First published in the Oct. 7 print issue of the Pasadena Outlook.
Local residents Kennedy “Kenzie” Chang and Finley Hamilton were among the four girls on the Zone 10A team which earned the team gold medal at the U.S. Equestrian Federation Pony Jumper Team National Championships recently in Lexington, Kentucky.
After the two rounds of team competition, Zone 10A earned the team gold medal for the fourth consecutive time.
Before capturing the show jumping title, the Zone 10A team — which represents the California/Nevada region — walked the course and came up with a plan for each of their ponies.
“Right before the walk I was really, really nervous,” said Chang, a Polytechnic School student. “David [Sterckx], my trainer, walked us through the whole entire thing.”
Chang and Thunder d’Azure, her 2007 Connemara gelding, and teammate Finley Hamilton and Focalize Dew Drop, her 2011 Belgian Sport pony mare, each scored a clear round for their team.
Santa Barbara resident Ashlin Goodwin and Tippy Toes, her 2006 Welsh pony cross mare, and Cash Delia (Petaluma) and Trewithian Hawkeweed, his 2009 Connemara gelding, were California teammates of the Pasadena duo.
It was the first time on a team for each of the riders, but they rose to the occasion of a team experience.
Hamilton, a Flintridge Prep student, said that she had “ridden with Kenzie and Cash, but this is my first time meeting Ashlin.”
In an exciting finish, the Zone 10A and Zones 1/7 teams were tied on 20 faults, requiring a jump-off, which Zone 10A won.
“I thought it was really fun and cool. It was fun to be on [a team],” added Delia.
Information courtesy “The Chronicle of the Horse.”
