48/ NOVEMBER 2021 THE RIDER


Eva Mackenzie Rides Farmore State Of The Art To The Grand Pony Hunter Championship


October 31, 2021 - Mill Spring, N.C. The 2021 Washington


International Horse Show presented by MARS Eques- trian™ came to an end on Sunday, October 31, with the final winners being crowned at the Tryon Inter- national Equestrian Center (TIEC) in Mill Spring, NC. Eva Mackenzie of


Darien, CT, and her own Farmore State of the Art ended their week by claim- ing the Grand Pony Hunter Championship title. For this honor, Mackenzie was awarded the The Miles River Moonglow Perpetual Trophy donated by Scott Novick and Rustic Woods. Mackenzie, 11, and


the 15-year-old Welsh Pony gelding by Eyarth Grenadier won three over-fences classes in the Small Pony Hunter division to claim the tricolor ribbon, which led them to the Grand Cham- pion honor. For their divi- sion


championship,


Mackenzie was presented with The Stombock Sad- dlery Challenge Trophy do- nated


by Stomback


Saddlery in memory of E.P. (Bud) Stombock. “He started me out in


the small ponies,” explained Mackenzie. “I’ve had him for two years, and I’m so happy because this is my last show with him. I was so excited. We didn’t get any- thing in the hack, but I was so proud of him over fences. He’s so fun to ride. I know him so well. He is so easy and just carries himself to the jumps. He is so smooth through the air.” Mackenzie and her


trainer, Chance Arakelian, are grateful for everything that Farmore State of the Art has taught the rider over the


past two years. Although the pony will be leased out the next two years, he will re- turn to the Mackenzie fam- ily for his retirement. “He is going to start


out another young kid next year and do the same thing he did for Eva’s career,” said Arakelian. “He will get a new kid started and do his thing. He has taught her everything. We are so lucky to have him. It’s amazing the start that these kids get when they get to start on one that is that exceptional. He is so balanced, big strided, lands on both leads, great lead changes, and no spook. It really gives us trainers the opportunity to focus on the kids and not have to worry about what the pony is going to do.” This


year was


Mackenzie’s first time at- tending the Washington In- ternational Horse Show and she definitely made it a year to remember. “I’m so proud of my-


self and my pony,” com- mented Mackenzie. “I really liked our stake round, which was also our last round to- gether. It was really special, and I was so happy when I came out.” Mackenzie will con-


tinue showing in the Medium Pony Hunter divi- sion next year, but she is ex- cited to mainly focus on moving up to the Low Jun- ior Jumpers and the Junior Hunter 3’6” division. The Best Child Rider


on a Pony sponsored by Gotham North was awarded to Mackenzie. For this honor, Mackenzie was pre- sented with The Captain V.S. Littauer Perpetual Tro- phy donated by Hugh J.B. Cassidy, III, Mrs. William Dillon, and Miss Marion


Lee. Mackenzie also re- ceived the Potomac Trophy for High Score Junior Hunter Rider on a Pony. Reserve champion in


the Small Pony Hunter divi- sion was awarded to J.J. Torano of Wellington, FL, and Jet Show Stable’s H.G. Mud Puddles. Mackenzie continued


her winning streak with her own Anisette to claim the Medium Pony Hunter divi- sion championship. The rider was awarded The Shenandoah Sundowner Perpetual Trophy donated by Evan Coluccio and Ash- mont Farms, Lt. Torano earned his second reserve championship of the day, this time in the Medium Pony Hunters with Jet Show Stable’s Northwind Tag You’re It. Erin Morera of Green-


wich, CT, and GC Ponies, LLC’s Nominee received the Large Pony Hunter Champion title. For this championship Morera was presented with The Pegasus Stable Perpetual Trophy do- nated by Ms. Fenwick Kol- lock. Olivia Sweetnam of Wellington, FL, and Take 3 LLC’s Goldmark took home the reserve champion title. The Gochman Style of


Riding Award was given to Ava Barnes of Liberty Township, OH.


Pony Riders Dress to Im- press in WIHS Halloween Hunt Teams After a long weekend


of serious competition, pony hunter riders demonstrated their creativity when they dressed up in costumes for the WIHS Halloween Hunt Teams. Eleven teams of three riders participated in the class, and a winner was announced for each height


The 2021 WIHS Halloween Pony Hunt Teams. Photo by Shawn McMillen Photography


section. The overall best dressed costume went to the team “Call Me Cruella” after they won the small pony section of the class. The “Call Me Cruella”


team consisted of Hailey Guidry of Metairie, LA, and Honor Hill Farm LLC’s Benjamin Buttons, Kather- ine Mercer of Wellington, FL, riding her own Clover- meade Pop Secret, and Lily Epstein of Coral Gables, FL, aboard her own Pepsi. The three riders came up with the idea of being Cruella de Vil with their parents, who also hand-made the detailed costumes. “We were hoping to


do this at Devon, so we have actually been planning this costume for about a year now,” explained Guidry. “We loved jumping the three jumps together. Doing it as a group was so fun.” The victorious team in


the medium pony hunter section was “Super Mario Cart.” The three winning


riders were Emi Richard of Middlefield, CT, riding Car- rie Hutton’s Game Plan, Marielle Walrath of Locust Valley, NY, and Rendezvous Farm’s Foxmor Secret Pow- ers, and Finley Clement of Indian Trail, NC, aboard her own Small Business. “We originally had a


long list of options for cos- tumes,” said Walrath. “We were brainstorming and came up with Mario Cart. Jumping the last jump to- gether was awesome. It was just so fun to have a class where there wasn’t any pressure.” The final team to earn


a blue ribbon was “Ghost Busters” in the large pony section of the class. This team included Madeline Rubin of Mooresville, NC, on Briar Field Farm, LLC’s Rockaway, McKayla Brom-


bach of Wimberley, TX, and Millennium Farm Inc.’s California Dreamin’, and Maya Thomas of Minocqua, WI, riding her own Until Tomorrow. Unlike some of the other teams in the com- petition,


the “Ghost


Busters” came up with their costume idea just in the nick of time. “It was very last


minute,” admitted Rubin. “We got the team together last week one night around 11 p.m and we barely got our costumes in on time. We just hoped to go in there and survive. It was so fun being in there with my friends. I loved having the music playing and I got to sing along while I was riding. It was just so much fun.” “I Want Candy” was


the team to secure the sec- ond-place ribbon in the


small pony section and in the medium pony division it was awarded to “The Great- est Showman.”


“The


Wicked Witches” flew to a second-place finish in the large pony section of the class. Third-place honors for the small, medium, and large pony sections went to “The 3 Amigos”, “Day of the Dead”, and “The Power- puff Girls” respectively. The Washington Inter-


national Horse Show would like to thank the Tryon In- ternational Equestrian Cen- ter


as well as all


competitors, sponsors, staff, and exhibitors for a success- ful 2021 event. For more in- formation on WIHS 2021 presented by Mars Eques- trian™ please www.wihs.org.


visit


Eva Mackenzie and Farmore State of the Art in their grand champion pres- entation with ringmaster Steve Rector, Maddie Flocks, Chance Arakelian, and WIHS President Vicki Lowell. Photo by Shawn McMillen Photography


The Super Mario Cart hunt team. Photo by Shawn McMillen Photography


Eva Mackenzie and Farmore State of the Art. Photo by Shawn McMillen Photography


Ava Barnes received The Gochman Style of Riding Award. Photo by Shawn McMillen Photography


Photo by Shawn McMillen Photography


The Call Me Cruella hunt team.


The Call Me Cruella hunt team in their winning presentation with ringmas- ter Steve Rector and WIHS President Vicki Lowell. Photo by Shawn McMillen Photography


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