DEVON, Pa.--Colton Parker and his Welsh Pony cross pair, Jack and Jill won the $10,000 Carriage Eventing on Monday evening, May 25 at the Devon Horse Show and Country Fair.
Colton Parker in Carriage Eventing (Photo by Phelps Sports)Parker finished the two round competition in 176.993 to win over Sara Bates with her pony George, who finished in 178.570, and Jacob Arnold with his two horse team of Kenzo and Geandro, who finished in 179.15 for third.
The course included two marathon obstacles, through which drivers had to manoever in a proscribed pattern, and cones that they had to pass between without knocking the ball off a cone.
The competition featured two rounds, with the top six drivers returning for a final showdown.
“We found these two ponies on Craigslist, of all things,” he said. “Jack is 19 this year, and Jill is 18, so I got them when they were around three and four. We didn’t do too much driving when we first got them—we literally got the horse before the cart. I didn’t have any carriages or harnesses at the time. I was around 14 or 15 when we got these ponies. It was a lot of groundwork, a lot of ground driving, and just getting acquainted with these two ponies.”
JACK AND JILL are still going strong in their late teens, and Parker is happy to keep driving them as long as they’re still fit and happy in their work.
“We keep up with all types of vet work,” he said. “They get really good nutrition. We have the bodywork, laser, joint injections—everything that we can do to make the ponies comfortable at their age and at the level we’re competing at. We always want to make sure that their vet care is really outstanding so they’re able to do what we ask them to do and not be uncomfortable.”
Katie Brandt on Clinto VH Dingenshof Z won the $10,000 1.15m Amateur Jumper Classic, finishing clean in 35.858, to beat second placed Charlotte Powers on Escot 6, clean in 36.521, with Pamela Niederer on Elliot third in 37,996.
Brandt's win gave her the 1.15m Amateur Jumper Championship in her first time competing at Devon.
“It was phenomenal, said Brandt. "I’m ecstatic. I don’t know, I’m so excited. I can’t stop smiling. He’s an incredible horse. It’s a dream that it happened with him. And being here, it’s very magical.”
