Katie Whaley (Paris, KY.) added another national championship title to her resume thanks to her team of Tommy, a 16-year-old Welsh cross gelding; Tanner, a 13-year-old Welsh cross gelding; and Teddy, a six-year-old Welsh Pony gelding. Whaley’s ponies are a mix of two veterans and a youngster, but they all delivered throughout the weekend.

“For my young one, Teddy, this was only his third FEI event, so he did dressage. I was thrilled with him,” Whaley explained of her dressage test. “He went to Live Oak and it was just overwhelming [with the atmosphere]. He really came back; we made a lot of adjustments between Live Oak and now, so Teddy was great. Tommy, my veteran was wonderful, so that was great. Dressage has always been my biggest challenge, so I was thrilled with the score [of 57.78 penalty points.]”

The marathon phase required tactful driving from Whaley due to its challenges. “I didn’t come into [the obstacles] as fast as I usually do. I like to always make my obstacles real clean. I had one mistake in one [obstacle], but these ponies [Tommy and Tanner] are so handy that they are fun to drive; they are like a little sportscar.”

Whaley chose her veteran pair of Tommy and Tanner again for the cones phase. “The cones phase was good. I had two balls down, which was my fault, but they felt great.” Whaley won on a score of 146.57 penalty points after collecting 6.00 penalty points in the final phase.

Keady Cadwell (Southern Pines, N.C.) partnered with Dragon’s Lair Aethelfrith, Deborah Branson’s 11-year-old Half-Welsh mare, and Hidden Springs Bosa Nova, Branson’s 12-year-old Welsh Pony cross gelding, to claim the reserve champion title. Cadwell and the ponies tallied 6.25 penalty points in the cones phase to finish on a total score of 164.64 penalty points.

Mary Phelps (Columbia, KY.) finished third with her team of Al Capony, a nine-year-old American Shetland Pony gelding; Bugsy Malony, a 12-year-old American Shetland Pony gelding; and Tony da Pony, a six-year-old Welsh Pony cross gelding. Phelps collected 8.70 penalty points in the cones phase to end on a total score of 167.20 penalty points.

View results for the Southern Pines CDE.