendell Alderberger/997
4. Rollingwoods Stick Tight/Hayley Ianotti/980
5. I Candy/Isabel Ryan/956
6. Hot Pursuit/Lauren Elise Ortega Wade/941
7. Just Being Me/Claudia Freeman/935
8. Bo Peep/Emma Mandarino/934
9. Tiggydoo/Jordan Stiller/909.5
10. Salvandi Kool Kat/Mackenzie Graves/899.5