DRIVING PONIES | DRIVING DAILY
Katie Whaley Expands Resume at theUSEF Advanced Pair Pony Combined Driving National Championship
Monday, April 15, 2019
Posted by Kathleen Landwehr, US Equestrian
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.
