USEF Advanced Single Pony National Champion - Dana Diemer

A talented class of eight ponies and their drivers competed for the championship in the FEI Advanced Single Pony division. In the end, it was Dana Diemer (Raeford, N.C.) and her own 2011 Welsh Pony gelding, Clarwood Mack the Knife, who came out on top.

Photo - Dana Diemer and Clarwood Mack the Knife (©Leslie Potter/US Equestrian)

“Two years ago, he was the bronze medalist in the national championship. Last year we were the silver medalists, and so this year we decided we needed to come back and go for gold,” said Diemer. “He gave me 1,000% the whole week. I suffer from bad show nerves, but on Thursday, everything clicked. I have terrific trainers, Randy and Katie Cadwell, who have dragged me kicking and screaming all the way up to this level and are ultimately responsible for the success that we’ve had here this weekend. And I would not be here without my husband Manny, who back-steps for me and is also my groom and all-around good guy.

“I love the [CAI3*] dressage test. I think it asks all the right questions and makes you train for everything that you do out on the marathon,” said Diemer. “I was thrilled with ‘Mack’ and how he went. We had two breaks in the canter, which is unusual for us, and it caught me off guard and hurt my score a little bit, but the 53 is a personal best for us in the advanced. The marathon was great; I tend to be kind of cautious and I just decided it’s time to go for it, and we did, and I’m very happy. Then on the cones round, I decided I had about a seven-point lead going into the cones and I thought, ‘I am not going to screw this up.’ So we attacked the course. It was a great course with a lot of really good questions, and I believe this was the first time that I’ve made the time at advanced. I am so over the moon, and this pony is just fabulous!”

Final Results