Lexington, Ky.—Aug. 7  

What do you do when you’re 11 years old and you’ve won a championship at U.S. Equestrian Pony Finals? You go to your favorite restaurant to celebrate. 

What do you do when you win a second championship in as many days and clinch a grand championship? Beg your parents to take you to the same restaurant again.

That’s exactly what Augusta Iwasaki did today in Lexington, Ky. After taking the small regular pony hunter championship with Bit Of Laughter yesterday, Iwasaki won the large green pony hunter championship and the grand green pony hunter championship.

While some 11-year-olds might be phased by the pressure-filled environment at Pony Finals, Iwasaki said she lives for the increased level of competition. 

She paired with “Prince” owned by Ava Peck in January, and the pair became fast friends.

“He is never wild,” said Iwasaki, Calabasas, Calif. “He is always very sweet. He’s just perfect always. He never takes a foot out of line. 

She might be far from home, but Iwasaki has plenty of support in Kentucky. As we walked through the ring for the award presentation, the other photographers were all talking about the talented girl who was “only 11!” And after she dismounted, she had a horde of people waiting to give her hugs and offer their congratulations.

So what is she going to do with the mountain of trophies and ribbons she’s collected?

“Hang them in my room,” Iwasaki said with a smile.

Truly Yours Finds Her Way To The Top

Emma Kurtz prefers to leave her talking to the ring. And she told the judges loud and clear why she and Truly Yours deserved the top spot in the medium green pony hunters over fences and the subsequent championship in the U.S. Pony Finals. The pair was later awarded the reserve grand green championship.

While many ponies took exception to the single running parallel to the VIP tent lining the Walnut Ring, “Marylou” cantered confidently forward.

“She’s amazing. She jumps a 10 every time. She’s beautiful, a really good mover, really sweet. She’s really nice,” said Kurtz, 15.

“She’s not mareish at all,” added owner Betsee Parker, Middleburg, Va. “There is one little key to her. She has to poop before she goes because she will stop even in the middle of a line and start backing up.”

Luckily for them, Marylou had a warm up class for the pony medal earlier in the day—which she won—so she had a chance to relieve herself.

Parker had nothing but praise for Kurtz, who has ridden a number of ponies for her over the past few years.

“It’s a pleasure to support youth like Emma,” said Parker. “Emma tries so hard. She rides all the time; she rides many horses. She’s a very serious student.”

As Parker sung her praises, Kurtz ducked her head, nervously grinning. While she’s completely confident in the saddle, she’s modest out of the tack. It’s clear that she much prefers to spend her time with the ponies she loves so much over talking about her own accomplishments.

A veteran catch rider, Kurtz rode her way to a championship without her main trainer Amanda Lyerly, who missed Pony Finals this year due to a bad fall that landed her in the hospital.

Want more Pony Finals action? The first championships were awarded Wednesday with more on Thursday. Read about the mustang competing in the large greens on Friday and about four first time competitors.

Find all of the Chronicle’s coverage here. Don’t miss our in-depth magazine coverage in the August 24th issue of the magazine. Full Pony Final results are here.