Finals Season Marches on to Mane Event!

This week, 23 horses will travel from Knollwood to the Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield to compete at the Mane Event horse show, sponsored by the Mid America Horse Show Association.  This is an important show with plenty of deep competition in a full performance division and two equitation finals.

 

The Pleasure Equitation Olympics is a final that’s split into two age divisions.  The junior division is for riders 13 and under and  the senior division is for riders aged 14-17.

 

Last year, Knollwood riders swept the medals in the 13 and under group, with Shelby winning the gold medal, Sydney winning the silver, and Lexi winning the bronze.

Syd and Cartman will compete again in the 13 and under division this year in hopes of  a gold medal.

The 14-17 division will be represented by Shelby and Connor, Allison and Pogo, Ashley and Castle, and Emily and Muddy.  All these riders will compete in rail work and patterns in the initial round.  If necessary, the judges will pick 12-15 riders to continue to the second round.  After more work, the judges will pick their top 10, and then the gold, silver, and bronze medal winners. 

These events start Friday at 9 am for both age divisions, and will conclude Friday evening with the awards ceremonies starting the show performance at 7 pm.

 

 

First thing Saturday morning, the equitation riders will be back at work for the initial round of the National Horse Show Good Hands final. This is the oldest of the equitation finals, going back to 1929 when the competition was first held at the National Horse Show in Madison Square Garden.  It’s also the first jewel in the triple crown of saddle seat equitation.  The last 2 events, the USEF Medal Final, and the UPHA Challenge Cup final will conclude the show season at the Kansas City Royal show in November.

Riders in the Good Hands final will compete in a preliminary round of rail work and the set pattern that all riders completed in their qualifying classes around the country: Canter a figure eight, trot to the judge, and back.

 

Following the preliminary round, riders will compete in two phases until a champion and reserve champion are named on Saturday night. This is a deep, deep, deep competition with the best equitation riders coming from all over the country in search of a victory.  Knollwood will be represented by Shelby and Connor, Allison and Pogo, Ashley and Castle, Emily and Muddy, Syd and Cartman, and Jamie and Bella.

Last year, this prestigious event was won by Nick and Mojo, their first finals win on their way to the triple crown season of 2010.

We wish everyone great rides at the show, especially those representing Team Knollwood in both performance divisions and the equitation finals!