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Madeline Thatcher Earns Top Junior Jumper Placing at WEF XI

March 31, 2010

Wellington, FL –-– Pony Lane Farm’s up and coming young rider, 13-year-old Madeline Thatcher, had an excellent week competing at the 2010 Winter Equestrian Festival for the show’s eleventh series on March 24-28, 2010. Madeline had an exciting second place finish in the week’s $10,000 Low Junior Jumper Classic riding Pablis, and was thrilled with the performance of her horses throughout the week. Based out of Bluffdale, UT, and Wellington, FL, Pony Lane Farm is home to Madeline and older sister Kelsey Thatcher, who both train with Maggie Jayne of Our Day Farm in Elgin, IL.

The $10,000 Low Junior Jumper Classic was held on Sunday afternoon with a total of 66 entries showing over the challenging course set by Ken Krome. Madeline showed two horses, Victor and Pablis, in the class and was one of twenty three entries to jump clear over the first round course with Pablis. Just six entries were able to clear the difficult jump-off course, and Madeline and Pablis rose to the challenge. The pair jumped double clear and their time landed just 3/10ths of a second behind the leader to finish in second place.

“The jumpers were really great this week,” Madeline recounted. “On Sunday the course was thirteen jumps long and it was really confusing. I had watched the Low Amateurs for a little while and I thought the course looked really hard. My first horse Victor had just one down in the first round and I was pretty happy with that, and then Pablis was really good. He managed to go double clear with a time that put us in second and it held throughout the class, so I was really happy.”

Pablis is a 13-year-old bay gelding that was recently purchased and imported from Europe in February. Kelsey showed Pablis the first week that he was in Wellington, and now Madeline has taken over the ride. “He has been really good. He is really athletic since he was a 1.50m speed horse, so he is just a lot of fun,” Madeline smiled. “Pablis gets pretty strong; he naturally has a pretty good motor, and we have actually left out a couple of times, but he is nice and easy. He is the sweetest thing in the barn and he is always very friendly.”

“Victor has been really good too,” Madeline continued. “Charlie [Jayne] rides him in the 1.30m classes throughout the week before I show just so that he is nice and even for me. He has been good and he has been getting lots of ribbons. He is really funny; he is an interesting ride and I think he is stepping up because Pablis has been so good too.”

Madeline has had success in both the hunters and the jumper throughout this year’s Winter Equestrian Festival and is very pleased with her circuit. “I think WEF has gone pretty well. I am really happy to be doing the Junior Jumpers and I am glad that I am getting lots of good ribbons,” she smiled.

Madeline attends school in Utah, so she flies back to Florida every weekend to show. Going into the final week of competition, she looks forward to enjoying the time with her horses. “This is the last week and we get down there on Thursday night, so I just want to have fun and hopefully get some ribbons,” she concluded.

Pony Lane Farm will compete through the completion of the WEF circuit on April 4. For more information, please visit www.ponylanefarm.com.

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