Wellington, Fla. – April 4, 2018 – With the 12 weeks of the Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) coming to an end, Pony Lane Farm has plenty of reasons to celebrate. Boasting two circuit championships in addition to a multitude of strong finishes throughout the season, the team’s hunter and jumper horses consistently laid down stellar performances to live up to the farm’s reputation for excellence. Both trained by Alex Jayne, Queen Celeste and Everything proved their prowess in their respective rings, accumulating enough points to earn a coveted circuit championship award, leading the way for the rest of the Pony Lane Farm team.
“I’m so thrilled for our horses, riders and the entire team to have earned two WEF circuit championships! Everyone at Pony Lane Farm works diligently throughout the season, and it is wonderful to be recognized for our hard work and accomplishments,” said Maura Thatcher, owner of Pony Lane Farm. “Winning circuit awards in both the hunter and jumper rings is a testament to our training and our program. I have to thank our grooms, trainers and the rest of the staff, as all of our success in the ring could not be possible without them.”
Pony Lane Farm’s Queen Celeste (Cassini I X Sammy Joe) was crowned the Green Hunter 3’3″ Circuit Champion with 357 cumulative points, besting the field by nearly 100 points. Over the course of the series, she carried rider Haylie Rolfe to the blue ribbon in eight classes, and earned top placings in countless others both on the flat and over fences. The Holsteiner mare did not need all 12 weeks to accrue valuable points, but instead only exhibited during six of the weeks, half of the entire series. During Weeks 1 and 10, she garnered the division’s reserve championship, and jumped to the top title during Week 5. At only 7 years old, the young Queen Celeste has plenty of talent and shows no signs of slowing down her winning ways in the hunter ring.
The farm’s Belgian Warmblood gelding Everything (Toulon X Madonna), now almost 14 years old, racked up $8,125 in prize money from only four classes to earn the circuit championship in the Equiline Medium Amateur/Owner Jumpers. Piloted by Kelsey Thatcher, Everything raced to two wins and one second place finish in three of the four $10,000 Medium Amateur-Owner Jumper Classics, accruing the largest amount of prize money by more than $1,500. Even more impressive is the fact that the pair’s wins came in classes with entries ranging from 59 to 81 horse-and-rider combinations. During Weeks 11 and 12, Everything and Thatcher were reserve champions in the Medium Amateur-Owner Jumper division, adding to their list of accolades.
Other highlight finishes by the Pony Lane Farm mounts include Standing Ovation carrying Maggie Jayne to the division championship in the High Performance Conformation Hunters, as well as Maddy Thatcher to the reserve championship in the Amateur/Owner Hunters 18-35 during Week 7. Top placings by the rest of the repertoire include ribbons in the 3’9″ Green Hunters, Low A/O Jumpers, 3’6″ Performance Working Hunters and more.
For more information on Pony Lane Farm, please visit ponylanefarm.com.
