The first championship titles of the US Hunter Pony Championship presented by Sallee Horse Vans were claimed Wednesday as the Large Regular Hunter Ponies and the Small Green Hunter Ponies completed their final phases of competition in the 2015 US Pony Finals at the Kentucky Horse Park. Taylor St. Jacques and Glynhafan Red Kestral earned top overall honors in the Large Regular Hunter Pony Championship, while Devin Seek and Woodlands Polar Bear received the Small Green Hunter Pony Championship title. National titles are determined in the US Hunter Pony Championship presented by Sallee Horse Vans following three phases of competition, with Model and Under Saddle phases each counting towards 25% of the overall score, and the remaining 50% being determined by the Over Fences phase. St. Jacques (Glen Allen, Va.) and Peacock Ridge LLC’s Glynhafan Red Kestral earned the Large Regular Hunter Pony Championship after a fantastic round in the Over Fences phase to score 260.61 and finished first place in the phase. On Tuesday, she and the 10-year-old Half Welsh gelding received scores of 252.05 and 252.12 in the Model and Under Saddle phases, respectively, putting them in sixth place overall. Their strong over fences performance pushed them from sixth to the top of the leaderboard to win the Champion ribbon with a final score of 1025.39. “The Over Fences part is the most important, so if you can lay it down in the Over Fences you have a great chance [of winning] if you are in the top 20,” St. Jacques said. “Going in I was just thinking ‘I know how to ride this pony, we are a great team, we can figure this out, and as long as I stay smooth, we got this.’” This was St. Jacques’ second Champion title in her three years at the US Pony Finals, made all the more meaningful since it is her last year at the premier event. “It definitely means a lot to end this well,” she added. The Reserve Champion title went to Morgan Ward (Milford, N.J.) and Dr. Betsee Parker’s Enjoy the Laughter with a final score of 1022.63. She and the 10-year-old German Riding Pony gelding scored 251.64 in the Over Fences phase, after earning 264.85 in the Model phase and 254.50 in the Under Saddle phase. Abigail Brayman and Linda Evans’ Dreamland finished third in the Large Regular Hunter Pony Championship with a total score of 999.93, and their over fences score putting them in second place in the phase. She and the 10-year-old Welsh/Thoroughbred/Warmblood cross gelding finished with scores of 240.73, 253.00, and 253.10 in the Model, Under Saddle, and Over Fences phases, respectively. Abigail Lefkowitz was the Champion Owner/Rider in the division with her own Vermont Show Me The Gold after finishing in sixth place overall. Courtney Morton's mount, Peridot, won Best Presented Model Pony, and One More Time, the mount of Adam Edgar, was named Best Turned Out Pony.
