Articles: Horse News
The Sky's the Limit as Midnight Heart and Taylor Cox Reach for Starry Wins
at USEF Pony Jumper Finals
Taylor Cox and Midnight Heart won the Individual Phase during the first
phase of the US National Pony Jumper Championships at the 2012 US Pony
Finals.
(Ashley N. Williams/PMG)
Contact:
United States Equestrian Federation, Inc.
4047 Iron Works Parkway
Lexington, KY 40511-8483
Tel: (859) 258-2472
Fax (859) 231-6662
Web site: www.usef.org
NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 9, 2012
By Ashley N. Williams for Phelps Media Group, Inc. International
Ellyn Fritz and Sailor Moon are bright stars falling into second place at
USEF Pony Jumper Finals
Lexington, KY - Riders have trained all year to prove their ponies possess
the honed skill to jump in the US National Pony Jumper Championships at the
Alltech Arena at the Kentucky Horse Park. With stadium seating and a lively
audience, 31 competitors from around the country attempted a faultless
finish and to set an unrivaled time to beat. Putting on an unparalleled
performance, rider Taylor Cox and steed Midnight Heart secured the
win. Coming in a brisk second, Ellyn Fritz and Sailor Moon cleared the
course while making noteworthy time.
Designed by Marc Donovan, the course consisted of 13 obstacles to challenge
both horse and rider alike. It began over an oxer set at the far end of the
ring. In a bending line riders then took a vertical, and with a hard right
rollback continued over a six-stride oxer-liver pool line. Next riders where
challenged with an oxer leading into a vertical-vertical combination. With a
left turn riders then took a stand alone over headed to the far end of the
ring where they took a vertical heading into an oxer-vertical outside line
and over a skinny vertical. A sharp right turn took riders to the
penultimate oxer and then over the final vertical to trip the timer.
There were 11 riders to ride the course clear by the time the twenty-fourth
to go, Taylor Cox and Midnight Heart, took to the course. Cassie Gaasch and
Angel came out of the gate early, setting the intimidating score of 62.081
but it was the starry Cox and Midnight, owned by Jodi Cox of Stockton, NJ
who burned bright, impressing the crowd. Leaving all polls in their cups,
the duo whipped Gaasch and Angel's time with no faults in only 58.936
seconds to earn the blue ribbon.
"His biggest quirk is the gate, but he went in really nicely tonight," Cox
smiled as she looked back at her pony. "He is usually much crazier. He was a
different pony tonight. I have been riding him for a while and I know how to
keep the upper hand and how to guide him around the ring to the best of his
abilities."
"I am really pleased with how we did. I reached my goal tonight, and I am
happy. I hope I can do my best to help the team in the next round," Cox
concluded as excited friends and family celebrated her win.
Another star to burst out of the sky, Sailor Moon and rider Ellyn Fritz of
Back Country Farm, Greenwich, CT, placed second with their stellar
performance. The duo aimed their hopes high, shooting for the same faultless
round and to best the score of Midnight and Cox. Fritz and Sailor Moon
blazed through the jump course at an inspiring pace yet fell short with a
score of 60.131.
"Well I did the Kentucky Summer Classic and I did well, but I didn't feel at
the top of my game," Fritz began to share. "But, when I got here she just
jumped huge over the jumps. She was just amazing, she turned it on and she
knows when she needs to come through for you. She is a firecracker, she
doesn't turn on until you need her to."
Fifteen pony and rider combinations rode without time penalty or fault
including Keely Laughlin upon Larger than Life owned by Pam Poulsen of
Fresno, CA, who rode to a third place finish with a score of
60.574. Caroline Zaunbrecher and horse Fire Van Battenbroek of Layfayette,
LA, received the fourth place for their strong efforts, followed by Emily
Schnebel and mount Blue Suede Shoes of Goffstown, NH, for the difference of
a fraction of a second, awarded fifth. Hayley Anderson and Trading Spaces of
New Boston, NH, also left all fences intact and stopped the clock in
respectable timing to receive a sixth place rank.
Tomorrow will be the continuation of the 2012 US Pony Jumper Finals. The
Individual Phase II will take place as well as the start of the Team
Championship in the Alltech Arena beginning at 5:30pm with the course walk.
For more information about the 2012 US Pony Finals, please visit
www.usef.org.
For pictures, video, and results visit
http://usefnetwork.com/featured/2012USEFPonyFinals/
Individual Phase One - US National Pony Jumper Championships
ORD # Horse Name Rider Name JF1 TF1 AF1 Time
1 1221 MIDNIGHT HEART TAYLOR COX 0 0 0
58.936
2 1008 SAILOR MOON ELLYN FRITZ 0 0
0 60.131
3 1161 LARGER THAN LIFE KEELY LAUGHLIN 0
0 0 60.574
4 973 FIRE VAN BATTENBROEK CAROLINE ZAUNBRECHER 0 0
0 60.738
5 966 BLUE SUEDE SHOES EMILY SCHNEBEL 0
0 0 60.839
6 918 ANGEL CASSIE GAASCH 0 0
0 62.081
7 965 TRADING SPACES HAYLEY ANDERSON 0
0 0 62.231
8 972 SIR LANCE-A-LOT CLAIRE SALOPEK 0 0
0 62.748
9 1156 NORTHWIND'S OPUS JULIANNA EMPIE 0
0 0 64.017
10 1241 KNOCK MY SOX OFF ELIZABETH MCDOUGALD 0
0 0 64.508
11 1081 JEAN CLAUDE LINDSEY TOOTHMAN 0
0 0 64.593
12 941 COOKIES & CREAM BARCLAY POWELL 0 0 0
66.246
The vision of the United States Equestrian Federation is to provide
leadership
for equestrian sport in the United States of America by promoting the
pursuit
of excellence from the grassroots to the Olympic Games, based on a
foundation of fair, safe competition and the welfare
of its human and equine athletes
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