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AHSA 2001 PONY FINALS TO BE
HELD IN NORTH CAROLINA |
The American Horse Shows Association (AHSA) will
hold the 34th Annual Pony Finals in Fletcher, NC, from August 14-17, 2001. John
and Pam Rush of Rush Management Inc. will manage the competition, which
includes the annual Pony Auction on August 13th, run by Professional Auction
Services.
The competition begins with the Prudential/AHSA National Pony Hunter
Championship in the Green Pony Hunter Division on August 14th, which was won
last year by Michael Morrissey on Clean Slate, owned by Eugene Mische. This is
followed by the Inaugural HBO/AHSA National Pony Jumper Championship with The
Welcome Class scheduled to start that evening.
Last year's Pony Medal was won by Maggie McAlary riding her small pony, Toy
Story. This year, the Team Phase of the Pony Jumpers and the Prudential/AHSA
National Pony Medal Finals are to be held on August 15th. While on August 16th,
the Under Saddle Phase and the Model Phase of the Regular Pony Hunters is
contested and in the evening, the Individual Phase of the Pony Jumpers takes
place.
On August 17th, the competition moves to the Over Fences Phase for Regular Pony
Hunters Division and at the conclusion of this class, the presentation will be
made for the Overall Grand Pony Hunter Champion, which was won last year by
Julianne Befeler on her pony Knickerbocker.
The original concept of Pony Finals began in 1959 when the British National
Pony Society challenged American Pony riders to an International Pony Hunter
Championship, which was held at the National Horse Show in New York City. The
American Pony Riders were narrowly defeated 10-9. Two years later the British
National Pony Society hosted the event. The Americans were victorious winning
13-9. The trophy, which was awarded to the Americans, still remains in the
possession of the AHSA and is awarded as a perpetual trophy each year at Pony
Finals to the High-Point State Team Champions. In 1967, the American Horse
Shows Association created the AHSA Pony Finals, which was first held at the
Fairfield Hunt Club in Fairfield CT, hosted by Emerson Burr. Along with many
other trophies and awards this year, Professional Auction Services will be
donating a scholarship.
www.ahsa.org.
The American Horse Shows Association, as the National Equestrian Federation of
the U.S., is the regulatory body for the Olympic and World Championship sports
of dressage, driving, endurance, eventing, reining, show jumping, and vaulting,
as well as 19 other breeds and disciplines of equestrian competition. As the
country's largest multi-breed organization, the AHSA has over 70,000 members
and recognizes more than 2,600 competitions nationwide each year. It governs
all aspects of competition, including educating and licensing all judges,
stewards, and technical delegates who officiate at these shows.
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