Tryon, N.C. – The Katydid Combined Driving Event at Tryon International Equestrian Center was the host for the 2025 USEF Driving National Championships for Ponies last week, and a total of 10 new national champions emerged from the event.

Preliminary Single VSE: Sassy and Kim Ciulla

Kim Ciulla (Bloomfield, N.Y.) with Sassy, her own 2013 Miniature Horse mare, were the wire-to-wire winners of the Prelim Single VSE division. They finished with a winning score of 112.86. Mary Baldwin (Morris, Okla.) and her own 2017 Miniature gelding, Mac, took home Reserve Champion honors.

Preliminary Pair Small Pony: Gaslight Andras and Gaslight Armani with Carole Grimsley

Carole Grimsley (Ringgold, Ga.) drove her own pair of Welsh Pony full brothers, Gaslight Andras (Ceulan Lwcus x Randan Absolutely Fabulous) and Gaslight Armani, to a win in the Preliminary Pair Small Pony division with a score of 130.13

Preliminary Single Pony: Ragtime Up In Smoke and Alice Baughman

Alice Baughman (Ridgeville, S.C.) drove her own Ragtime Up in Smoke (Robbie Sue’s Sweet Success x Velvet Midnight Lace), a 2007 Morgan gelding, to victory in the Preliminary Single Pony championship. Scores were close in the division, but the pair clinched the win thanks to a dressage score within 2.5 points of the leader, a second-place finish in the marathon, and a clear cones round to complete their weekend with a 107.23. Felicity Demitry (Geneva, N.Y.) drove Sarah Reitz’s High Hopes Bugatti, a 2009 Welsh Pony stallion, to a score of 112.19 and the Reserve Champion title.

Preliminary Pair Pony: Bayshore Pastime and Tulipkings Maverick with Megan Fullgraf

Megan Fullgraf (Reidsville, N.C.) earned the Preliminary Pair Pony championship with Bayshore Pastime (Farnley Swing Time x Shenandoah Atlantis), her own 2011 Dartmoor Pony mare, and Tulipkings Maverick (Bayshore Thorn x Tulipkings Gipsy Queen), her own 2016 Dartmoor gelding. Fullgraf and her pair moved up from second place after dressage with a winning marathon and a fault-free cones to finish on a 117.05. Patti Rozensky (Archer, Fla.) drove her own LLF Lucent, a 2012 Hackney gelding, and LLF Bella Luce, a 2017 Hackney mare, to the Reserve Championship.

Training Single VSE: The Flying Ace with Sammie Jo Allen

Sammie Jo Allen (Versailles, Ky.) with The Flying Ace, her own 2016 American Miniature/Shetland gelding, had three good phases, including a double-clear cones run, en route to winning the Training Single VSE National Championship on a score of 103.62

Training Single Pony: White Tie Affair WRP and Sonia Williams

Sonia Williams (Paris, Ky.) with White Tie Affair WRP (Liam Bec x Zahra), her own 2020 Gypsy Sport Horse mare, topped the Training Single Pony division, winning both the dressage and cones phases and finishing a close second in the marathon. They finished on a score of 90.26. Ashley Mount (Towanda, Pa.) and Fancy, a 2015 Dutch Harness Horse cross mare owned by Sarah Reitz, finished as Reserve Champion.