Jill has been riding with me for over seven years now! When she was about eight years old her dad came to me with this tiny pony and an even smaller rider. They had a POA and wanted to get Jill started in showing. The first time I did a lesson with Jill and her pony, Lizzy, she went bouncing hard off the saddle, and I knew I had my hands full with a bit of an ornery pony. But I also knew I had one brave rider, because little Jill picked herself up and got back on, and that was far from the last time that happened. Her dad and I were joking just recently that he’s definitely the opposite of most parents I see. Lizzy made Jill work hard for anything she wanted from her, especially jumping. Any time Jill’s had a fall her dad just seems to shrug and say something along the lines of, “Get up and make that pony get over it.” Because of the way he’s handled these situations it has helped Jill become a very strong rider. Even her new pony Lucy has had some moves for Jill, and Jill has learned to handle any situation with a calm, assertive demeanor.
We are headed to POA congress here soon again, but the above picture is from Jill’s last Congress in 2012 with her pony Lucy. She did great for her first big show including a win in Flags and two reserves in Reining! Now we are headed back to Congress here in a couple days for Jill’s first time back with Lucy!
As well as showing the POA’s, Jill has a Quarter Horse who she shows in the reining and the ranch horse pleasure classes with trainer Abby Cosenza. Somehow Jill finds the time to show in multiple events with two completely different horses and win with both of them. She’s a hard working, dedicated rider who has a goal of joining a college riding team in a few years. She’s well on her way and I have no doubt she will be successful in anything she chooses to do in the future.
The picture below really shows Jill’s versatile riding ability. Her pony had been injured the week before the show so Jill catch rode whoever was available to her that day. Here she is pictured riding my 3 year old mare, Rumour, in Rumour’s first time being ridden English. At a show at that. Great riding Jill!
