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Taylor Ann Adams and Morgan Ward Receive Best Child Rider Awards at Buffalo International Horse Show
Written by: Jennifer Wood Client:Buffalo Therapeutic Riding Centerhttp://www.thebtrc.org/ Release Date:2009-09-15
Buffalo, NY - September 15, 2009 - Competition wrapped up on Sunday for the 63rd annual Buffalo International Horse Show (BIHS). Numerous champions and special awards were given out at the BIHS, which is a fundraising show held at the Buffalo Therapeutic Riding Center (BTRC). Taylor Ann Adams and Morgan Ward both received Best Child Rider Awards and Grand Champion Awards.
Taylor Ann Adams competed for the first time at BIHS on South Beach, owned by Bright Star 158 LLC and Jennifer Burger of Buffalo, NY. This was also the first time that Adams had ridden South Beach. The pair won all five classes in the Small Junior Hunters and were awarded the division and Grand Junior Hunter championships. She also won the WIHS Equitation Classic class. Adams was named the Best Child Rider on a Horse.
“I was so honored to get the Best Child Rider award because it was the judges’ opinion. It felt really good that they liked me and it felt really special,” Adams said.
The judges at this year’s BIHS were Joe Darby and Danny Robertshaw.
“I’m in love with him,” Adams said of South Beach. “He’s awesome, and he is the sweetest, gentlest, quiet horse. He could do it without me. It was unreal.”
Adams rides out of Florida, and getting the opportunity to compete indoors before the finals circuit this fall was very helpful for the talented young rider. “I’m so blessed because the ring at Buffalo rode just like the rings at indoors. I’m from Florida, so we don’t get indoors until the finals,” Adams explained. “I was so happy. It’s a whole different feeling to be indoors and in a smaller space. South Beach really helped me out too.”
Overall it was a great weekend for Adams and a very successful trip to Buffalo. “I have to give thanks to Susie Schoellkopf, Jen Alfano, and Jennifer Burger, who was the nicest woman. She treated me like a princess! The horse show was so much fun. They did it right, with a lot of nice presentations. I can’t thank everyone enough.”
It was a successful show as well for 11-year-old Morgan Ward of Milford, NJ. Ward won the Small Pony Hunter and Grand Pony Hunter championships with the 12-year-old Rainbow Bright. She was reserve champion in the Small Ponies on True Sport, a seven-year-old she has only ridden since April. For her great efforts, the judges asked if they could name her as Best Child Rider on a Pony, an award that was not previously given at BIHS.
This is Ward’s fifth time competing at BIHS, and this her third Grand Pony Hunter championship. She and Rainbow Bright won three classes and got two thirds this year. They were third in the $500 “Full Monty” Pony Hunter Classic as well.
Ward regularly trains with Emil Spadone of Redfield Farm, but works with Jennifer Alfano at BIHS. “Jen is very fun and never really strict and helps out,” Ward said. “She always makes it fun.”
Ward said that the Buffalo International Horse Show is “her favorite horse show.” She added, “They give really good gifts, and it’s a lot of fun.”
This was the first time that Ward has won a Best Child Rider award. “It meant a lot,” she mentioned. “It’s hard for me to do well sometimes and Jen didn’t know my ponies this year, but she really helped me out.”
The BIHS is one of the oldest horse shows in the country, and it raises money for a very worthy cause. All proceeds are donated to the Buffalo Therapeutic Riding Center, which offers programs for mentally and emotionally impaired, learning disabled, and developmentally challenged children ages 6 to 16.
BIHS Championship Results for Sunday, September 13, 2009
Children’s Hunter 14 & Under
Toamie /Hannah Schwartz
Sparticus/BTRC/Caroline Schutte
Children’s Hunter 15-17
Balthazar/Elizabeth McWilliam
Point Taken/BTRC/Kathleen Kozlowski
Childre’s/Adult Jumper
Cappucino/Sydney Christman
Only Jumping Boy/SBS Farms/Madison Brayman
Grand Children’s Hunter Champions: Balthazar/Elizabeth McWilliam
Grand Pony Hunter Champions: Rainbow Bright/Morgan Ward
Grand Junior Hunter Champions: South Beach/Taylor Adams
Morgan Ward was Best Child Rider on a Pony
Taylor Ann Adams was Best Child Rider on a Horse
For more information on the Buffalo International Horse Show and Buffalo Therapeutic Riding Center, please visit www.thebtrc.org.
