(Lexington, KY) – Although storms and much-need rain poured down on the Bluegrass State last night, a young lady from the Sunshine State took home a treasure trove of silver, a Pessoa Saddle, and a Blue Ribbon Cooler appliquéd with their new accolades. Lauren Hogan, 13, and High Fashion, a seven-year-old medium pony mare, won with a score of 1033 points. High Fashion is owned by Laura King-Kaplan, and Lauren is trained by Bill Schaub of Orlando, Florida. They bested nearly 250 ponies to win the Grand Hunter Pony Championship.

“It was the perfect course for her, just gallop to the corners and then sit-up and that’s just exactly her ride,” said Lauren, who made it all sound so simple even though this was only their fifth show together. Showing both a large and a medium pony today worked to her advantage. “I was very nervous on my large pony going in first today. He likes a galloping course, but I got all the jitterbugs out of my system, so I wasn’t nervous on her.”

Lauren had one point she really wanted to make, “I want to thank my trainer, Marcello and Xavier who help me. (Bill) always points out the positive stuff. We’re a team.”

Bill Schaub was clearly, but calmly, elated. “The Kaplans and trainer Kate Oliver sent us the pony in May, and Sophie Reid got her qualified and then Lauren took over. She has a very nice large pony, and we had some other nice ponies, and we just hoped the numbers game would work out to our advantage. This was a new pony to us. We knew she had the ability, we just didn’t know how she would go. We had our best hopes for her.” Schaub was awarded the Emerson Burr Perpetual Trophy for training the champion.

The Reserve Grand Champion was Schaefer Raposa, 10, of Clinton, New York, on Orlando, a six-year-old large pony. She is the owner.

Champions and Reserve:

Pony Hunter Overall:
Champion: Lauren Hogan, 13, (Tampa, Florida) and High Fashion
Reserve: Schaefer Raposa, 13, (Clinton, New York) and Orlando

Large Pony Overall:
Champion: Schaefer Raposa, 13, (Clinton, New York) and Orlando
Reserve: Katherine Newman, 15, (Wellington, Florida) and Cherrybrook Blue Suede Shoes

Medium Pony Overall:
Champion: Lauren Hogan, 13, (Tampa, Florida) and High Fashion
Reserve: Katie Galbraith, 12, (Darien, Connecticut) and Rainsox

Small Pony Overall:
Champion: Reed Kessler, 11, (Bedford Corners, New York) and Cardiff Mardi Gras
Reserve: Samantha Schaefer, 12, (Westminster, Maryland) and Blue on Blue

Button and Bows Sportsmanship Trophy:
Marisa Messina, 12, of McLean,Virginia

Emerson Burr Horsemanship Test Winners:
8 and Under: Meredith Darst, 8, Lebanon, Ohio
9-11: Ula Green, 11, Easton, Connecticut
12-14: Emily Hannah,14, Colorado Springs, Colorado
15-17: Amy (Kim) Kriwitsky, Bristol, Connecticut