August 16, 2018 – Two members of the United States Pony Clubs Pony Jumper Team, at the USEF Pony Finals presented by Collecting Gaits Farm August 8-12, 2018, rose to the top of placings inside and outside of the ring.
Taylor Brinsfield (C-2 Traditional, Green Spring Hounds Pony Club/Maryland Region) rode Sprite in three phases over three days to finish in third place in the Individual phase of the USEF Pony Jumper National Championship.
"It was just a wild experience, I'm super excited. If there are kids who are interested in riding, they should definitely come join.” Said Brinsfield.
After two rounds in the Alltech Arena, the USPC Pony Jumper team finished in fifth place. The team was made up of four riders: Keely Bechtol ((H-B HM/C-3 Show Jumping/Midsouth Region) riding Lark’s Magic, Taylor Brinsfield (C-2, Traditional/Maryland Region) riding Sprite, Nora Goldfarb (C-2 Traditional/Midsouth Region) riding Aluinn Denmark, and Megan De Michele (C-1 Traditional/Virginia Region) riding Gracie Lou.
Keely Bechtol (H-B HM/C-3 Show Jumping, Bluegrass Pony Club/Midsouth Region) received a $500 Emerson Burr Horsemanship grant for educational related expenses by winning the 15-17 age division. Bechtol placed in the top four of her division to move onto the hands-on portion of the testing. She used knowledge gained through Pony Club to demonstrate top horsemanship skills in her division.
